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“Is she a musician?” I asked him, hoping to get more insight into what made Tony tick.

“I don’t know what she does now. I haven’t seen her since I was small. I don’t blame her for not wanting to go back to that house. Being in the same city with my old man was still too close for me. This place is beautiful. I can see why you come here when you want to get away from everything.”

“Lately, the only thing I’ve wanted was to have moments like this with you,” I said. “I know things are going to get stressful once the tour kicks off. You’ll be balancing a lot all at once, the shows, the signings, trying to write new music in between that and still get some sleep before you have to do it all over again. I’m warning you now that the time will come when I will drag you away from all of that, especially if I see you headed for a meltdown. It’s too easy to burn out among all that chaos and not have anyone notice.”

“You’d never let that happen.”

“You’re damn right I won’t,” I growled, stopping so I could tug him closer and kiss him.

Charming and a bit dreamy eyed, that’s how he looked up at me when I finished kissing him.

“Even…even if we weren’t together, you’d never let anything happen to one of us,” Tony said. “Just like Pressley wouldn’t. You guys don’t just care about us because of our talents. It showed right from the beginning when you got on me about not reading my contract before I signed it.”

“You best believe that I will be right there to make sure you read the next one before you scrawl your name on it, too. No ifs, ands, or buts, unless it’s me taking a bite of yours for rushing.”

I’d do it too. He’d better not think about testing me on it.

“It’s weird,” he muttered and for a moment I was afraid I’d gone too far.

Dammit, all I wanted to do was protect him like his sperm donor should’ve done, especially if his mama had walked out on them when he was a kid.

“I can’t describe what it feels like to have you worry about me like that,” Tony said. “Maybe one day I’ll be able to sort them all out and put them in a song or something. Organizing words is just about as hard as sorting out feelings.”

“We’ll get the hang of it, together. The feeling’s part, that is. The words you’re on your own with unless you like a profanity ridden tirade.”

“Some of those have been chart toppers over the years,” Tony pointed out. “Rage Against the Machine dropped hella F-bombs in Killing in the Name and look at how it worked out for them.”

“Okay, you got me there,” I said.

We wandered along the sand for a little while longer, before heading back to the hotel. Tony spotted the hot tubs on the way through the lobby and changed into his swim trunks before I’d even unzipped my bag once we were back in our room. When he got excited about something he lost his filter and his ability to restrain himself. On one hand, it’s what had landed him the gig with Imminent Danger, on the other, I could see where it might get him into some sticky situations from time to time.

Boulders surrounded the hot tubs, providing a bit of privacy for each unit. We headed for the one in the far corner, well away from everyone else, the steaming water drawing soft sighs from Tony as he pressed against my side, my arm draped over his shoulders.

“This is amazing,” Tony moaned.

“Like hot tubs, do you?” I said, committing that to memory.

“Love them,” Tony explained. “Bowie and I got a series of gigs at a ski lodge a couple years ago. Came with a room and everything. At night we’d play our acoustic guitars for the guests who were sitting around the fireplace. Drank our fill of cocoa too. Sometimes we’d play around the firepits outside, writing songs. No one cared if we wanted to hang out in one of the hot tubs chilling at three in the morning. Sometimes I’d stay out there even after he went inside to crash, just thinking about things, you know.”

“All too well.”

“What made you choose this life?”

Chuckling, I stared at the stars and thought back to those early days and Sal’s dream of launching artists the world would never forget. “Sal gave me a job at a time when I had no idea what was supposed to come next. I’d just graduated from high school, had barely turned eighteen, had no intention of going to college, and wanted to be close to the music I loved. In the beginning, I handled a lot of the heavy lifting. Later, I started to learn the ins and outs of stage layouts and the best way to set things up for the bands based on their performance styles. It became an artform for me. There are times when I’ll be at an event and I’ll spot guys scrambling around, creating a mess I know the band is going to struggle with later, and it’s all I can do to keep from marching over and telling them how to set it up right.”

“Mmm, kinda sounds familiar.”

“Boy, you blew me away that day,” I admitted. “I was so over those shitheads wasting our time when they knew they couldn’t carry a tune if it was tattooed on their bodies. When you stepped in, that was ballsy as hell. That was the moment I knew I needed to know you better.”

“I thought I was about to get kicked out of there,” Tony admitted. “But I could not sit there and listen to them butcher that song.”

“Someday you guys will be interviewed about how the band came together and you and Bowie will have a hell of a story to tell.”

“We’re living our dream right now. What happens if we can’t hold on to it? The last thing I’ve ever wanted to do was prove my old man right when he said that I would never make it in the industry.”

“Only you have,” I said, hugging him close. “You’ve got mentors who have been where you guys are right now and they know the challenges, distractions, and the things that can tear a band a part. Lean on them when you need to. Address issues with your bandmates when they come up and put your heads together to find a solution. When you become as tight as Social and Maiden are, there’s nothing you won’t be able to overcome.”

“I didn’t mean for us to start talking about work on our vacation,” Tony said.