Chapter 2
(Song)
“Did you have a good night?” Solo, Song’s older sister, asked the moment he walked through the door.
Taller than him by three inches, even standing barefoot in the kitchen in black sleep shorts and a purple top covered in dagger-wielding kitties, Solo was a leather mommie who frequented both Velvet Illusions and Leather Dreams, one of the other major lifestyle clubs in town.
She’d also been the one to get him his membership at Velvet Illusions so he could explore his little side more, now that he’d finally got the courage to admit to having one.
“It was so much fun,” Song admitted. “I got fussed at a little for playing too loud on the musical toys, but that was okay, ‘cause I got to meet Zachy afterwards and play in the ball pit with him. He even shared his snacks with me, and afterwards, I got to sit with him, his daddies, and his other friends for the drag show and furries performance.”
She smiled at that and used the edge of her spatula to close the omelet she was carefully tending to on the stove.
“Would you like one?” She asked when she caught Song eyeing it.
“Yes, please.”
“I know Zachy’s Daddy Gage,” Solo admitted. “I’ll be sure to thank him for watching out for you.”
“I thanked him too. Zachy invited me over for a playdate on Saturday; will you take me so I don’t have to take an Uber?”
“Of course. It will give me the chance to get to know him a little better and meet Zachy’s other daddy. I don’t think I’ve run into him yet.”
“Zachy calls him Papa Cooper, so it doesn’t get confusing,” Song said.
“He was as awesome as Daddy Gage, though. He kept wet wipes handy and cleaned me up anytime I got messy from the treats they served at the show, and he walked us to the bathroom and made sure we didn’t get distracted on the way back, since the show was in the big part of the club. ”
“Then I will thank him too; it was kind of them to let you join them.”
“I got to meet a bunch of other littles and their caretakers too,” Song explained. “Ryu’s Daddy Hank looked scary, but he was super nice, and so were Mama Mimzy, and Sir Ferocious, and Daddy Riggs, and Daddy Cooper.”
She chuckled at that, plated the omelet, and set it down on one of the placemats on the table. “Dig in, and I’ll join you in a minute.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m glad you had a wonderful night. I know all of them, some better than others. You met a good group to be a part of. They’ll help you find your footing on the nights that I can’t be there.”
“How was Leather Dreams tonight?”
She sighed as she started prepping her omelet.
“A little lame, to be honest. The turnout wasn’t what I hoped to see when I headed down there, and no one caught my eye, so I spent the night listening to the band, which was nowhere near as good as yours.
Speaking of which, Jasmine would like you guys to check your availability.
She’d like to offer you a few bookings.”
“I’ll call Mark in the morning and see what slots we need to fill,” Song promised.
“Thank you; I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“I’ve got band practice tomorrow afternoon,” Song said. “Do you want me to take the grocery list with me?”
“Yes, please, there should be enough in the cookie jar to cover everything.”
“If not, I’ve still got a couple hundred tucked aside from the shows this week.”
“You hang on to that and text me if you don’t have enough at the store,” Solo replied. “You’ll need that money and then some when you head to New York next month.”
“As excited as I am to see the city, you know Carson is gonna get drunk as hell after every show. I’m not looking forward to holding his hair back when he starts puking or getting drinks thrown on me when he pisses someone off.”
“They need to chill the fuck out, especially in a new city where no one can get to you guys quickly if you wind up in a jail cell.”
“Which is the last thing I want,” Song admitted, sighing as he savored a veggie-and cheese-filled bite.
She never put meat in at night, which Song always appreciated, but then she’d helped raise him and had always made certain that he ate balanced meals every day, even when times were lean and they had to pass on grabbing meat just to afford fruits and vegetables.
“I know Suede and I taught you to stand up for your friends and always have their backs, but I want you to be careful in New York and not get into anything you don’t have to,” Solo said.
“If Carson starts acting a fool, you do your best to get him out of there before shit pops off. If they won’t listen to you, then you grab Chuckie, and you tell him to toss their asses over his shoulders and carry them out if he needs to.
I don’t want to hear about you getting hurt, got it? "
“I hear you, and I will,” Song promised. “Just wish he’d chill the fuck out or not stick around the clubs after we play, since that’s when he winds up getting into it with people.”
“If he can’t drink and maintain his composure, then he shouldn’t be drinking outside of his hotel room. You are rooming with Decon and Mark, right?”
“Oh yeah. Mark already has the hotel situation set up. I’ll get you the details before I leave, so you and Suede will know where to find me. I’ve got a few places I wanna visit for inspiration, and they’re all on subway and bus lines.”
“Good, I want you to enjoy yourself, though I’d prefer it if one of the others went with you when you head out exploring.”
“Decon wants to see the sculpture garden too and take a carriage ride and go to the aquarium, so we’re gonna do those together. I think he’ll go with me to the gallery and Broadway too, so I won’t be alone.”
“Perfect. Remember to take lots of pictures. You know Suede and I will want to see the things you experienced.”
“He’s not working tomorrow, is he?”
“A half day, which he was still pissed about when I talked to him,” she explained.
“That sucks. He never gets to have a life.”
