Don't Read in the Closet volume one (44 page)

Laughing
softly, Jackson moved his hand to the back of Ash’s head and guided him down to
his lips again.

CHAPTER 7

Ash walked
through the crowed backstage area, dodging around other performers, staff,
media, and security. Fans stalked with their backstage passes,
pouncing
him at every turn for pictures and autographs. He
appreciated everyone’s attention, but at this moment he wished everyone would
just get out of his damn way. He’d been trying to find Jackson since arriving
at the stadium and managed to be completely unsuccessful.

With all the
people, he wasn’t sure if Jackson would want him hanging around, but he
couldn’t help it. He’d be happy with just a glimpse of him since they had to
leave each other sooner than he wanted that morning with both of them having
early interviews, and for the first time since they’d met in person, they
parted with kisses instead of hurt emotions.

Maybe it was
because of that he wanted to see Jackson again. Ash grinned to himself. Or
maybe it was because of when he woke Jackson that morning with one hand on
Jackson’s dick, one finger in his ass, Jackson’s deep drowsy voice asking for
more was almost enough to make him come. Yeah, that could definitely be part of
why he wanted even just a glimpse of him. Anything to hold him over until he
could get Jackson like that again.

Ash saw a crowd
gathered ahead, a mix of security, fans, and reporters. A beige cowboy hat rose
out of the center, and he didn’t need to see more to know he’d found Jackson.
He started toward the crowd. Some fans spotted him and rushed him. He sighed,
then
called upon his best publicity smile as they
approached, reaching for the first pen offered to him for an autograph.

Ash glanced up
as a fan moved to his side to pose for a picture together, his gaze catching
Jackson’s. A smile curved one corner of Jackson’s lips. Even with his face
shadowed by the cowboy hat, Ash couldn’t miss the sensual look in Jackson’s
eyes. It seemed he wasn’t the only one whose thoughts had been on their morning
together.

Ash felt a pull
inside him to go to Jackson, wrap him in his arms,
kiss
him before the media. It wouldn’t be the first time the paparazzi caught him
kissing a guy, but it would be Jackson’s and that’s what stopped him. He knew
Jackson wasn’t ready. Just because he lived life out loud didn’t mean he wasn’t
able to understand how difficult it was for Jackson. Celebrity or not, it was a
personal decision that only the person going through it could know when the
time was right, and until Jackson felt it was right, he wouldn’t pressure him.
But he would stay a friend to him. He’d already decided that. Even if the
intimate side of their relationship ended after this concert, he wanted to stay
close to Jackson to always be able to support him.

A shout from a
reporter broke through Ash’s thoughts.

“Ash Ivers!
Over here! Ash!”

Ash looked at
the guy standing on the outer circle of the group surrounding Jackson. Other
paparazzi whipped around, cameras aimed at him, more calling him to come
nearer. Ash lifted a hand, waving them off. All he’d wanted was to get a
glimpse of Jackson. He’d gotten that so he could get by for a few hours more.
Ash turned to leave, finding
himself
already getting
surrounded by media.

A paparazzo
pushed in front of him. “Ash! You realize Jackson Abrams is standing less than
twenty feet away, don’t you?”

Ash snorted at
the guy’s over-enthusiasm. “I thought it was more like thirty, but yeah, I saw
him.”

“How do you
feel about playing this concert with him?” another asked.

“It’s not like
we’re going to be on stage together,” Ash said. “There are a hell of a lot of
performers playing today, not just me and him.”

“Yeah, but how
do you feel about his comment that you’re not right for this event because of
your promiscuity?”

“Goddamn, why
does everyone think I’m such a manwhore? Listen, as far as that comment goes,
it’s
water under the bridge. I don’t have any hard feelings
against Jackson for it.”

Another voice
spoke up, one Ash knew well.

“Y’all need to
quit trying to get us into another argument. And furthermore,” Jackson stopped
at Ash’s side and laid his hand on Ash’s shoulder, “I owe Ash an apology for
that comment.” He looked at him. “It was wrong of me to make assumptions about
your personal life, and I’m sorry. You and From Ashes couldn’t be a better
choice to play this concert.”

Ash stared at
him, speechless, and it seemed for the split-second of silence, so were the
reporters. The paparazzi rebounded with a barrage of questions, one being the
most popular, just asked various ways.

“What happened
between you two?”

“Have you
called a truce?”

“Are you
friends now?”

“What broke the
animosity between you?”

Ash snapped
back to the moment and looked to the reporters, holding up a hand. “Hey! Cool
it! If you want answers, stop asking questions.” With saying that, he wondered
how he
was
going to answer. Jackson started this show, now he was in the
middle of it. He was so going to bitch at him for this one. As the reporters
grew quieter, Ash glanced toward Jackson, trying to prompt him with a look.
Hopefully he’d planned a way out.

Jackson draped
his arm around Ash’s shoulders, speaking to the crowd. “You see, the nice thing
about this show is no media is allowed over by the artists’ trailers and buses.
No offense to any of you, but y’all can be kind of noisy and nosey.”

The reporters
chuckled lightly at Jackson’s joke.

“And another
nice thing about it, this is the first time Ash and I ever got a chance to
really talk without pressure from anyone else. There have been a lot of
misunderstandings over the past few years between us, but we’re putting all
that behind us. Besides, I have a confession to make.” Jackson paused, letting
the paparazzi squirm with wanting the news. “I’m actually a huge From Ashes
fan. Have been even since before I beat them at the Grammy’s for Best New
Artist.”

