Clenching Kiera’s hand, I stopped directly in front of the trio. I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my hair. They all shifted their gazes to me, their faces expectant. Exhaling slowly, I felt change in the air. And I felt powerless to stop it from coming. Knowing I couldn’t put this off any longer, I locked eyes with Matt. “I’m in,” I told him.

All of the guys instantly reacted to my words. Evan’s grin was wide and proud—he was happy I’d taken a chance on this. Griffin smacked the table, letting out a loud yell of excitement. And Matt was instantly on his feet. He gleefully wrapped an arm around my shoulders—his face was the happiest I’d ever seen it. “This is gonna be great, Kell. You’ll see.”

God…I hoped so. Because I was risking everything for this.

The guys surrounded me after that, flooding me with their sheer joy, then later, people around the bar started figuring out what was going on and began congratulating us. The good-natured energy at our table was contagious, and after a while, I finally started relaxing, finally started getting excited. Everything else aside, this was an epic moment for us. A tour…a freaking tour. Just saying the word in my head seemed surreal. The thought of actually being out there doing it was kind of mind-blowing.

By the time we had to leave Pete’s for a show at another bar, I was brimming with endorphins, and actually starting to look forward to our upcoming adventure. I would have loved to finish the night out at Pete’s celebrating with my friends, but unfortunately, it was time for us to go.

Leaving took longer than usual; we were all a little reluctant to take off, even Matt. And especially Griffin, who was loving the adoration. Evan and Matt finally wrangled him to the door, but not before he told the bar, “Thank you all, my loyal subjects. And don’t worry, I won’t ever forget you when I’m famous—I’ll only refuse to acknowledge your existence!”

Jackass. Rolling my eyes at him, I headed over to Kiera, to say goodbye properly…and to make sure she was still okay. She had an adorable scowl of annoyance on her face; it was a look she almost constantly had around Griffin. It morphed into something warm and loving when she shifted to look up at me. God, I loved watching that transformation.

Crooking a grin, I tilted my head back at where the tool had disappeared. “What do you think will do him in first? Drugs, money, or women?”

Smiling, she slipped her arms around my waist. “I’m pretty sure it will be a combination of all three.”