“M’kay, I got it.” Mathias held up a hand for Maddox to shut up.
“Does my nephew have a name?” Maddox returned to the previous conversation.
Mathias scrubbed a hand over his lightly stubbled jaw. “It’s Liam.”
“So…are you going to tell mom she’s having a grandson named Liam, because you know she’s pissed you guys haven’t revealed the gender.”
“I might as well now.” Mathias tossed his hands in the air. “Can’t keep a fucking secret in this family. Everybody has to know everything.” He grumbled under his breath.
“You guys are going on in five.” A guy appeared at the front of the tent, holding up five fingers and wiggling them around. “Are you going to be ready?”
“Absolutely.” Maddox said, packing up his knitting supplies. “Although, we’re currently missing our guitar player. He’s probably getting a blowjob behind the tent. Would you mind fetching him for us? I’ve seen his dick one too many times.”
“Maddox!” Emma hissed, smacking his arm.
He chuckled and kissed her. She made a big show of wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.
The festival worker looked at Maddox in horror.
“He’s messing with you,” Ezra put the poor guy out of his misery, “don’t worry, I’ll get Hayes.”
“Uh…okay…thanks.” The guy ducked away.
“You know that guy is probably going to blab what you said and it’ll end up on TMZ by tomorrow.” Ezra eyed Maddox.
Maddox dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. “The media has said worse things about all of us before. This is nothing. Besides, Hayes has a sense of humor so he’ll think it’s funny. Unlike some people.” His gaze swiveled to his twin brother.
“Two minutes!” Someone called.
Hayes reappeared at this call and the guys headed to the back of the tent and out into the open air.
Emma and I went in the opposite direction to join the spectators.
The crowd was huge, but that was really no surprise.
The stage was fairly large with a screen behind it, flashing the Willow Creek logo.
Maddox’s drum kit already sat on the stage and I had to laugh. He’d had it custom painted with Sonic the Hedgehog—the video game hedgehog, not his pet.
Maddox was the first to bound onto the stage, so full of energy. He sat down behind his kit and began to tap out a beat as the other guys climbed the steps to the stage.
The girls had screamed at Maddox’s appearance, but now that the rest of the band had joined him the screams became deafening.
“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,” a girl beside me fanned her face, “I think I’m going to pass out.”
If she did I wouldn’t catch her.
Okay, that was mean of me, so I probably would help her out if she actually passed out but hopefully she could keep it together.
Emma snickered beside me.
Mathias grabbed the microphone, putting on his game face. He spoke charmingly to the crowd for a moment, hyping them up while Maddox continued to play a light beat in the background.
Mathias nodded to Hayes, giving him the cue.
Hayes began to play and the sound of his guitar blasted through us.
Mathias started to sing and Ezra joined in with the bass.
I loved watching Ezra play. He was always so in the zone, completely absorbed in the feel of the song. His foot tapped against the stage and he leaned into his bass, almost like he wished he could slip inside and become one with it. He bit his bottom lip and his eyes closed momentarily.
He was so beautiful.
And maybe that was a weird thing to think about a guy, but it was true. When he was up on stage, living his dream, and loving his music, he truly was beautiful.
Beside me Emma sang along to the song, really getting into it. She even busted out a few dance moves. Before Maddox she didn’t even listen to this kind of music. I loved that she’d managed to come out of her shell.
I joined her, singing and dancing to the song.
It was humid and in no time sweat drenched my body, but I didn’t care. I was having too much fun.
When I glanced back up at the stage my eyes connected with Ezra’s. Somehow he’d spotted me, even from this distance. He flashed me a smile before ducking his head and focusing on playing.
Mathias grasped the microphone, belting out the song like his very soul demanded he sing the words.
Hayes jumped around on the stage like he was possessed. I didn’t know how he managed to jump like that and play guitar at the same time.
Maddox’s drumsticks clashed against the cymbals and his shirt stuck to his chest with sweat. His messy brown hair was just as damp.
When the guys were on stage they truly performed, they didn’t just stand there. They made you feel and live the music with them.
When their set ended fireworks went off. I turned to Emma with surprise in my eyes.
“What did you expect?” She laughed. “It’s Willow Creek. This town pulls out the big guns for them.”
“Obviously.”
We ducked out of the crowd and headed back into the tent.
The guys joined us a few minutes later. All of them were sweaty, their faces flushed from the heat. Hayes grabbed a bottle of water, drinking at it greedily. The other guys grabbed waters as well.
Maddox stripped off his shirt, giving everyone an eyeful of his abs. One of the women working in the tent sighed happily and Emma glared at her.
“Put your shirt back on before you get mauled.” She demanded.
Maddox grinned, wiping a dribble of water off his chin. “Aw, babe, are you jealous?” He glanced in the direction of the woman who was trying to busy herself by restocking the refrigerator, but kept stealing glances at the half-naked drummer.
“Of course not.” Emma scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I think it’s hot when you get jealous,” he told her, striding over. “But the shirt is staying off for now. I’m too hot.” He fanned himself. “This heat is ridiculous. Are you sure you want us to vacation at a beach? Because right about now, escaping to some place cold sounds like a mighty fine idea, don’t you want to see my epic snowboarding skills?”
“Don’t go changing plans now,” she warned him, “you’ll confuse everyone.”
“When are we supposed to leave for this vacation?” Mathias asked, sinking down into a chair. He said the word vacation like it left a sour taste in his mouth. I figured after being on tour for so long he didn’t want to travel, but Emma was adamant that she wanted all of us to go, and I knew all of the guys would do anything to make her happy.
“Next Friday, and we’ll be gone for a week,” Emma replied.
“When does the meet and greet start?” Hayes interrupted, running his fingers through his damp hair.
“Thirty minutes,” Maddox said, looking at the watch on his wrist.
“Good. I’m starving, so that gives me a chance to stuff my face.”
“Didn’t you eat before you guys went on stage?” I asked.
He shrugged, grabbing a plate and piling food on it. “I’m already hungry.”
“Hayes is always hungry.” Mathias rolled his eyes. “He’s a bottomless fucking pit.”
“When you have a kid are you still going to use the word fuck in every sentence?” Maddox glared at his brother.
“Hey, I’m working on it,” Mathias growled, “it’s pretty fucking hard to stop using a word you’ve said all of your life.”
Maddox sighed. “My nephew is going to have a potty mouth.” He tossed his hands up, like he was already resigned to this fact. “He’s going to end up calling me Uncle Fucking Maddox.”
“Sounds good to me.” Mathias grinned. Actually grinned—like his lips lifted and he showed his teeth and everything.
Maddox laughed and so did Mathias. They looked more like twins to me in that moment than they ever had. Despite being identical, it was always easy to tell them apart. Maddox had an easy smile, while Mathias’ face was usually pinched with irritation.