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sworn he actually looked impressed. He s got his work cut out for him.
That s what I told him. But he seems to think I m not a lost cause.
In that case, maybe I ve been too quick to judge him. It certainly sounds like he
cares. He stood. If you want to keep seeing him, fine. But I don t want you spending
every night at his place, or going over there without letting me know. I m forty-three
now. My old heart can t take the stress the way it used to. Deal?
He held out his hand, and Brian took it. It felt good warm and strong. And was it
his imagination, or was that a glint of respect in his father s eyes? Deal. And thanks. I
know you ll like him once you get to know him better.
I m looking forward to it. But now I really do need to get to work. Try to stay out
of trouble, at least for the rest of today, all right?
Brian smiled. I ll do my best.
63
Cat Grant
Chapter Seven
By noon Brian was going quietly insane. After showering, changing clothes and
making himself a bowl of microwave oatmeal, he had literally nothing else to do. His
fingers itched to practice. Now he could ve kicked himself for not bringing his guitar
with him. He could ve told his dad he d borrowed one of Chase s.
Or maybe he should ve just brought all his things upstairs and told the truth. He
hated lying. All it ever did was get him into more hot water. Dad was right he needed
to start making better choices. He d come clean tonight and take his lumps.
But now there was something else he needed to do. Something that had been eating
at him since yesterday. He threw on a jacket and hopped the subway across town to
Chelsea, his stomach twisting in knots as he trudged up the street to the Icon. He
hesitated at the front door, then shoved it open and ambled inside.
The place seemed pretty quiet, except for a handful of early-afternoon customers
gathered at the far end of the bar, sipping beer and watching a RuPaul s Drag Race rerun
on the forty-inch plasma screen. Cameron stood at the sink, rinsing glasses. He swung
around to grab a towel, eyes popping wide when he saw Brian. Thank God you re all
right. Have you been home yet? Your dad was pretty fucking frantic this morning.
He d expected Cam to chew him out, but at least he sounded more concerned than
pissed off. Yeah, it s fine. We talked or actually, he let me have it. Which I totally
deserved.
Well, it s good to hear you admit it. And for the record, I was worried too.
For the first time ever, Brian believed him. Thanks, Cam. I appreciate it.
Cameron smiled. Since I can t serve you a beer, I m assuming there s some other
reason for this visit?
64
A Fool for You
Yeah, I, um& Deep breath. I m sorry for the way I behaved yesterday. You were
just trying to help me out, and I was a real asshole about it. If you can see your way
clear to giving me another chance, I d like to have that job back. I won t give you any
more trouble, I promise.
Hmm. Cameron tapped his fingers on the bar, the space between his eyes going
all crinkly. I guess I could give you a trial run. Go on back and get started. You
remember where the broom is, right?
How could I forget? Brian headed for the office door.
God, the storeroom was an even bigger mess than he remembered. Every sweep of
the broom kicked up more dust. Good thing he d put on the face mask, although he still
had to stop every few minutes to wipe the grit from his watery eyes. He kept at it until
he d filled up a ten-gallon trash bag with dust bunnies, scraps of paper and cardboard
and shards of broken glass. Then he got down on his knees with a dustpan and hand-
broom to dig into all the corners and hard-to-reach spots.
Awhile later, Cameron poked his head in. You okay in here? I haven t heard a
peep out of you all after His mouth dropped open. Wow! Not bad. In fact, it hasn t
looked this clean in ages.
Thanks. Brian beamed, running a hand through his dust-encrusted hair. He d
need another shower when he got home tonight. Feels good to stay busy, get stuff
done.
Glad to hear it. When you re finished here, the backstage area could use some
sweeping up too. After you ve had your break, of course. Take half an hour and go
relax and have a soda.
Oh, okay. But isn t there something I could do out front? Just to mix it up a bit?
I think there s a grease trap in the kitchen you can scrub out.
Brian s happy expression crumpled. Y-You re kidding, right?
65
Cat Grant
Cameron laughed. You ve apparently never heard the old expression, Never do
anything well that you d rather not do at all. Looks like you ve lucked into a job, kiddo.
Sure you still want it?
Yeah, it was dusty and dirty, but what were his alternatives? Flipping burgers at
Mickey D s? Not that he could even get that kind of a job here. At least Cameron was
family sort of. Until he got with another band, this was the best he could hope for.
Might as well keep his head down and get it done. Yeah, of course I do. Thanks for
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