"Eva, I'm not leaving you alone."
"I can manage.
Seriously.
The exit is right there."
I pointed down the hall to the open double doors beneath a lighted exit sign.
Roadies were already transporting equipment out.
"Angus is right out there, isn't he?" Gideon leaned his shoulder into the wall and crossed his arms.
I threw up my hands.
"Okay.
Fine.
Have it your way."
"You're learning, angel," he said with a smile.
Muttering under my breath, I went into the bathroom and took care of business.
As I washed up at the sink, I looked into the mirror and winced.
I had raccoon eyes from sweating so damn much and my pupils were dark and dilated.
"What does he see in you?" I asked myself derisively, thinking of how awesome he still looked.
As hot and sweaty as he'd been, he looked none the worse for wear, while I looked damp and limp.
But more so than my exterior, it was my personal failings I was thinking of.
I couldn't get away from them.
Not while Brett was in the same building with us.
I rubbed a dampened square of paper towel under my eyes to get rid of the black smudges, then headed back out to the hall.
Gideon waited a few feet away, talking with Robert, or more accurately, listening to him.
The band's manager was clearly excited about something.
Gideon spotted me and held up a hand to get me to wait a minute, but I didn't want to take the risk.
I gestured down the hall at the exit, then turned and headed that way before he could stall me.
I hurried past the green room door, chancing a quick glance inside to see Shawna laughing with a beer in her hand.
The room was packed and boisterous, and she looked like she was having a great time.
I made my escape with a sigh of relief, feeling ten times lighter the moment I left.
Spotting Angus standing next to Gideon's limo on the far side of the line of buses, I waved and set off toward him.
Looking back on the night, I was tantalized by how uninhibited Gideon had been.