Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,33
an escort home.”
Shit. I wasn’t ready to leave now, nor was I going home alone, but how did I explain my plan to Mason without outing myself in the process?
“Listen, I wasn’t going directly home … and I, uh, wasn’t planning on going there alone,” I admitted after a moment of awkwardness.
“It’s cool,” Mason said like he knew what I meant but that couldn’t possibly be the case. “Once Griffin gets here, he’ll drive you to wherever you want to go, and you can bring whoever you like.”
“It’s my friend, Dallas,” I explained in a somewhat hushed tone. “I was going to go see if he was done loading the trucks.” I didn’t like the way the word friend tasted on my tongue, but I didn’t think Mason really needed to know more than that at the moment. Or did he? I had no idea how these things worked since I’d never had a personal babysitter like this following me around to protect my ass.
“You mean, Dallas, the kid on the roadie team?” Mason questioned.
“Yeah, he and I were going to … hang out at my apartment for a while,” I said as casually as possible, but I could tell by the smirk on Mason’s face and the heat I felt radiating off my flushed cheeks that he knew what was going on without me needing to elaborate.
Mason looked away for a moment, and I swear I heard him chuckle before he faced me again. “I understand what you’re saying, man,” Mason said. “No need to stress. Griffin will get you and Dallas back to your apartment.”
Christ, I could feel fresh sweat seeping from my pores to add to the dried layer I already had on my skin from performing. I wiped at my damp forehead and began to feel like a caged animal while we waited for Griffin to appear, then Mason leaned in a tiny bit closer to me.
“You know I live with a guy, right?” Mason added in a nonchalant way like we were discussing the weather forecast for tomorrow. “And I’m not talking about a roommate situation like you have with Mike. I mean, my guy shares my bed. Every night. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of the guys on our team are in relationships with men, so none of us would think twice about who you spend your time with, Fletch. You’ll never get any judgments from us. We were hired to protect you—nothing more.”
“How did you know I’m roommates with Mike?” I asked.
“It’s my job to know everything there is about you to provide the best possible security,” Mason said and made a scoffing sound.
I thought about what he’d said, and then the light bulb went off inside my tequila buzzed brain. “You’re gay?” I asked incredulously.
“I am,” Mason admitted with a nod of his head, “and I’ve never been happier.”
“That’s cool,” I said lamely. “Dallas is just my friend, but we, uh …”
“But you’re thinking you might want more,” Mason said knowingly, and I smiled. Either I had nothing remotely close to a poker face or Mason was just that good at reading people. It was probably a little bit of both.
“It’s, uh … all new to me, so I don’t know exactly what I want,” I confessed. “I just like hanging out with him.”
Mason’s head bobbed in agreement just as another burly guy with a dark brown military-style buzz cut and incredible features stepped through the doorway. His tight black jeans fit like a second skin, and his polo shirt with the Ventura Security logo embroidered on the left side of his chest matched the rest of the team. It was easy to spot them in a crowd partly because of their matching red shirts, but the main reason was due to their sheer size. They stood a good foot or more above all the other people walking around backstage.
“Griffin, this is Fletcher,” Mason introduced us, and I stuck out my hand for him to shake. “Drive him and his friend back to his apartment. I’ll text you the address to put into the GPS. His friend is out back loading one of our rigs.”
“Got it,” Griffin said and took the set of keys that Mason passed to him. Then he turned to me as he stuffed them in his pocket. “Are you ready to head out or still partying with your band?”
“I’m ready, but my friend …” My throat suddenly constricted, and I damn near squeaked out the words.