Page 92 of Play For Me

“Your family is in the dressing room with the band,” one of the burly guys says as we enter into a crowded back hallway. “Right this way.”

Cecelia takes my hand again and looks up at me. There’s no disguising the worry on her face now. “If it’s too much, you’ll let me know, right?”

I know she’s concerned about the crowd, about the noise. She’s just looking out for me because she cares about me, but God, there’s a part of me that hates it. Hates that she feels the need to do this. Hates that she has a good reason for worrying about me. Hates that just about everyone in my life assumes I can’t be trusted to handle shit.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” I say, trying to keep the sharpness out of my voice. But from the way she winces slightly, I’m not so sure I succeeded.

But there’s not much time to worry about it, because a moment later we’re being ushered into what I assume is the dressing room. There’s a chorus of shouts and welcomes, loud enough to be heard over the blaring music. “The Littles have arrived!” someone yells and then I’m being pushed into the room with the rest of them.

It’s…damn. Okay. This is alotof people. I was bracing myself for what it would be like out on the floor once the show started but I hadn’t thought to worry about what it would be like backstage. It would be one thing if the crowd surrounding us were strangers that I could ignore, but I’m pretty sureallof these people are related to Cecelia.

“Oh,fuck,” she whispers next to me, and I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing. But then I realize her eyes are locked on a group of four men who are coming through the crowd toward us. Four men who look very familiar.

“Holy shit,” Jay mutters, gripping my arm. “That’s Ransom, dude. That’s like,allof them.” I shake his hand off, because the last thing I need is him touching me right now, but he doesn’t shut up. “That’s Daltrey Ransome. Oh my God. Daltrey.Ransome.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I tell him, digging an elbow into his side to try and get him to snap out of it. At least his freaking out is keeping me from thinking too hard about the fact that Cecelia does not seem at all happy for her dad and uncles to see me here with her.

“You know what,” Cade says, stepping in between Jay and Em. “Why don’t we go check out the catering table. You were starving, right, Jay?”

I’m sure Cade just wants to give us a little more room before Cecelia’s parents get here. Jay clearly wants to object, eager to meet the rock stars, but Cade is already nudging them away. “And I think my mom is over there, so I can introduce you.”

The chance to meet Haylee Hunt cheers them both right up and Cecelia shoots her cousin a grateful look as he goes.

“Baby girl!” the shortest guy of the group cries, grabbing her into a hug. He lifts her up off her feet. "Where have you been? I haven’t seen you inages.”

“I saw you last weekend,” she mutters, squirming out of his embrace. “I thought you guys had a movie premiere.”

He waves his hand. “Levi got us out of it.”

“Good old Uncle Levi,” she says, her voice a little high-pitched.

The other cousins are also greeting their insanely famous fathers and I wonder if anyone would notice if I made a break for it right now.

But then Cash Ransome’s eyes lock on mine. And narrow.

“Is this him?”

My stomach drops to my knees. Did she tell her dad about me? Why didn’t she warn me that she told her dad about me?

I’m definitely breathing too fast right now. I need to calm down or things will get really bad, really fast.

“Daddy,” Cecelia says through clenched teeth. She shoots me an apologetic look. “This is my friend, Solomon Barnes. He’s helping me with my injury rehab.”

“Not just a friend from what I hear,” a loud, feminine voice interrupts, and I get a brief glimpse of a woman who looks exactly like Vega before I’m being engulfed in a hug.

“Aunt Paige,” Cecelia yelps, grabbing at the woman’s arm. “Can you be chill for five seconds?”

“What?” The Vega look-alike says—very loudly, right in my ear. “I’m just excited. You’ve never had a boyfriend before!”

“Oh my God,” Cecelia mutters. She looks so horrified that I almost feel better—she’s cute as hell when she’s freaking out.

Luckily the actual Vega appears at the moment and pries who I’m sure is her mother off me. “Mom, calm your tits. Sol is not used to your brand of crazy.”

The other Littles are intervening too, moving their parents away from us. Cade says something to Em and Jay about taking them to get food and introducing them to his mom. I get the sense they’re all trying to make some space for us—or for me in particular, if the worried looks they’re shooting in my direction is anything to go by. Great. They’re all thinking that I’m about to lose it.

They’re not exactly far off base.

I take a deep breath and push down the anxiety and nausea and focus on Cecelia’s dad.Cash Ransome!my inner anxiety voice shrieks, but I ignore that too. “Hello, Mr. Ransome,” I say, holding out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”