It was the next day and Crow was feeling back to a hundred percent. His limbs no longer felt useless and his brain was functioning at full capacity. Apparently, he also looked better too, according to Jordan, who was now offering him a Bloody Mary.

“I’m ok, I promise,” Crow said, moving over to the table. Troy climbed onto the bus, followed by Angela. She was looking a little more casual in a black t-shirt and light jeans with ‘designer’ tears along the front. Franklin, his drummer, knocked on the door, which Angela had shut behind her. She cursed an apology and pressed the button to open the door, air hissing out as it opened.

“Sorry,” she said again as Franklin climbed up, his dark jeans intact but worn out at the knees. The bus could comfortably sleep seven, so they still had room for two more people. There were three bunk beds and then one king bed inside of the master bedroom, all the way at the end of the bus.

“It’s alright,” Franklin said, grabbing the Bloody Mary that Crow had turned away.

“So, what’s this letter thing everyone’s freaking out about?” It was Troy who asked. He sat down at the table across from Crow. Angela took the seat next to him, producing the note.

“You keep that with you everywhere you go?” Troy asked with a chuckle as he grabbed it and unfolded it.

“Our fingerprints are all over, so not like the cops are going to do anything with it. Hell, even if there were fingerprints, it’s not really actionable.” Angela shrugged as she unlocked her iPad and went straight to her emails.

Troy’s eyes got wider and wider as he read the note. Franklin’s interest was peeked, seeing as he shouted, “read it out loud!” from inside the bathroom.

“Dear Crow,” Troy started, adopting the voice of a dreamy teenage girl. “Your tour is going to introduce you to the world, so I wanted to let you know—before anyone else got any ideas—that you’re mine. All mine. I was there from the beginning, and I’ll be there for the end… Sorry that sounds so creepy, but it’s the truth. I won’t lie to you, baby. Ever. And I know you’re wondering who this is from, and you’ll definitely find out, but not just yet. I have to wait for the right time, otherwise I could risk losing you. So, keep on singing your heart out, I’ll be there with you every note along the way! Love, your number one fan.”

“Holy shit!” Franklin yelled.

“Yeah, I know,” Crow said, feeling a bad case of the chills coming on. “I mean, I’ve gotten weird letters and packages before—remember that one box we got a few months ago?”

“The one with only a weave inside?” Troy asked, folding the letter back up.

Crow chuckled. “Yeah, that one. People are weird… But, that letter definitely feels a little off. More off than a lone weave.”

“It’ll be fine,” Angela said, grabbing the letter. “I hired extra security for the trip, so no more random groupies walking up to our tour bus.”

Troy’s eyebrows raised. “Weren’t we tight on money?”

“Yeah, but I made it work. It’s not like a twenty-four seven thing, but we’ll have guys watching the tour bus and some of the higher capacity venues.” Angela looked down at her iPad. “I took a pay cut, it’s fine.”

“What?” Crow’s head snapped toward Angela. “Ang, you definitely don’t need to do that. Cut it from my checks, I don’t care. But don’t make it harder for yourself.”

She shook her head, not looking up from her calendar. “No way. It wasn’t that big of a cut anyway. I saved some pennies on a few other things too, so we’re all good.”

“Thank you,” Crow said, feeling lucky that he was surrounded by such an incredible team of people. Not only were they all insanely talented and hard-working, but they were also all genuinely good people.

“Of course,” she said, looking up when two knocks sounded on the door. “Oh, that must be the doctor.”

For a split second, Crow’s heart leaped up into his throat. It was quickly snapped back down like it was attached to a rubber band. He had no reason to be excited. There was only one doctor in this entire world that he’d be excited to see, and it definitely wasn’t whoever Angela had found to tour with them. He pulled his phone out from his khaki shorts and started looking for something to entertain himself with.

“Hi!” he heard Angela say. “You must be Doctor Winter?”

Crow’s eyes blazed up from the phone to the entrance. Winter. That last name was in no way popular. Did Ethan have a sister who also happened to be a doctor? He didn’t mention anything about her at the bar.

“You can call me Ethan.”

Crow’s mouth dried up, his pulse shot to the sky. It was Ethan. He couldn’t forget that voice. The one that vibrated through his entire body. He was suddenly nervous, like a middle schooler asking his first date to the school dance. He couldn’t even think about what this meant. Ethan and Crow were about to be stuck on a bus together for three months, traveling around the country, getting to know each other way deeper than Crow could have imagined.

