Page 105 of Hidden Truths

“His ass is perfect!” I add, trying not to laugh.

“I want to touch it so bad!” she says. I snort and try to cover it up with a cough. Normally, women fawning over Cal make me irrationally jealous. But this is actually kind of curing me of it.

“Hi everyone. Thanks for coming out to the show,” Cal says politely. The crowd starts shouting over each other about how much they love Shattered Halo and the band members. Willa catches me in the crowd, and I quickly put a finger to my lips, begging her not to say anything. She smirks and continues signing a man’s forehead.

By the time Cal gets over to the side I’m standing on, I’m pretty convinced the green-haired girl is going to faint. I think she held her breath the entire time. Her friend was definitelyhere for Belle, if the nervous rambling she did when Belle signed her album was any indication.

“What’s your name?” Cal asks her, holding the headshot she handed him and waiting so he can personalize it for her.

“Her name is Ginny,” her friend answers for her, nudging her with her elbow.

“Thanks for coming to the show, Ginny,” Cal says, giving her a polite smile.

Poor Ginny squeaks, and she looks like she might be physically shaking.

“Callahan Griffin has a giant dick!” I yell, trying to distract her so she doesn’t faint. But also so Cal sees me, and I can see the look on his face. His eyes snap right to mine, and he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Firecracker,” he mutters. “What the hell are you doing over here?”

“Nate said this is where the fans go,” I say innocently, making my way over to him. I stand in front of him and let him pull me in for a heated kiss. He’s always worked up after shows, and I reap the benefits.

“This isn’t where you go,” he says, pulling away and giving me one more kiss on the forehead.

“Hi, I’m Harlow.” I introduce myself to Ginny. “I’m Cal’s wife. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry that you’re my wife?” Cal says, deeply offended.

“I took you off the market,” I explain.

Cal sighs again and looks to the ceiling for answers.

“Oh, uh. Thank you?” Ginny says, completely confused. She’s breathing and stopped shaking. So at least it worked.

Cal finishes signing her things and pulls me along with him while he finishes with the rest of the crowd.

“I don’t think that’s for publicity, Gin.” I hear as we walk away.

Cal nips my ear as he leads me out of the stadium they just played and into the car Nate called for him. We don’t have to leave tonight, which means the buses are staying parked, and we’re all staying in a hotel. Cora is staying overnight in Jason’s room to give us time alone.

“I’ve been so fucking hard for you since I saw you watching me on stage tonight,” Cal says, kissing the side of my neck.

“Cal,” I say, trying to push him away. “Wait until we don’t have an audience.” The driver is staring straight ahead and pretending he can’t hear anything. He definitely can though.

“Baby, I had to strap my dick down with my belt and hope my shirt covered it for the whole damn show. I can’t wait.”

“If you keep it in your pants until we get to our room, I’ll do that thing you like,” I tell him. He freezes for a minute and then sighs, leaning back into his own seat.

“Fine,” he grumbles and squeezes his eyes shut. I’m pretty sure he’s naming presidents under his breath.

It takes less than five minutes to get to the hotel, but with the way Cal hops out of the car and pulls me with him, you’d think it had been hours. He’s practically running to our room, dragging me along with him. I’m laughing so hard I’m having trouble keeping up, so he lifts me into his arms and continues to run.

“You’re ridiculous,” I tell him.

“I need you so bad, Harlow. I’m about to burst in my pants.” There isn’t a hint of humor in his voice. But there is desperation.

“Why are you so worked up?” I ask him, kissing his neck.

“I had a moment, after seeing you mixed in with the fans, where it felt like all this was a fever dream, and you weren’t really mine,” he says, smacking the key card against the reader and kicking the door open.

---