Page 243 of As The Shifter World Turns

I crossed over to him and kissed him sweetly. “I’m glad you enjoyed your shower.”

“I’d have enjoyed it more if you were with me.” He nibbled on my lower lip. “But alas, we have a party to attend.” He hurried to our room to get dressed and I thought of every yucky thing I could to deflate my cock thanks to the image of the two of us naked and wet together flitting through my brain.

Not even a full minute later, Toby came out with his sleeping bag under one arm and a flashlight in his hand.

“What’s with the gear?” I asked.

“We’re camping for the release, right?” He wiggled his nose. “Micah said they were renting tents.”

That was when the misunderstanding clicked. “Oh, we aren't camping. They’re renting a huge tent that’s like a fancy ballroom. People rent them for big parties. There will be many things there, but no sleeping bags.”

“But he said tent.” He put the sleeping bag on the chair. “They should have a better name for it,” he huffed, holding up his flashlight. “I can still bring this, right?”

“Yes, you can still bring that. And you’re right. Event tent or wedding tent does sound weird. Fancy people call it a marquee.”

“That would make more sense, dad. They have marquees at the theater and this is a movie… well, really a TV show.” I felt bad he misunderstood so completely, but at the same time was a bit amused by it, something I wasn’t going to let him see.

“I think Micah owes me camping.” He snatched up the sleeping bag. “I’ll be right back.”

Both Neil and Toby were done in only a few minutes and we drove to the motel. Toby was excited. He loved the place and he especially loved the courtyard. Who could blame him? It was great to have some private outdoor space, especially when you were a shifter. Not that there would be any privacy tonight.

I’d been at the motel all day making sure everything was the way it was meant to be. I’d checked and rechecked the list on the tablet Archer had given me. Fingers crossed the event went off without a hitch.

The place was packed when we arrived and it took us a while to find a parking spot. It was a good thing Charlie was already here with Anthony who’d said he was heading straight for the room because navigating the parking lotwith Toby was challenging, and he was old enough to manage on his own in theory.

The tent was ginormous and looked like something out of a billionaire romance novel more than an indie television premiere. The only thing that hinted at its true purpose was one screen set up at the far end of the space. Daire stood beside it with the kind of excitement you might expect from a child the night before Christmas. I loved seeing his joy.

“Congratulations.” Neil and I joined Daire and Micah after weaving through mass amounts of people. “What an accomplishment.”

“It gets better.” Archer said from behind me. “We have some unanticipated guests coming.” That had me worried because I wasn’t sure where we could put them. Space was at a premium. But everything about his presence shouted that it was a good thing—no, a great thing.

Before I could ask what kinds of guests, Daire blurted out, “Who’s who in the industry is coming—not just assistants. I guess they’re thinking this is going to be the next big thing. Oh…and there are plenty of someones who want to do video interviews.”

“Got my camera ready,” Nate added as he hefted it onto his shoulder.

“Here?” Neil asked and Daire told him he was thinking of the courtyard since they needed the overflow space anyway. “That’s my cue to leave.” He kissed my cheek. “Break a leg or whatever you’re supposed to say.” And he raced off to Charlie and the others.

“I know just the spot,” I added. I was thinking out of the box. “I’ll go get lights set up and some seating—it’ll be great.”

“Don’t run yourself ragged, Martin. We have two hours until they get here.Fashionably late,I guess,” Daire said.

“You’re doing a great job, Martin. We couldn't have done this without you.” Micah put a hand on my shoulder.

“There’s more catering coming and parties should not be changed on short notice so do the best you can.” Daire said the last part more to himself than to me.

“No one will care. Their eyes will be glued to the screen we’ve set up and another I’ll put in the courtyard.” Or stuffing their faces. In any case it was going to be better than fine. I could feel it.

When they said bigwigs, they meant everyone who had ever had anything to do with television. At least that’s what it felt like.

I worked my way to the courtyard. It felt small for the first time. Nate gave me instructions and we got the lights and cameras set up.

We organized it so that people in the courtyard watched at the same time as those out the front, which was great given the photos I later saw of wall to wall people. This party rivaled anything Hollywood could bring only without the snobbiness.

I was standing to the side, tablet in hand, when a voice asked, “Is this seat taken?” a man wearing purple skinny jeans with a blazer and a kitten tee asked.

“No.” I said, instantly regretting it as the man in purple, whose name turned out to be Stormy, sat down next to Ivor and spent the next ten minutes regaling us with stories about how important he was in the fashion world. I mean yay for him, but I’d been keeping an eye on the crowd and needed to keep doing that.

“It’s nice to have a job you enjoy.” Ivor said, rocking Dyani who’d refused to stay with Anthony and Neil.

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