Angela came up the steps first, moving aside so she could introduce Ethan to the crew. He climbed the last step and turned to look straight at Crow. Those baby blues were even more breathtaking in the sunlight. They glittered like they held an entire galaxy inside of them. Crow was speechless as Angela rattled off the names. Troy and the rest all went up to the front of the bus to shake hands. Jordan seemed particularly excited to say hi. Crow was last. He slid out of the booth and stood by the table, about six feet separating him and the man he thought he’d never see again.

“And this is Crow Kensworth,” Angela said, outstretching a hand, showing Crow off like she was suddenly Vanna White.

“We’ve met,” Ethan said, a smoldering smirk on his handsome face. He was wearing a simple light blue shirt and jeans, the shirt only enhancing those breathtaking eyes.

“Oh.” Angela stepped back, crossing her arms. Ethan held his hand out for a shake, but Crow ignored it. Instead, he went straight for a hug. It not only felt more appropriate, but it was also a great way of feeling the solid knots of muscle that formed Ethan’s back. And he smelled sooo fucking good, too. Like a mix between the beach and sex, two of Crow’s favorite things.

“Hi again,” Crow said as they separated.

“Who would have thought?” Ethan said, smiling a little wider. Crow loved his smile. It wasn’t an easy one to get, but it was so damn rewarding. Especially when Ethan smiled hard enough to show off those cute dimples that made Crow’s butterflies rage. They had only hung out that one night, but Crow could tell Ethan was more reserved than some other guys, so this smile felt like a damn Grammy.

* * *

“And we’re off!” Jordan cheered from the couch as the bus driver started the engines. This was it, the official start of Crow’s cross-country tour. Their first stop would be a club in Las Vegas, and so they headed east. Crow was sitting at the table, trying to keep his mind occupied by scrolling through Instagram. He couldn’t keep his thoughts from swerving back to Ethan Winter, who was currently in the bedroom with Troy, giving him a physical and introducing himself. He couldn’t believe how life twisted its way into the shape of a pretzel. He honestly thought he would go on the rest of his life wondering about the man that had stopped him right in his tracks.

Now that man was only a room away.

“Who wants a margarita!” Jordan slapped the table as he got up and walked over to the bar.

“Jordan, it’s nine in the morning,” Crow pointed out.

“Fine,” Jordan said, shrugging. “Mimosas it is. There, are you happy? Is that a little more socially acceptable?”

“In that case, I’ll take one,” Crow said with a smile.

Angela, who was working on confirming the hotels they would stay at, hung up the phone and turned her attention to the group, “Ok, so everyone knows where they’re sleeping tonight?”

“Hell yeah,” Jordan sang as he popped open the champagne. “Crow, you obviously don’t mind sharing the bed with me, right?”

“Very funny,” Angela said, not finding it very funny. “You’ll get the top bunk, Jordan. I’ll get the bottom. We’ll be staying at a few hotels, but obviously that costs money, which we aren’t rolling in right now. We lucked out on the tour bus, though, with some decent beds and a small shower that has to be very limited use. Water isn’t infinite on here. Maybe on the next tour we’ll have penthouse reservations every night, but for now, we’ll have to sacrifice.”

“How have ticket sales been?” Crow asked. He always hated asking logistical questions because he was always scared of the answer. He had a fear of hearing abysmal numbers and realizing his music wasn’t as loved as he thought it was.

“Good, Las Vegas and Phoenix are both sold out. Makes sense, they’re the soonest.” Angela referred to her iPad for the rest. “Then we have Albuquerque, which is almost sold out. Denver is looking good too. Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and Columbus are at about sixty percent sold. The east coast is taking a little longer, but they’re all proven procrastinators anyway. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be flawless. You’ve got me running this ship.”

Crow had stopped paying attention toward the end, even though he was normally hyper focused on the numbers if they were ever presented to him. But not when Ethan Winter walked into the room. What were numbers? What was air? Whastasdlahlsdf?

That was how Crow felt. Completely haywired.

“Crow?”

“Huh?”

“Did you not listen to what I just said?” Angela was looking up from her iPad, her annoyed gaze jumping from Crow to Ethan.

“Yeah, about procrastinators.”

Angela crossed her arms, clearly over it, but how could she blame him? Ethan Winter was a man that demanded complete and total attention the minute he stepped into a room. He had that kind of gravity to him. It was in the way he stood, legs apart, hands loose, jaw relaxed. And then in the way he walked, with strong, meaningful strides, even if he was just walking over to the couch. It was in those eyes.

Everything. Absolutely everything about the man was alluring.

Crow was in trouble.