my head on his shoulder as I try to catch my breath.
“Savvy,” he pants.
“Hmm?”
“I can’t wait to do that again.”
I can’t help but smile, and then laugh. “Next time, a little warning?”
“No.”
“Hello, everyone, I’m Patrick Steel, your emcee for tonight’s first annual Seashore Sit Down and Listen Fundraiser and Talent Show.”
I stand in the back of the room and watch him talk about the charities in which tonight’s fundraiser will support. Seashore’s art department is getting what they originally planned to charge admission to the show—ten dollars a ticket. The dinners we had planned on doing ourselves are now catered at a reduced price of fifty dollars a head which, to me, was a bit much, but it also meant there was no cost for renting the space.
“Three students sat down and tossed an idea around a table in pottery class. They hammered out a plan and presented it to the art department. That idea has raised five hundred thousand dollars for the charities that those students saw as in need of funding. Tonight, you’ll be helping a mobile mental health unit that will service communities in need, you’ll be helping provide necessities for several homeless shelters in the area, and you’ll be helping children of domestic abuse.”
Chloe nudges me. “I didn’t know we added the last.”
“Me neither.” I smile as I watch him as they all applaud.
“On top of that, you sparked a passion in one of those three students for the arts. The plates you’ll be served on tonight took over three months to craft by hand. I was able to watch her work, and it was truly inspirational. No pressure, Miss Sutton, but I believe you’ll see this happen again next year, and I believe that’s not going to be the end of her artistic ventures.”
Again applause, and I also kind of want to kill him.
“Because of Miss Sutton, she inspired not only the art department of Seashore Academy, but the Steel family, who has adopted three public schools in the area. This year, they will be receiving the equipment needed for their students to learn the art of pottery. Art should never be seen as a privilege.”
Thunderous applause fills the room.
“I’d like to give you the opportunity to do even more.” I see him try to hide a smile. “In just a few minutes, four men will be walking around to take donations so that we can do just that. And together, they will match your donations up to half a million dollars.”
“What’s going on?” Roach asks.
“Honestly, I have no idea.”
“I know some of you may be disappointed, but I won’t be opening the show.”
The audience grumbles.
He holds up his hand. “I will be closing, but”—he waves for someone with a huge grin on his face—“after they have collected your donations, they’re going to take the stage and open the show.”
I watch as the room erupts in applause. Some people even stand, whistling, and camera lights are flashing.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Ziggy gasps.
“Who are they?” I ask.
Roach throws an arm in the air and cheers, “STD in the house!”
Over the speakers, Patrick announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome the legends and one of my all-time favorite bands … Steel Total Destruction!”
It’s taking forever, but how do you tell people writing checks and snapping selfies with rock stars, who are also writing checks, to speed it up?
You don’t.
I send Patrick a text.
8:45 p.m. - First, you’re amazing. Possibly my hero. Second, could you play your guitar or something??? XOXO Me
Patrick plays guitar and, straight up, it’s sexy. It’s more than sexy. It’s foreplay.
And when STD—still a gross name—finally takes the stage, Memphis Black takes the mic from him. “Thanks for keeping it warm, Tricks.”
“Anytime,” he says then takes the stairs down to the audience.
“His parents might disagree, but this band helped raise that one, and we did a hell of a job, wouldn’t you say?” Memphis Black says into the microphone.
Everyone applauds, and Patrick just shakes his head as he walks back to join us.
“He’s a little sneaky at times, though. Like that time I thought I lost this very guitar, and he’d shoved it under the seat in the tour bus. I was going to make his old man cancel the show, because this guitar, whether played or not, goes everywhere with me. It’s a reminder of where I was when his dad took a chance on three idiot kids, and me, and gave us a start.”