Page 49 of Wish We Were There

Taylor reached out for him, shaking him from his rumination. Parker stepped closer, and Taylor wrapped one arm around his waist, lifting up his drink with the other.

“I, uh, I don’t really know what to say,” he chuckled, making the others laugh. “Zach was always better at this than me. But, well, I guess, thank you for doing this and coming along for the ride since the beginning. I’m so thankful to have you all in my life. This may be our last show, but you guys will always be family to me.”

“Aw, Taylor, don’t make me tear up. This mascara is only so waterproof,” Angie said, fanning her eyes with one hand. “I feel the same way. No matter what we do after this, Get Well Soon is always gonna feel like home to me, you know?”

“I think Zach would be pretty proud of us now,” Dean said softly. Angie blinked harder against the tears that were visibly welling in her eyes as she reached over to squeeze her brother’s wrist. “We had a pretty incredible run, all things considered, didn’t we?”

“We sure did,” Kylie agreed, smiling pensively down at the drink she swirled in her hand. “Who would’ve thought things would end up like this when we were just a bunch of college dropouts playing in a garage every day?”

“That was all Zach,” Taylor agreed, chuckling. He leaned closer to Parker. “Well... Cheers, everyone.”

“Get Well Soon!” Kylie exclaimed, lifting her drink, and everyone echoed the cheer, including Parker. They clinked their glasses together and took a long drink. The signature cocktail was sort of like an amaretto sour, Parker thought as he drank it, sweet and tangy all at once. It wasn’t something he would have typically ordered for himself, but it tasted good.

“Ooh, Taylor, that’s fire,” Angie exclaimed, slamming her empty glass down. “You said you made this drink?”

“Me and Moss,” Taylor laughed, shaking his head. “They did most of the work. I just taste tested and gave the final approval. It doesn’t even have a name yet.”

They stood chatting around the table until the sound from the stage finally faded out and the lights brightened back up. Taylor glanced up at Parker as the silence filled the room.

When he was nervous, it was Parker he looked for. The thought made him smile; Taylor smiled back, although there was still some tension in his brow. Parker leaned over and kissed his forehead.

“You got this,” he said softly. “You guys are gonna be great.”

Taylor nodded, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to respond. Instead, he leaned closer to Parker, hugging him. Parker wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly. “It’s gonna be great,” he continued in a low murmur, his lips just ghosting against Taylor’s hair. “You’re going to do so well. And then you’ll never have to worry about it again.”

“Ugh, get a room,” Kylie teased, before reaching over and squeezing Taylor’s upper arm. “We’ve got this, dude. It’s a show just like any other.”

Taylor mumbled something that was lost against Parker’s chest, then turned his head to say to her, “I know. I just feel...” He trailed off, then looked back up at Parker sheepishly. “I’m not normally this nervous before a show, I swear.”

Parker’s gaze softened. “I understand.”

A sharp knock rapped at the green room door, then it swung open. The stage manager bustled into the room; Kylie squealed with delight when she saw him. He was wearing a dark sport jacket over what looked like a silky cheetah print button down, a black feather boa, and a tiny tiara that was somehow affixed to his short blonde hair.

“Oh my god, Reid,” Taylor exclaimed, pulling away from Parker to stifle a laugh. “What, uh, what’s going on?”

“What? You thought I wasn’t going to celebrate our very first show?” Reid replied in a mockingly haughty tone. He grinned and twirled in a circle, the ends of the boa fluttering out with the movement. “Don’t get used to it, babes. I only bust these out for special occasions. Well, the shirt’s in my normal rotation, but you get the idea.”

“You look amazing,” Kylie said, laughing.

“Oh, I know,” Reid replied with a wink. “Alright, alright, I came here on business. The stage crew has everything set up for you guys, so start heading backstage now, please. By the way, Dean, your friend got here about ten minutes ago, and I had him wait backstage.”

“Sweet,” Dean replied simply, shooting Reid a thumbs-up. Parker’s stomach did a flip-flop; he’d known Rogelio would be here, but knowing they would be together backstage while the band was performing... It wasn’t like he would be obligated to say anything to the other man, but with their admittedly distant connection, it would feel too weird to treat him like a stranger.

“Parker, hands off my performer,” Reid said, interrupting his thoughts as the other man approached, lightly swatting the arm still wrapped around Taylor’s waist. “He might be your boyfriend and my manager, but right now he’s also my talent, and the last thing I need is you clinging to him down these stairs and making him trip. I swear, this staircase is going to cause a lawsuit at some point.”

Parker laughed, giving Taylor’s hip one last squeeze before releasing him. “Alright, alright. He’s all yours.”

“Do you really think the stairs are that bad?” Taylor said nervously as they headed for the door, Reid ushering them through. “I mean, they’re a little narrow, but...”

“At the moment? No,” Reid replied, carefully closing the green room door behind him. “But if someone up here has been drinking, and it’s been a year so the hand rail’s wobbly? Who can say?”

“Don’t worry about it now,” Parker added. Taylor frowned, eyeing the handrail as they walked down the stairs. Reid made a tutting sound from behind him.

“Ugh, you’re right. Sorry, boss,” Reid said. “Didn’t mean to put anything on your manager plate right now. Forget I said anything and break a leg, alright? I’ll see you after the show.”

Before Taylor could respond, Reid was already bustling away. Parker and Taylor exchanged a look, then Taylor laughed, shrugging. They turned the corner to head backstage.

The girls were standing near the curtain, cautiously peeking out at the crowd, smiling and talking amongst themselves; a little further back, Dean was standing with a taller man who looked nervous and out-of-place. His black hair was slicked back at the top with a fresh fade, piercings in his ears and nose, wearing a leather jacket over a plain white shirt, a silver chain necklace, and dark jeans over black boots.

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