Serpentine Walls (36 page)

Oh, please,
responded his inner critic
, be more pompous
, but Pete paid him no mind. Pompous or not, it was the truth.

The heady feeling from his epiphany only increased when a pair of arms came around his waist and he felt himself pulled back against Matthew’s chest.

“Hi there,” Matthew murmured, dropping his head so that his chin rested on Pete’s shoulder. His hair danced softly on Pete’s cheek, his heart beating against his back.

“Hi.”

They watched the rest of Aidan’s performance in silence, swaying back and forth. Pete stroked Matthew’s hands where they were clasped together from holding him close, a sense of peace welling inside. Aidan may be beauty, but Matthew was everything.

T
HE
band room felt muggy this May evening. Eric had propped open the door to capture some cross-ventilation, but Pete found himself sweating as they reached the end of the section and the voices paused. He waited, anticipating, until Aidan’s unearthly tenor rang out for his solo, and the hairs rose on the back of Pete’s neck.

At the end of rehearsal, while Pete was zipping up his backpack, Aidan approached. Surprised, Pete turned to face him.

“Hi, Pete.”

“Hi there.”

“How’ve you been?”

“Really good,” Pete replied, remembering watching movies in bed with Matthew earlier that afternoon.

“It shows. You look great.” There was nothing of Aidan’s usual suggestiveness in his manner. He seemed, if anything, a bit wistful. “Are you free for a drink at Coupe’s?”

Pete smiled at the irony of Aidan suggesting that particular place, even as he was shaking his head no. “Sorry, I can’t. I’ve already got plans.”

“Okay. Have fun.” Aidan flashed him his trademark smile and began to turn away, then hesitated. “Hey,” he said, looking at Pete’s shoulder rather than at his face, “I’ve been meaning to apologize for what happened at Rodney’s.”

“Oh, yeah?” Pete’s response came out more challenging than he meant it to, but Aidan raised his head and looked him in the eyes.

“Yes. I shouldn’t have let it happen. You’re… you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

Neither do you
, Pete thought, suddenly sad for him, and managed to say, “Thanks,” before his throat closed up completely.

“Hey, Aidan!” Jay had leaned in through the open doorway. “You coming or what?”

“Be right there.” Aidan turned back to Pete. He seemed about to touch him, but instead jammed both hands into his pockets. “See you later.”

“Sure,” Pete said, feeling a strange sense of finality. “See you Thursday.” At Aidan’s puzzled look, he added, “Here. Rehearsal.”

“Oh. Yeah, see you Thursday.”

Pete watched Aidan leave.
Good-bye, animus figure
, he thought. Then he remembered that Matthew was waiting for him, and that was a really good thing. The best thing ever. He hoisted his backpack and hurried from the room.

Matthew sat in the practice room where Pete had left him earlier, playing the piano. He stopped, face lighting up when Pete entered the room and dropped his backpack by the door.

“Hey there, honey pie. Come here.” Matthew pushed the piano bench out and opened his legs, and Pete walked in between them. “That’s better.” Matthew put his arms around Pete and kissed him. His heels hooked around Pete’s calves so that Pete felt pleasantly caught in a Matthew cage as he ran his hands through Matthew’s hair.

Matthew pulled his lips away and scanned Pete’s face. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”
I love how you always know when something’s up. You’re so amazing
. Pete didn’t say half the romantic things he thought when he was with Matthew, because he’d be saying them all day long. “I’m just grateful. For you, I mean.”

“You are?” Matthew swayed him gently from side to side. “What for?”

Words failing him as usual, Pete kissed him, hoping Matthew would get the meaning of this particular one:
For being the best thing that ever happened to me
.

“Oh,” Matthew said. Pete had told him about his kissing messages. “Not sure what that one means, but you’re welcome.”

Matthew’s face was so great, Pete never got tired of looking at it. He opened his mouth to tell him so, but what came out was “I love you.”

Wait, did I say that or think that, or what?

He must have said it, because Matthew engulfed him in a tight hug, and he heard his muffled voice from where he had his face smushed against Pete’s shoulder.

“Love you too, babe, love you so, so much.”

Pete stroked his hair, so filled with emotion that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But when Matthew raised his head and beamed at him, he calmed down.

“Well, uh… now that that’s settled—” he began.

“We get engaged for real?” Matthew filled in, smiling mischievously. “Where’s my ring?”

“
Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon
…,” Pete quoted.

“
We have the stars
,” Matthew finished.

“The End. Roll credits. Cue the hokey music.”

“Hokey music coming right up.” Matthew unwound himself from Pete and turned to play a rippling arpeggio. Sitting next to him on the bench, Pete leaned his head on Matthew’s shoulder, watching his slender fingers caress the piano keys as he shifted into that haunting melody Pete had listened to him play so many months ago.

The music wrapped them in its warm embrace, the rhythm steady and sure—like a heartbeat, like something inevitable, like love itself.

After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head,
CJ
ANE
E
LLIOTT
finally decided to put them on paper and hasn't looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.

CJane is an ardent supporter of gay equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.

In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.

You can contact CJane at [email protected]. Her website is http://www.cjaneelliott.com.

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