“Or even a day off with how short-staffed they are now that new management has taken over the construction company and run off half the crew. He said it’s just staging tomorrow so they can get an early start Monday morning, but they wouldn’t even have to do that if they didn’t keep bringing in temps who only stuck around for a week or less before moving on to the next opportunity. ”
“I hate that he has to work so hard,” Song said, staring down at his half-empty plate.
“If the band ever gets signed, the first thing I plan to do is finish paying off that damned second mortgage so he can quit working so damn much and start doing things he likes for a change. It sucks that he couldn’t go to college because he had to stay and take care of us. ”
“I know, sweetheart, but we can’t change the hand fate dealt us.”
“Yeah.”
He ate a few more bites, her words sending a chill through him as the words rolled around in his head. “I think you’ve given me a new name for a song.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. The Hand Fate Dealt Us.”
“You have fun playing with that, but make sure you get a good night’s sleep first, so you don’t wind up falling asleep in your cereal again.”
“I will,” he promised before he finished the rest of his food and washed his plate and the pan and bowls she’d used before loading them all in the dishwasher.
His phone pinged as he turned away to grab her plate, now that she’d finished, and he quickly checked it, grinning at the message he saw.
I can’t wait to play with you on Saturday. Daddy says we can get some musical instruments so we can play pretend band.
Ohh, awesome. I can’t wait.
Me neither.
“Now that is a look I love to see on you,” Solo said as she handed her plate over.
“Zachy’s daddy is going to get us some musical toys to play with,” Song admitted. “I really like him.”
“I’m glad you made some new friends tonight.”
“Did you know Ajay played guitar?”
She frowned and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think I did hear something about that.”
“He wants to get together and jam sometime when we’re both free,” Song explained. “When I told him the garage was soundproof, he said he’d bring his guitar over here since it was easier to carry than my drums.”
“Let me know when he’s coming over, and I’ll make sure there are sandwich fixings and snacks in the fridge. If he’s anything like you, it’ll turn into an all-day thing, and I don’t want either of you going hungry.”
“Thanks, sis,” he said as he added a pod of dishwashing liquid before starting the machine.
She hugged him before sending him off to take a shower and go to bed, not that he got beneath the covers when he reached his room.
As he’d done since he was in middle school, he pulled out his journal and wrote about his day, the good and the bad things, like the scary Daddy who’d snapped at him about the noise at the club.
It had been hard, but Song was proud of himself for not letting it show just how much the big man’s tone had hurt his feelings.
He’d just been so excited to have fun, and yeah, maybe he had been showing off a little, but playing music was the only way he really knew how to get people to notice him.
Unfortunately, being noticed and meeting people who genuinely wanted to get to know him were two very different things.
He’d discovered that early on, back when he and a different set of friends had dabbled with putting together bands.
None had stuck for long, not until he and Decon connected and put their current band together.
Even then, most of the people he met were more interested in hanging out and partying.
They weren’t the kind of people Song could trust with the knowledge that he was a little and really didn’t care for alcohol or grinding on people he was just getting to know.
Decon knew, but only because he was a middle and had shared his truth first, opening the door for Song to tell him.
Mark gave off serious daddy Dom vibes, but neither knew if he really was one or if it was just the energy he put out to keep others from being too pushy.
Though he was new to the actual lifestyle scene, Song already knew that he wanted a daddy of his own, or daddies, like Zachy had.
Sharing with people who truly cared about him would never be an issue.
His upbringing hadn’t been traditional, so he saw no reason why his relationships had to conform to anyone else’s views of what was right or proper.
Not when they were the same type of people who’d constantly meddled in him and his siblings’ lives as they’d struggled to finish raising themselves after losing their parents.
There were many times when Song wished he hadn’t been so young when they lost them.
Maybe then, Solo and Suede wouldn’t have had to do so much for him that they’d lost out on things others got to enjoy.
Now that they were all adults, it was a little easier.
Though they still worried and fussed over him the way they’d done when he was small.
Someday he’d find a way to help them explore the things they were passionate about the way they’d done for him and his music.
Yawning, Song placed his pen and journal back in the drawer of the end table beside the notebook he wrote his music in.
Reminded of the song title Solo had given him at the table, he quickly jotted it down before he closed the drawer, turned off the lamp, and lay back on the pillows, watching the solar stars attached to the ceiling.
Watching them glow was his favorite way of falling asleep, only tonight, he kept staring up at them, blinking and fighting sleep as words tumbled through his head.
The fates had dealt him and his siblings a difficult hand; there was no denying that, but he’d been raised with love, compassion, understanding, and encouragement.
To his way of thinking, that was a gift from the same fates.
Religion had never been part of his upbringing, but spirituality was.
The universe was a giant cosmic river, calm at times, turbulent at others.
Sometimes there were rapids and turbulent moments that were difficult to overcome.
But there were moments, like tonight, when it brought a flood of good things and warm, welcoming people who embraced him simply because they wanted to.
Those were the best moments. Ones he hung on to when he felt lost and out of his element.
The gift of friendship Zachy had bestowed upon him tonight was something he’d cling to the next time he felt shy and uncertain in a room.
Because Zachy had seen that he needed it and hadn’t left Song to stand on the ledge of that ball pit alone.