by Max Hudson
“Do it.” It was not a question or a request. The man was requiring that he do that.
“I’m doing it.”
The text went out quickly. Hey.
No response came for several minutes. “Anything?”
“He hasn’t responded yet.”
“He’s probably busy. Don’t freak out.”
“I know how this works.” Chance went back to staring at his phone until the device finally buzzed.
Hey, what’s up?
He nearly dropped his phone. “He responded, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“Talk to him.”
“What if I sound too desperate?” Chance was staring at the message.
“Don’t start that.” The man behind the wheel sighed. “Do I need to pull over and talk you through it?”
“No.” Chance started to respond to the text. Was just wanting to see how you were doing.
Doing all right. The text came back almost immediately. Chance smiled. Another buzz followed it almost immediately. What about you?
Just traveling to Florida
Another concert?
Yeah.
Sorry, I don’t follow your touring schedule.
That’s an impossible prospect for just about anyone. I barely know where I’m heading beyond the next stop.
Lol, that sounds about right.
“Are you two talking now?” The voice pulled the singer out of the reverie that the text messages had pulled him into.
“Yeah. I’m going back to the couch.”
“Am I being that much of a pain?” The driver laughed loudly.
“That’s exactly why.” But he was smiling as he headed back to sit down. He couldn’t deny that he was excited at the buzzing of that device in his hands. He considered how to respond, then finally decided to dive right in. Sorry I didn’t come back to see you again.
I figured that you would be busy.
I wasn’t that busy. I just didn’t want to look too needy.
You don’t seem the type to be needy.
I’m good at playing it cool.
I’m not sure. I was pretty sure that I could see right through you.
Now you’re just messing with me.
I am, I’m absolute garbage at reading body language.
You don’t seem that bad at it to me.
You don’t really know me that well.
Chance paused and thought about what to say next. He had the urge to dive in deep but didn’t know if it was the right thing. He started to type and then erased it. The singer drew in a deep breath. Then went all in. I’d like to get to know you better.
There was a long period of silence. He wondered what Devlin was thinking about. Or if he had just blown it. That was a very real possibility and he felt the panic start to well in his chest.
It was nearly an hour later that the response came from the painter. That would be great.
Chance felt like jumping up and down for joy. I would love to find the time to meet with you.
When does your tour end?
I’ve got a couple more weeks left to it. Then I can maybe come and see more of El Paso?
I would like that a lot.
I was scared that you were nervous because of who I was.
I kind of am.
Chance frowned at that response.
It’s kind of scary.
I was scared too. I miss being able to go anywhere I want with no one paying attention.
Is that going to happen to me?
They probably won’t pay that much attention to you.
But you’re going to be followed, right?
I might be able to pull off getting there in secret. Then it’s not likely anyone notices me.
Ok. That works.
Are you ok?
Yeah.
Did I say something wrong?
No, just handling what’s going on and stuff. It’s so strange, isn’t it?
It’s kind of weird, yeah.
What kind of things would you like to do?
I’d like to see how you work for one.
And like that, a date was made between them. Chance was going to go down to El Paso and see more of the man that he had met by chance. It wasn’t the type of thing that happened to guys like him. They rarely spent a lot of time out in public where they could meet ordinary people.
He had almost missed this opportunity. The singer didn’t know what might come of all of this, but there was a chance that it could become something more than just harmless flirting and kissing.
He dreamed about that when he slept that night. The trip would take some time, but he loved traveling on the freeway. His day had gotten so much better as well.
Chapter Eight
Devlin woke up early and checked his phone immediately. His heart was racing when he realized that it was dead. “Damn it.” He groaned.
He had fallen asleep while he was texting Chance the night before. That meant whatever had been said he hadn’t responded to. And it also meant that he hadn’t even plugged in his phone.
He rushed out of bed and grabbed at the cable near his bed, quickly plugging the phone in. He stood there and watched the phone start to light up. “Come on, charge.” He groaned at his phone.
Chance must have wondered why he suddenly went quiet. And Devlin didn’t want that to happen. After all, they had spent so much time on the phone together the past few days, it was almost impossible to handle.
He paced as his phone started to charge. He wanted to grab it as soon as it would turn on but decided against it. He needed to let it charge longer. “Breakfast.” Devlin forced himself to walk away. Chance could wait a few minutes longer so that he had a charge that wasn’t going to run out right away.
The kitchen was stocked with some muffins. Premade and bought in a grocery store. Perfect for a quick breakfast. He started the pot of coffee while he heated up the muffin with some butter on it in the microwave. A rare decadent treat for a man that normally ate much healthier. It was a nice meal, but he wasn’t paying much attention to it. His mind was on the phone that was back in his room.
