“Good, now come here and hop up.” He lifts me up, and my legs wrap around his waist. He claims my mouth in a hungry, passionate kiss. We don’t break apart for several minutes. He sets me back down and joins the others to storm the stage at the same time.
I feel the stares around me and try to control my blushing. Declan winks at me knowing exactly what he did. This was the first of many times he would publically claim me in a crowd.
I text the merchandise contact I have to make sure she has enough stuff and run through my mental checklist. Then I get a beer and watch the crowd go wild as Sayge takes the stage. Like always, my heart surges with pride and my eyes fill with tears. For almost two hours I sing along, dance, and cheer. A few people I’ve met this week crowd around to watch, as well.
The sun has set when Sayge finishes, and when the lights dim to indicate the end of the set, the screams are deafening. Declan removes his guitar and hands it to Blake, waves to the crowd, and stalks to me. When he’s close enough, I launch into his arms. His body is soaked in sweat, and he makes a point to rub his drenched forehead down my neck and shoulders. Threading my fingers through his hair, I pull him back for another searing kiss.
The other guys join us off stage with their faces glowing.
“Fuck yeah, we just played Central Motherfucking Park!” Cooper screams, jumping around and hitting the others on the back.
A crowd forms around us and congratulates the band while the crew prepares for the next group. We go to the interview area, and I stand back and watch them interact with the crowds. Even with a wedding band on his finger, Declan still has girls shoving notes in his hands and pockets.
After they’re done, Nate pulls us all into a group hug and declares it’s time to party. My plans were to go back to the hotel after the concert, but I was swept up in the excitement and partied in New York City until dawn. Then I crawled onto our bus and slept for an entire day.
*****
I wake up feeling watched.
“You watching me sleep again, creeper?”
“You’re so peaceful when you sleep. I’ll never get tired of watching you.”
“So why do you look sad?”
“I had a revelation this morning that I don’t like. We’re living on a bus with three other guys almost full time. I’m not able to wake up to you naked lying on my chest every day. We have very little privacy.”
“Baby, half of the tour, we’ve got our own hotel room. And the guys gave us the bedroom.”
“But what about the other half? It’s no surprise I like sex, but with you, I love sex. I like to touch you, taste you, fuck you, and make love to you anytime I want.”
“With everything else we have to think about, you’re worried about sex?”
“Yeah, aren’t you?”
“Um, no! Right now my plate is full, with making sure you guys are ready for your shows, interviews, and appearances. I’m a little jaded and don’t know who I can trust, so I haven’t made any new friends yet. We’ve been on the road for one week, and you’ve done three shows. So far about a thousand girls have slipped their number in your hands and last night I’m pretty sure I almost walked in on Nate getting a blow job. I haven’t had time to worry about sex.”
“Sounds like your priorities aren’t right.”
“Declan!”
“Sparkle, we’re newlyweds, sex is important. So I’ll worry about it for both of us.”
“We have all morning, why are we talking about it instead of actually doing it?”
“Because my manager scheduled me to call into a radio show in thirty minutes. Then when that’s done I’d like to walk around Philadelphia for a while, get a decent lunch and hang out with just us.”
“Okay, but we need to talk about your interview. Jay told me the news broke about Amber and Kelly and their scheme. If these guys have done any research at all, they’ll know about it. My dad formally withdrew his lawsuit against MCE and the truth is out. How much do you want to tell them?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you join me? We can talk to them together. You can decide what we answer and don’t. Since we don’t have a PR rep anymore, you’re in charge.”
“I’ll sit with you and help guide your answers, but I’m not sure I want to talk. Besides, they don’t want to talk to me, they want Declan Collins.”
“Baby, you’re not fooling me. I know how many requests for interviews you’ve turned down. I respect your privacy, but today I think it’s important that we address whatever they ask.”
I think about it for a second and agree with him. “Okay, I’ll let Jay and the other guys know. And then for the next two nights, we have a hotel room.”
“There is a God. Thank you!”