Ash laughed.
“You just had to get that dig in, didn’t you?”

The reporters
didn’t seem as amused. If anything, they appeared disappointed. Ash figured it
was most likely because they were seeing a guaranteed source of income
vanishing now that he and Jackson were publicly calling an end to their feud.

Another
paparazzo spoke up. “What about you, Ash? Do you feel the same way as Jackson?”

Ash tossed his
arm around Jackson’s shoulders. “I’m standing here beside him, aren’t I?
Seriously, you guys should be ashamed of yourselves, acting depressed because
we’re not fighting anymore. When people can overlook the things that make them
different from each other, even something as small as the kind of music they
like, it’s good for them and everyone around them.”

A few grumbles
of agreement came from the reporters, but slowly they began filing away. They
still snapped shots of him and Jackson
together,
since
it would be the last big story they’d get on them. Ash allowed himself a smirk.
Or so they thought. He and Jackson could hit the media in a whole other way
someday.

With the
paparazzi gone in search of more profitable stories and fans having cleared
away for a moment, Ash turned to Jackson, taking in how he was dressed in a
tight white tank top, black leather pants, and black cowboy boots. “Damn. I’ve
never seen you dressed like this before.”

“I dress like
this a lot for my concerts.” Jackson touched the top of his leather pants.
“I’ve got a little bit of rock ‘n roll in me too, you know.”

“There’re so
many places I want to go with that, but I’ll just say, yeah, I know. Those
pants look amazing on you. Even with the big gold belt buckle of the bull with
its ass in the air.”

Jackson
chuckled. “It’s bucking.”

Ash stepped
closer to him, his voice lowering against listening ears. “Well whatever its
doing, it’s not attractive, but it’s also hardly noticeable with the way those
pants hug your crotch. You’re not wearing underwear, are you?”

“There’s only
one way for you to find out.”

“With that kind
of invitation, maybe we should head back to your trailer.”

An excited
female interrupted, calling, “Ash Ivers! Jackson Abrams!”

Ash turned to
see three women approaching them, the backstage passes around their necks
revealing them as fans. He glanced back to Jackson. “We’re going to finish this
talk as soon as possible.” He looked to the women. “Hey, ladies! Welcome to the
show.” He offered his hand to the closest. “What are your names?”

The woman took
his hand. “I’m Mel. It’s great to meet you.”

“Thank you.”
Ash shook the next woman’s hand. “And you are…”

“Tina. We were
all hoping we’d get to meet you today.” She looked at Jackson. “Both of you.”

Jackson
followed Ash’s example and started shaking the women’s hands. “That’s very kind
of you.”

Ash extended
his hand to the last woman. “And you?”

“Laura. I’m so
excited to meet both of you! Would it be okay if we took a couple pictures with
you guys?”

“Absolutely,”
Ash said, flagging down a staff member to act as photographer.

He and Jackson
posed with each one individually,
then
stood in a
group, their arms around the three women. Ash spoke while keeping his smile for
the pictures, “I’m not sure who just touched my ass, but whoever it was, if you
want to grope on
me
do it harder next time. I like it
rough.”

Laughter broke
out from everyone. Jackson shook his head at him. Ash gave him a covert wink,
making Jackson laugh harder.

Collecting her
camera from the staff member, Mel turned back to Ash and Jackson. “I’m
surprised to see you both together. All that fighting between you guys, was
that just for show?”

Ash shook his
head. “No, that was totally legit. But with playing this gig, we talked and
realized we’ve got more in common than the petty crap we’ve been fighting
about.”

All three gave
nods that seemed all too knowing.

“We’re glad to
hear that,” Tina said. “Makes life easier on us fans.”

“Yeah, now we
can feel like
it’s
okay to love on both of you and not
be cheating on the other,” Laura added.

Jackson looked
to Ash. “Well damn. We should’ve done this long ago if that’s how people have
felt. We can share each other’s fans now.”

Ash folded his
arms across his chest, his expression getting an annoyed tint. “You know, I
never thought of that. I need to have a serious talk with my manager. He
should’ve thought of it for me. I’ve been missing out on fans because of it.”

“But not too
many, I think,” Mel said. She lifted her hand in a wave as she and her friends
turned away. “Thanks for the pictures. We can’t wait to see you guys on stage!”

Jacked waved
back, lowering his voice for only Ash’s ears. “Why did it seem like they knew
something that no one else should know?”

Ash shrugged.
“Don’t know. Maybe they saw you grope my ass.”

“Now I
can
say I wasn’t the one who did that.” Jackson grinned and dipped his head toward
him, his voice hushing in a deeper tone. “But it’s good to know how I should
when I do.”

Ash brushed
Jackson’s hand with his fingertips. “I like you picking up where we left off.
Let’s go to your trailer and finish.”

“I want to, but
the show’s going to kick off soon and I gotta get ready to go on.”

“But you’re one
of the closers.”

“Yeah, well,
you know how they moved you and your guys to anchor the middle? They moved me
up to come out second after the openers.”

“That’s
bullshit!”

Jackson
startled back at Ash’s bellow.

Ash raised a
hand in apology. “I mean, it’s not bullshit that you’ve got that spot, but damn
it, that’s where I wanted to play.” His voice shifted to hold an accusatory
edge. “Did you know that we’d been in that spot originally and took it anyhow?”