He ate in a rush then ran back to his phone to check the charge. He nearly dropped it twice before he could check it. “Twenty percent. I can leave it plugged in.” He powered it up and checked his messages. He carefully tracked the charge as it stayed plugged in. It was like a leash, keeping him attached to the wall, but it felt worth it.
The last one from Chance was there. I bet that was a lot of fun.
He quickly tapped out a response. Sorry. I fell asleep and my phone died.
Within minutes he got a response. No worries. I figured something like that happened. I tend to stay up pretty late, but other people don’t.
That’s because of your job.
Yeah, that’s right. Shows keep me up really late.
You probably go through a small ton of coffee every day.
Lol. I do. A lot of coffee.
Do you like it at least?
Most of the time, I do.
I never get enough coffee.
Are you even able to sleep?
I think that’s evidenced by last night. Devlin actually laughed at the conversation. It had come so naturally between the two of them. The laughing and the joking together. It echoed in his empty apartment and startled him a little.
He walked over to the living room and turned on the television. Some actual noise would do it good.
He kept his phone by him the entire time as he waited for the buzz of a new message as he started to pick up a few things here and there. He still had things that he had to do. He had to get to his shop and get some work done. There’s a lot going on there, and he had been so distracted that he was easily falling behind it all.
There was a part of him that knew he had to actually let go of this guy and get some work done, but there was no way to figure out exactly how much of the work he could get done with this guy taking up every thought in his brain.
; There was a part of him that knew it was never going to work. They lived such different lives. It wasn’t one of those things that worked out with the situation that they were in.
And he wasn’t sure he would survive long living in the world of the famous. Paparazzi was a nightmare already. He had seen so many pictures of him plastered across the internet, gossip flaring up since he had given the man a ride. They were looking for the mystery man.
On a whim, he opened up the internet on his laptop as he sipped another cup of coffee, only to discover that the flavor of the day had changed to another celebrity.
He drew in a breath of relief. “At least that’s done.”
He picked up his phone again and saw a response from Chance. Are you working today?
Yeah. Gotta earn that dough.
Lol. That’s a fact of life.
There are a lot of those.
I was hoping that we could spend time together again soon. The message made his heart skip. He really wanted to do that, but all he could do was stare at the phone until it buzzed again. Did I say something wrong?
Devlin had to answer. Otherwise Chance would get the wrong idea if he waited too long. That meant that he had to make a decision. A decision that he had already made but hadn’t wanted to admit. I would really like that.
That’s great! I should be off of tour soon.
How long?
Three weeks. The tour got extended a bit.
Really? Does that happen a lot?
Every single time. They keep extending until I put my foot down.
It doesn’t sound like you have a lot of time to rest.
I get it when I can.
Devlin felt a little bad for him but tried to push that away. It was probably better to change the subject. Can you come to El Paso? I can’t travel much.
Because of work?
I’ve got to keep working or I don’t get paid.
Yeah. I was thinking I would take my post-tour vacation there.
I would really like that. I could show you around.
I don’t get to sightsee a lot.
Bring your hat and sunglasses, we can sneak around and see the city.
The response was a buzz and a picture of Chance wearing the low hat and sunglasses. It made Devlin laugh again. You look good like that.
I’m specifically trying not to look good.
It didn’t work then. You failed.
Hey, a guy can try, right?
I think I just see under all of that. It does cover up your eyes though.
You like my eyes then? Another picture with his glasses tipped down his nose and his eyes showing.
Devlin shot a picture back showing himself winking.
After work, we should video chat.
Work for me or you?
Uh, when do you get off?
Probably not until dinner time, at the earliest. I’ve got some catching up to do for the farmer’s market this weekend.
Have I been making you get behind on your stock?
It’s been worth it.
You should really get some work done.
I can message you when I get a chance today, but I may be in and out.
A few more messages back and forth and Devlin forced himself to put away his phone long enough to get ready. He checked it again as he was heading out the door and shot off a quick selfie response to him being ready for the day. He got the compliment then headed out to the truck, climbing inside.
It took every bit of willpower that he had to not check his phone every single time he stopped at a stoplight, but he managed it somehow. The conversation seemed to go off and on through the day, making plans about the sort of things that they’re going to do when he came down to visit. Even a trip to the zoo had been planned. A place Devlin hadn’t been more than once since he had been in town.
It was a beautiful day, but he didn’t get as much work done as he should of. Still, he managed to get a bit of the backlog done, getting himself a good stock toward the weekend. It was already Thursday and unless he had a really good week, he wasn’t going to sell out of stuff, even if he might work through some of his backstock that he had left over from the weeks before.
He looked over the items, laid out over tarps in front of him. The paint would dry overnight and he would be able to move it out of the way first thing in the morning.
