Page 33 of Anything But Lonely

“Em, you okay?” Liam’s face comes into focus in front of me, Crew still on his shoulders as he claps—a one-man audience.

I shake my head, my bangs tickling my forehead. “Fine,” I answer, and we both pretend not to notice the crack in my voice.

“Someone a little starstruck?” Liam raises a brow, a smirk on his boyish face.

I cross my arms, thankful for the playfulness. “Jealous?” I feel my lips curl, the harmless flirting making me feel more like myself—the version I’ve been trying to be.

Liam holds Crew’s ankles as he sways back and forth to the music now playing over the speakers as the audio team messes around with the volume. “You have no idea,” Liam replies. “If I were playing a show and had someone looking at me like you were looking at Mateo Lane,” he pauses, blowing out a dramatic breath. “Let’s just say, I don’t think Crew will be the only one calling Mateo “daddy” by the end of this tour.”

I roll my eyes, letting Liam’s words go in one ear and out the other. “Good one,” I deadpan. “How long have you been waiting to say that one?”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “Since you texted me you got the job.”

I snort, the admission being funnier than the joke itself. I look up at Crew to ask him how he liked watching his dad sing when I hear my name over the speaker, instantly pulling my attention to the stage.

I step around him to find Mateo looking at me. Only this time, there’s no tension in his shoulders, no darkened eyes, no clenched jaw. He’s breathing hard as he runs a tattooed hand through his hair before waving me over. “Come meet everyone.”

It takes a second for my feet to move. I don’t take a step until Liam lowers Crew to the ground, and I finally come back to myself. Reaching my hand out for Crew to grab, he takes it eagerly. There’s a skip to his step as we make our way to the stage.

The lyrics of the song they just finished float around my brain, the familiar chords echoing in my mind even as I try to ignore them, along with Liam’s words.

Liam has no idea what he saw—and he has no idea that teasing me about my attraction to Mateo is like laughing at water being wet.

Obvious in a way that I can’t even be embarrassed about.

But I’m not going to act on it. Especially not after today.

I’ve had too many close calls with feelings already, and too many reminders that all they do is fuck everything up.

“Hey, guys.” Mateo’s voice carries across the stage, pulling the attention of the rest of the band. The three guys make their way over to where Crew and I are standing, meeting us at the center of the stage where Mateo is waiting.

“You all know Crew,” he says, reaching down and scooping him up before Crew can even protest.

My eyes follow the movement before I can stop them.

It’s unfair how easily he does it.

How natural he looks with Crew tucked against his side, one hand holding his son securely while the other grabs the microphone he’d been using moments before. Like somehow he can go from commanding an entire stage to being just a dad in the span of a breath.

And it’s annoying that he’s more attractive like this.

Crew gives fist bumps to each of the three band members, proudly accepting every introduction like he’s been part of the group for years.

Then Mateo turns back toward me.

“Eddie, Theo, and Silas,” he says, pointing to each of the guys.

I nod in greeting, but my attention betrays me for half a second, catching on Mateo instead.

And it pisses me off.

Because I noticed him last night. I noticed the way he flushed, the way he tapped his fingers or bounced his legs with nervous energy, the way he watched me this morning with Crew.

But seeing him here is different. There’s confidence, the way he carries himself, the way everyone seems to wait for his word.

Maybe it's the stage lights catching the sharp lines of his face. Maybe it's the way his black shirt stretches across his shoulders, or the way the veins in his forearm pop out as he holds the microphone, even when he’s not singing. Whatever it is, it's fucking frustrating.

Liam and the other guys from Sugarcoated Lies make their way toward us, and I force my attention away before I can get caught staring.