Page 99 of For the Cameras

Looking around the brewery now at everyone filtering out onto the deck, it didn’t even really feel like a big party.

It felt like family.

And I knew that was the way Adam liked it.

Shawn came outside, nodding at me. “Just saw Adam out front. He’s here, and he’s got something in his hands.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”

Shawn smiled and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Adam headed out onto the deck a minute later and I saw the large white box in his arms that Shawn was talking about. He set it down and I went over, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

“Welcome,” I told him, holding him tight and breathing in his familiar, woodsy scent. “Was work okay?”

“It went well,” he said. “I’m glad to be here now, though. I was looking forward to this all day.”

I pulled back, looking him in the eyes. “You were looking forward to it?”

“Of course,” he said. “I couldn’t wait.”

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’m so glad you’re here. I am curious what's in the big box, though.”

“You’ll see,” he said, getting a glimmer in his eye as he smiled at me.

So I wasn’t the only one who had been planning things for tonight.

Adam went all around the deck of the brewery, his eyes going wide as he saw all of the little trivia questions and number games scattered around.

“Chase, this was all your idea? And the sci-fi movies, too?”

“It’s not a big deal,” I said. “Just wanted this place to feel like it was all yours, for one night. Thought you might be nervous, since your TV episode is airing.”

“It does feel like it’s all our own out here,” he said. He came up and wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing me on the side of my neck. “This is magical. The best place for a watch party I could imagine.”

Soon everyone had arrived, and I watched proudly as Adam mingled around the deck like he was a seasoned pro at social events.

After about an hour, it was time to watch the TV show, and we popped it on the screens outside. At the bottom of each screen, Nathan’s teenage daughter had set it up so that a live chat feed could come through as the show played.

“All right, everyone, settle the fuck down,” Kace Tomlin said, waving his hands and smiling out at us all from the front of the deck. “I know we all love to party, but let’s watch the best construction show in the world,thendo a few rounds of shots, okay?”

Everyone laughed and applauded.

“That is awesome,” Adam said from beside me at our table. “There is nobody better than a pro football player to get the attention of a whole patio of people.”

“Kace is a pro, in more ways than one,” I said.

“I’m really thankful for that.”

The familiar intro of the Fixer Brothers show started up, and everyone broke out in cheers and applause again. The show started up, showcasing the little interview with Adam that we’d filmed at the start of his renovations.

“I can’t believe that was me,” Adam said, marveling at the screen. In the interview, the producers had him talk briefly about himself, and all about his hopes for the renovations.

I could remember it so well, but it felt like it was an eternity ago.

Adam still seemed like himself—totally and fully—but in the short time since we’d filmed that day, he’d truly come into his own, in ways I couldn’t even fully explain.

Throughout the episode, the live comment feed at the bottom of the screens showed that Fixer Brothers fanslovedthe episode, too. I couldn’t count the number of comments that talked about how cute Adam was, how much everyone liked his house, and how he was the most charming client they’d ever had.

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