“I can be both, right?” Nikky said, enjoying the banter.
“Last I heard, you can definitely be both,” Lee agreed, hoping he fit right in with the circle of friends he’d been drawn into instead of sounding like an idiot.
“I like your new friend,” Nikky told Drew with a smirk, then slapped him on the back before glancing over his shoulder at the PA with a headset waving at him. “I’ve got to run. I’m on in, like, ten minutes. But enjoy the show.” He stepped away, then turned back. “There’s an afterparty at Edward’s house after the show. You’re all invited.”
“Cool. We’ll be there,” Drew told him, waving. “Break a leg.”
As soon as Nikky jogged off, another backstage assistant approached them with, “Mr. Oberlin, I can show you and your party to the VIP booth, if you’d like.”
Lee had to cover his mouth to stop from giggling like a fool. Never in a million years would he have imagined finding himself backstage at a concert for a rising star musician and actor, especially not as the very special guest of a celebrity. He wasdefinitely going to get a million book ideas from that single night alone.
“Come on,” Drew said, reaching back for Lee as Abby and Jessica walked ahead of him, eager to get to whatever VIP booth had been set aside for them.
Lee followed. Drew continued to hold his hand out. Lee blinked, slowly figuring out what his new friend wanted. He wanted to hold his hand.
He couldn’t hold back his laugh anymore as he slipped his hand into Drew’s and let the star lead him through the dark, narrow space behind the stage. Techies and other crew members dodged and worked around them, some of them making eyes at Drew as he passed, but most of them too busy or too used to celebrities to care. One of them did seem to take note of the way Drew held Lee’s hand, but that was to be expected.
“Are you ready for this?” Drew asked when they reached a wider hallway that led from the stage to several balcony boxes in the old theater where the concert was taking place.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Lee answered, smile so wide it made his face ache.
Drew studied him for a long, long moment, something excited and sparkling in his eyes. It might have just been Lee’s imagination, but he could have sworn Drew’s gaze dropped to his mouth for a moment before bouncing back up to meet his eyes.
“Remember,” Drew said, “for now, we’re just friends. If this ends up being too awkward or crazy, we’ll drop the whole thing and forget Rent-A-Boyfriend ever happened.”
Rationally, that should have been a relief. In reality, it felt a little like an arrow to Lee’s heart. But only for a second. Everything that waited ahead of them felt like way too much fun to let a few conflicted feelings get in the way.
“I’m ready for anything,” he said, squeezing Drew’s hand.
Drew’s pupils went wide and something in his expression softened, but a second later, he turned and tugged Lee through the door and into a theater box that had been transformed into a VIP booth.
The opening act was still jamming away on their guitars and keyboards and having a blast doing it. The theater’s auditorium was filled with dancing, swaying fans who sang along, at least half of them waving glowsticks or their phones. The atmosphere was like nothing Lee had ever experienced. He’d always been more of a library and board games kind of guy when it came to enjoying his free time. The last concert he had been to was Take That, which just went to show how long ago it’d been.
“This is so cool,” he called out to Drew as they settled into the box. He had to lean close to be heard, and when he did, Drew slid his arm around Lee’s waist the way he had with Nikky.
Lee felt that touch through his clothes and down to his skin. He breathed in the scent of Drew’s cologne and melted into the heat of his body, all as his heart thumped against his ribs. And their charade had only just begun.
The entire theater had been converted into something worthy of exactly the kind of concert happening around them. Even though it retained its original chandeliers and some of the classical painting, the boxes had been expanded into self-contained bars and party spots, and the chairs had been taken out of the main floor of the house, which looked more like a dance floor now. The balconies still had seating, but from what Lee could see, no one was actually sitting down.
As soon as Drew was spotted, it was like a tidal wave of attention rushed their booth. The opening act finished their set at roughly the same time, so the cheering they got transferred easily to Drew, who let go of Lee long enough to raise both hands and wave.
“Hello, everybody!” Drew called out, stepping to the edge of the box to get a better look at the audience.
They loved him. In an instant, Lee understood exactly why Drew had hit it big in record time after only one meteoric TV series. The man absolutely came alive in front of a crowd. He blew kisses, stuck his tongue out, laughed at himself, then flipped everyone off. And they ate it up. Lee had never seen anything like it. If he didn’t know better, he would have said Drew grew three inches taller as he waved and posed and beamed with happiness. The man was incandescent.
While Drew was hamming it up with the fans, Nikky stepped onto the stage. “Hi, Drew!” he called out, his voice amplified by his mic as his back-up band set up behind him.
“Hi, Nikky!” Drew answered, not amplified, but loud enough for everyone to hear him.
The audience went wild, and Drew laughed like he was having the time of his life before stepping back to where Lee, Abby, and Jessica waited for him.
“That was fun,” Drew said with a huge smile, looking right at Lee.
“You’re such an attention whore,” Abby laughed at him.
“No lies detected,” Drew laughed with her before Jessica handed him a drink from the bar in the corner of the box.
By then, Nikky had already started his set with, “Hello, London!”