Page 114 of 4-Ever

“We’ve been living in the rock n’ roll fishbowl for a while now,” I countered, keeping my tone polite. “Pretty sure we know what to expect. And I’m not hiding. I’m in love with Faise, and he’s in love with me. If anyone has a problem with that, they can fuck right off.”

Hey, I said my tone was polite. Not every word.

Faise leaned over and kissed me, and Brodie and Holls whistled so loud, I’m sure the entire restaurant heard it.

“It’s a shame we can’t go right back up to our hotel room,” Faise whispered.

“Later. Promise.” I kissed him back. “First, I want to show you off. I want everyone to know that you’re mine.”

He licked his lips and I wanted to say, fuck the party. Let’s make our own.

“Okay, time to get going,” Jesse interrupted.

Faise wrapped an arm around my waist as we made our way out of the restaurant, Lennie, Petyr, and our entourage flanking us. Several people in the lobby stopped us and asked for autographs, which me and the guys gladly gave. Then it was out into the warm LA night and into a big ass limo.

Shit like this never got old.

Our first stop was a private party hosted by Montage Entertainment, a film production company. Jesse and Averell had pitched the idea of a rockumentary about Wayward Lane’s rise to stardom and having Montage’s film crew follow us on our next tour. Me and the guys had talked it over, but it still wasn’t a done deal. It was a lot to have someone filming you 24/7 for weeks on end. Still, the genre was popular, and it might give a boost to our sales.

There was a formal press line and I recognized familiar faces, musicians, actors and the like.

Faise’s grip grew as damp as mine the closer we got to the entry point.

“One last check,” Jesse murmured as he adjusted my jacket and fiddled with Faise’s hair. “You guys look great. Remember, any questions you’re not sure about, leave it, smile, and keep walking down the line.”

My heart was pounding so hard it was all I could hear.

Brodie, Van, and Holls were behind us, and gave us a reassuring pat on the back.

When the line finally moved, and just before it was our turn to step out, I glanced down at my boyfriend.

I was nervous for sure, but I wasn’t changing my mind. And the determined look in his eyes told me he was the same. With our hands interlocked, I pulled him as close to me as he could get. We didn’t need to utter a fucking word; our body language said it all.

“Let’s do this.”

Like Faise, I always found this part of our life overwhelming. When I didn’t have my bass guitar in hand, I needed distraction, so I played it off with jokes. My go to for any situation where I felt uncomfortable. But my humor vanished in the face of all the cameras and bright lights. This wasn’t any ordinary junket, and we weren’t on stage.

Flashes popped, so many, so fast, that it became difficult to see anything but spots in my eyes.

“What’s going on here?” one reporter yelled out.

“I’m holding my boyfriend’s hand. But thanks for pointing out the obvious.”

There was a smattering of laughter in response. Okay, maybe my sense of humor hadn’t completely shut down.

Faise leaned into me, and I let go of his hand, wrapping my arm around his waist, pulling him in tight. Then I turned my head and kissed his temple. There was a frenzy of call outs and more flashes.

Jesse motioned for us to walk closer to the press line. I swallowed hard, readying myself for the onslaught of questions.

“Faisel! Ronin! Over here!”

A familiar reporter smiled at us. “Janine Taylor, eNews Now. There have been rumors about your friendship being something more for years. Have you two been keeping it a secret all this time?”

Faise shook his head and leaned into the mic. “No, this is a recent development. But one that we’re very happy about.”

“What about the future of the band? Aren’t you worried about the repercussions if your romantic relationship doesn’t work out?”

“No, we’re not,” I replied with a smile. “We’ve been best friends for twenty years. This is just one more evolution of our relationship. Faise and I are a permanent deal. Forever.”

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