It was a good day and he checked his phone again. Another funny picture of Chance getting ready for his show somewhere in the Carolinas. He couldn’t remember if it was North or South. That’s a good one.
I was hoping that you’d like it.
Devlin returned with one of him half covered in paint. I’m about to head out and get cleaned up.
I don’t know. You don’t look half bad with paint on your cheek.
Thanks.
Don’t thank me. Everyone can see it.
I’m not the one that people pay a bunch of money to look at.
I like to think that’s mostly my songs.
I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t sell so much if you weren’t so damn hot.
Look at you, calling me hot now. I thought you were nervous about me.
I still kind of am a little nervous, I guess. It’s a little weird.
Why?
Well, you’re kind of you. That’s kind of a big thing. And I guess I never really thought about the person behind it before.
I get that a lot.
But you’re a really good guy.
I really try to be a good person.
I didn’t mean it like that.
Oh! I’m sorry. I misread that.
Don’t worry. I’m still a little confused and stuff. It’s all so weird for me. I’m not sure how long that’s gonna last.
Don’t worry about it. It’s still a little weird for me.
Devlin was surprised. He paused before he responded to the revelation. How is it weird for you?
I was just a normal guy a couple of years ago. Trying to make a living at dive bars on the weekend and tending bar.
Really?
I used to couch surf and everything.
Devlin laughed. Did you ever think that you would ever end up in a place like this?
I never did. I always kind of wanted it. Who doesn’t want to be famous?
I mean, yeah. Having that kind of money looks pretty amazing from this end.
Yeah, I mean, I don’t have to worry about money anymore, but a lot of it gets spent on stuff that you don’t have to buy.
Really?
Like you don’t have to hire security guards for your house.
No. I live in a shitty little apartment.
I’m sure it’s a great place.
Maybe you can come to visit when you come down and visit? Devlin paused as the message was marked as sent. He was surprised that it had come so easily for him to say.
It took very little time for his phone to buzz again. I would really like that. I’ll make sure to sneak in so the paparazzi don’t bother you.
I’d appreciate that. Well, maybe not. They might be good for business. Maybe.
It’s a double-edged sword.
I know. But it’s tempting. But I fully intend to resist that.
There are ways to stay out of sight with this sort of thing. I’ve had friends do it before.
Did it ever work out?
The slow response was deafening. Not most of the time.
Chapter Nine
Chance looked down at his phone. Devlin had been chatting with him every spare moment.
He felt a twinge of guilt about that, knowing that Devlin had to go and get his work done at some point and every moment that he distracted the artist would add up to more time that he wasn’t working.
Devlin had mentioned something about wanting to get enough work done so that he could spend more time with Chance when he came to town. The thought of that made Chance’s heart jumped up to his throat. He looked down at his phone again. Another message was there. You have a show tonight, right?
&
nbsp; He quickly tapped out a message in response. Yeah, I do.
I’ll probably be in bed by the time you’re done.
You really should sleep more. I’ll check-in, just in case.
Don’t give me a reason to stay up too late, lol.
I’m not trying to.
I know you’re not. I should start getting ready for work.
Right, you have a show tonight.
As much as I hate it, gotta pay the bills.
And keep the fans happy. Have fun, I’ll talk to you soon.
You should try to get some sleep while I’m working. The last thing Chance wanted was the man to be exhausted by the time he got there. He shot off a second message. I kind of want to spend time with you when I get there where you’re not sleeping.
I know. I know. I do get sleep, I promise.
Good, get some more. And I promise when I get down there, I’ll help you sell some of that stuff. I still remember my old salesman days.
Chance put the phone away, but just as he got it into his pocket it buzzed again. It took half as much time to get to where he could look at the phone once again. Devlin had responded. I will, talk tomorrow?
Yeah. I would love to.
Chance walked back into his dressing room and sat down. He had to give Devlin a break, let the man get some sleep. Let him get some work done, but it was taking up every single thought that he didn’t have to put somewhere else. And even thinking about the stuff he was supposed to focus on was getting harder.
There was a part of him that wondered if this was what falling in love was all about. He shook his head. It wouldn’t do any good to think about all of that. He had to get ready for his show and people would be coming in soon to talk to him about what was going to happen. There were always small changes with every single venue that he worked in.
Sure enough, right on time, Eddy knocked on the door. “Come in.” Chance made it clear for him to enter.
“How’re you doing?” Eddy tilted his head as he saw Chance finishing up his personal prep for the show.
“Doing all right.”
“Still talking to that guy?”
“Yeah.” Chance nodded. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
“You sure that we don’t have to do some sort of background check?”
Chance chewed on his lip. “I guess you can. It’s probably safer that way.”