Page 107 of Secondhand Smoke
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Toni was right. Toni was always—annoyingly—right.
Nell was their lucky charm.
Biggest crowd ever. Explosive energy. Perfect show.
You’re not supposed to say that—some myth or something—but it was true. No tech issues, no botched key changes or haphazard starts. Perfect.
And she was there, sitting on the side with her drink in hand.Perfect.
The minute he was off that stage, she was the only thing he wanted to see.
He only spared a pinch of his attention on the stagehands and crew members who complimented him as he passed. The rest was designated to scanning the hallways as he walked past familiar giggling groupies, who didn’t look to be dressed up as anything in particular other than exaggerated versions of their usual selves, and waved to Ricky, who called his name and said something Barrett couldn’t make out. He pretended he didn’t notice and continued forward.
Not yet.
Not until he saw those blue eyes and kissed those lips.
He pushed to the stage door and shoved it open, giving way to the crowd of people on the other side, who perked when they noticed him. A big man nodded, and it took Barrett an embarrassing amount of time to realize he was abouncer.
He’d heard their after parties had become popular.“Exponentially,” Ricky had said. “We’re charging door fees now. There’s a fuck-ton of people waiting in line to hang out with you guys.”
Barrett hadn’t believed it until now. He thought Ricky was exaggerating.
He blinked, taking it all in. His stomach flipped between nerves and excitement, and he forgot for a moment why he’d come out.
Until he saw her—standing toward the back, peeking over the shoulder of some other people who blocked her way from getting in.
He saw her eyes widen as they made contact, and he pushed his way into the crowd.
It was a bit of a hassle, with more people trying to get his attention than there were backstage. Some cleared when he pushed past, and some were more insistent. They kept blocking his sight of her, and she kept getting lost behind their shoulders.
He was ready to yell out for everyone to back the fuck up when he felt soft fingers wrap tightly around his. He couldn’t see her, but he knew her touch.
Immediately, he closed his entire hand over hers and pulled her without another word back to the door.
The bouncer gave him another nod as he passed but raised a single brow at Nell.
“Who’s that?” he heard someone say as he pushed into the backstage door.
It wasn’t quiet back there, but for a moment, they weren’t being pushed by a crowd of people.
Barrett paused right inside the door, turning to her.
Her eyes were big, dazed and glazed, her cheeks a little red with a beaming smile. “I didn’t realize you werefamous,” she said.
He’d waited long enough.
He grabbed her cheeks and captured her smile, putting all his excitement and energy from the night into her. He could taste the alcohol on her breath, and that alone made him tipsy.
One of them pulled away—he wasn’t sure which—but he was glad for it. It gave him the perfect view of the way her dilated pupils darkened her blue eyes and sent a shock of desire into his chest.
“I didn’t think they’d even let me in with that line of people out there.” Her voice was low, and the feel of her breath on his mouth made him pull her tight against his chest.
Their faces were so close that their lips brushed as he responded. “If anyone ever tries to stop you, just tell them you’re my—”
“Barrett.”
