Free Good Time Bad Boy by Sonya Clark Page B

then took the water. He took a drink, swirled the water in his mouth and spat. “Just nervous.”
    “You’re serious? You’re really that nervous?” She pulled spare napkins from an apron pocket and gave him one.
    “I’m fucking terrified.” He wiped his mouth and took another drink, swallowing this time.
    “You sound awful. Will you be able to sing?”
    Wade raised the water bottle. “A little more of this and my throat will be fine.” He drank again. “Come on.” He indicated the door and led her away from the spot where he’d been sick.
    “Is this normal?” Maybe it wasn’t a put-on when he’d said he was shy.
    “Not so much anymore.” He leaned against the wall to the left of the door. “Big concerts. Awards shows. Every time I played the Opry. Nothing’s made me sick like this in a long time.”
    Daisy thought of all those people inside who’d come out on a Thursday night just to see him perform. “It’s just a little hometown bar. But that’s why it scares you, isn’t it? These people know you.”
    “Got another napkin?” She gave him two. He tipped water on them and rubbed his face and neck. Then he wadded up all three napkins and threw them into the open dumpster. “Some of those people in there came for a good show. Some of them came to see me fuck up. If my brother’s there, let’s just say, he won’t be expecting a good show.”
    “I didn’t see Chris but I did see your mom. Are you really that much of a screw up?”
    Wade narrowed his eyes. “You are very direct.”
    She shrugged. “I figure big stars like you have plenty of people to kiss your ass. You don’t need one more.”
    “I am sadly lacking in ass kissers these days. It really wouldn’t hurt for me to have one.”
    “How did you get through those shows that made you sick before?”
    “How late am I?”
    “A minute or two. I’ll let you be a little bit of a diva since it’s your first night, but don’t take too long. You need to get your shit together and get on that stage.”
    “Every single woman in my life is merciless. What did I do to deserve that?”
    “I’d probably have to Google you to answer that and I don’t have my phone on me. So come on, tell me what got you through nights like this in the past.”
    He’d left his hat somewhere inside. The early evening summer light picked out the telltale gray in his hair and deepened the shadows in his eyes. Despite the gray, he looked young and vulnerable and altogether too handsome for her own good.
    “Any time I start getting nervous on stage, I find one person in the audience to focus on. Like I’m singing just for them. That usually gets me through the first few songs, then I loosen up and everything just.” He snapped his fingers. “It falls into place.”
    “Well, your mother’s out there. She’s a nice lady so I can’t imagine she’s here to see you fail. Focus on her. Start with some of her favorite songs and just go with that until it falls into place.”
    “Okay.” He took another drink of water. “Okay, I think my shit is together.”
    Daisy stepped closer and smoothed a lock of hair out of his eyes, her fingers sliding across his warm skin. “Put on a good show. We’re hoping for good tips tonight.”
    He grabbed her wrist and slid her hand into his. Palm to palm and fingers entwined was both a casual way to touch but also somehow shockingly intimate. Electricity passed from his skin to hers and back, lighting a low burning flame that traveled from her hand slowly to the rest of her body. Nerve endings sparked with sensation and she swallowed a dry lump in her throat, telling herself to pull away but for some reason unable to. Not because he held her too tight. Because she just didn’t want to move. She liked her hand in his just fine.
    “Thank you,” he said.
    “Yeah.” She had to think back to remember what he might have been thanking her for.
    Then he disappeared through the door and she was left standing in the alley,