Page 32 of Revived

“You know Tim doesn’t touch skank,” Wen explained before offering me a less sweaty high five. “What did you think?”

“It was amazing. I can see why you guys make it through now,” I told him.

“What’s that mean?” Gabe asked as he came to stand so close, I swear I could feel the hum of energy coming from him.

“You know, all day long, you guys are buzzing all over the place. Some days start before sunup and then you go on stage last, and that happens…” I pointed out there to the now dark stage where the crew was already hard at work taking things down. “I don’t know where you get the energy.”

“Some days, neither do I,” John admitted. Then he winked and took off as quickly as Tim had.

I laughed. “Let me guess, he had the fish too?”

Gabe smiled widely. “Neither of them ever listens.”

“I can’t believe you did that tonight. Thank you, it was…”

My words trailed off because I couldn’t think of anything that showed both the excitement and gratitude it deserved.

“You don’t have to thank me for honoring all you’ve done.” Gabe whispered the words into my ear when I hadn’t been able to finish with my sentiment. His warm breath against the shell of my ear made me shiver all over. Gabe’s eyes laser-focused on my goosebumps and then to the nipples on my chest that were rock hard for so many reasons. “Why don’t you guys come on back while I grab a quick shower and change?” All I could do was bob my head and follow along as I pictured Gabe’s naked body, suds attempting and failing to hide all the fun places to explore. Sweet baby Jesus, I needed to get a grip.

Once we were deposited into Gabe’s dressing room, which had an en-suite bathroom in it, Chevy couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from his face. He just watched me trying to collect myself. “What?” I finally asked.

“Still don’t believe that he’s into you too?” He asked me quietly.

The part of me that was high on endorphins and excitement wanted to agree. Then there was the cautionary side of my personality clawing at my insides, telling me, ‘no’. I’d seen how close he was with Kendra, and how they’d sneaked off to be alone, only to have him come out of the room wearing different clothing. I couldn’t openly talk about that with Chevy though. I’d thought about using Calista as a sounding board about my worries, but I didn’t want to put Gabe’s business out there to someone who was essentially a coworker and his friend.

“Mel?” Chevy called out, concern lacing my name as he spoke.

“I’m fine,” I waved away his concern. “It’s just been an interesting night.”

“I’m sorry,” his meek apology actually made me feel bad. “I won’t push the issue anymore. Promise.”

“Thanks,” I whispered just as the door to the bathroom opened to emit a billowing river of steam. Then, the rock God of the night emerged.

“We ready?” Gabe asked as water dripped down from the end of his hair to his neck and got lost in the collar of the t-shirt he put on. The t-shirt was an old Led Zeppelin concert tee that looked as though it was paper thin and soft as a cloud thank tot the years of washing and wearing. I wanted to snuggle into that shirt and never come out, especially since it would now smell like Gabe, fresh from the shower.

“Ready for what?” Chevy asked his dad, which effectively pulled me out of my daydreams of wearing that shirt to bed.

“We have a meet and greet tonight with fans who won a contest. I’d like for you both to be there.”

“Sure,” the son answered as his father turned to me, waiting for my response. I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant, because I’d been down one too many daydream trips all night to curb my possessiveness of the man who didn’t belong to me. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle seeing groupies all over him.

“If it helps, you would be doing me a favor by coming along. It’ll discourage people from getting too close, and too comfortable near me.”

There was no hiding my bark of laughter. “You need me to be your human shield? Groupie cockblock, if you will?” I asked for fun.

Chevy laughed along with me as Gabe finally made himself look human, after his godly display on stage, by rolling his eyes at the both of us. “Come on Mel, be my savior,” he begged.

“Fine, I’ll save your ass today,” I told him as I stood and moved to run my fingers over the shirt he was wearing. It was just as buttery soft as I had expected.

“What was that?” Gabe asked as he took a step closer so there was only a hair’s breadth between us.

“Sorry,” I yelped, while snatching my fingers back as if they’d been burned. “I was just curious how soft that shirt was,” I admitted as Gabe took hold of my hand and placed it flat on his chest.

“Pretty soft. I’ve had this shirt for a long while. Let’s see,” he hummed as he thought for a moment. “Since my first year in Los Angeles.” His voice was hoarse, but he still managed to maintain an almost whisper as he spoke, keeping us planted firmly in the little bubble that held only the two of us. That was right up until someone else, clearing their throat, broke the spell we had both been under.

“Don’t mean to burst your happy little bubble there, but someone already knocked on the door. I think that was your cue to get to the after party,” Chevy informed us.

Gabe slid his hand back down my arm, until he got to the hand I still had perched on his chest. Then, he interlaced our fingers, and we began to move as one unit, almost as a family, to the room where the guys were supposed to be signing things for the fans and taking pictures with them. We walked into the room just like that and I’m not sure what kind of statement it made, but it definitely made an impact.

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