Chapter 3
(Cooper)
“I’ll get it!” Cooper called out over the excited squeals of a squirmy Zachy, whose hair Gage was still attempting to dry after his shower.
The last thing he expected to see when he pulled the door open was a badass biker chick standing beside Song on the doorstep, both in leather riding gear.
It was mid-November and cold as fuck outside, but the sweet-ass black and purple bike on the sidewalk was clearly the means of transportation they’d used to get here, and Cooper wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“Hey Song,” Cooper said, deciding to greet him first and hope for an introduction. “Zachy is super excited for your playdate; why don’t you come in? He’ll be ready just as soon as his hair is dry.”
“This is my sister, Solo; she’s going to pick me up later, so you won’t have to take me home.”
“Come on in out of the cold,” Cooper said, stepping aside and holding the door open. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Solo. I’m Cooper.”
“Okay, I knew the name but hadn’t seen you at Velvet Illusions,” she said as she wiped her boots on the mat and stepped into the living room, which was already set up for movie time once Zachy and Solo had the chance to exhaust themselves in the playroom.
“Unfortunately, my job makes it next to impossible to join Zachy and Gage as often as I’d like to,” Cooper admitted. “Song, you can hang your jacket here and put your boots on the bench just beneath it. If you need to change, I can show you where the guest bathroom is.”
“Yes, please,” Song replied as he took off his jacket and hung it where Cooper indicated.
“What time would you like me to come back for him?” Solo asked.
“Nine, if it’s not too late. Zachy has the whole day planned out for them, including homemade pizzas for supper and movies and strawberry shortcake for dessert.”
“I love strawberry shortcake,” Song replied as he knelt to take off his boots.
When Solo did the same, Cooper knew she planned to stay for at least a few minutes, maybe to see how Solo settled in.
“There’s a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen if you’d care to join me for a cup,” Cooper offered, squirming a little beneath her intense stare, even though she was looking up at him as she unzipped her boots.
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
“Song, let me show you where the bathroom is, and I’ll be right back,” he said, happy to usher Song down the hall in the hope that Gage would join them in the kitchen soon.
He felt a little out of his element, the same as when he’d first met Hank, who’d, quite frankly, scared the shit out of him when Gage had introduced them.
The way their worlds had converged was still something he struggled with, especially when his time at the club and exposure to folk from so many diverse backgrounds were severely limited now that he’d been promoted to the head of his department.
“Here you go,” Cooper said, turning the light on for him so he wouldn’t have to struggle to find it.
“Thank you,” Song said before closing the door behind him.
Cooper returned to the living room to find Solo waiting and led her into a kitchen filled with the scent of coffee and one of the scented candles that Gage constantly kept burning on the counter.
Quickly filling mugs, he set one on the table and gestured to the rack of flavored syrups in case she wanted to add some.
“There’s creamer in the fridge, if you’d like any,” Cooper said. “I drink mine black, but Gage loves to fancy his up, so there are several different varieties and a bunch of syrup.”
“I take mine black too, thank you,” she said as she blew on the mug in her hands.
For a moment, Cooper found himself at a loss for words, until he remembered the conversation he and Gage had the night before. Hopefully, she could answer the questions they had so they wouldn’t have to bother Song with them once he was in his little space.
“Does Song have any allergies?” Cooper asked, deciding that might be the best place to start. “We meant to have Zachy ask, but each time we remembered, we were already in bed close to passing out.”
“Nope, and he loves pizza, so no worries there.”
“Oh good, it’s one of Zachy’s favorites too.
Since we all like different things on ours, it’s easier to buy a bunch of toppings and make our own,” Cooper explained.
“We just planned on sandwiches for lunch, so they could eat in the playroom. Zachy doesn’t get to have friends over often due to his work schedule, so we’re still getting the hang of setting up playdates. ”
“No worries,” she replied. “It’s not easy to balance the lifestyle, jobs, and everything else life tends to toss in your path, so I get it.”
“Tell me about it.”
“This is Song’s first playdate,” she explained. “He’s new to the lifestyle, so I wanted to thank you and Gage for including him when he visited the club last weekend. I’d have been there with him, but he didn’t want his big sister hovering on his first night in the playroom.”
“I bet. He was very well-behaved, though.”
“He said he was given a hard time for making too much noise with the musical toys.”
“He was,” Gage said as he stepped into the room.
“But there is no rule saying he couldn’t play with all of them at once.
He pointed out the Daddy who told him to knock it off, and he and I had a few words after the show, ‘cause that was bullshit in my opinion and Walker’s too.
He’d given Ajay a hard time in the past about the toy guitar, and Walker was not thrilled when he learned about it. ”
“I’ve seen how protective he is of his boy, so I’m sure the conversation wasn’t a pleasant one,” Solo said. “Thank you for that too. If you don’t mind, I’d like to know who it was so I can have a word or two of my own when I drop in next.”
“Brekken,” Gage declared. “If you ask me, the man needs to seriously think hard about whether he even wants a little if he can’t stand the noise they make when they play.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “There is no way his behavior isn’t stifling to any of the little ones he plays with.”
“Which is probably why very few take a chance and play with him.”
“I bet.”
Cooper couldn’t have been more relieved to have Gage join the conversation as he mixed up one of his sticky sweet coffee combos, with a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder added to give it a richer, creamier flavor.
“Well, they can make as much noise as they’d like in Zachy’s playroom,” Gage declared. “Personally, it makes the house feel a lot homier to hear giggles and squeals drift up the hall.”
“Right! At home noise was a constant, especially when Song started dabbling with music, though once he fell in love with the drums, our brother and I decided to soundproof the garage, so he’d have a place to play without the neighbors complaining.”
“Is he in a band?” Gage asked.
“Yes, Satellite Falls. They’ve played all over the city and have several gigs set up in New York in December.”
“I haven’t had many opportunities to acquaint myself with the music scene since moving here,” Gage explained. “But I’ve been a sound engineer for decades and been out on the road with a few bands in my younger years.”
“Are you still in the industry?”
“Oh yeah, though not in the same capacity,” Gage replied. “These days I have a nice little sound booth I work out of thanks to the same television program Zachy works on. It’s actually how we met. I couldn’t be happier for a career shift; despite the way it came about.”
“Sounds like a story there.”
“I was the sound engineer for Shriveled Rose.”
“Damn, seriously? Holy shit! That was one of Song’s all-time favorite bands.
I hate that he never got to see them live before the accident, but he did get to see the remaining members perform at Rocktoberfest with Tattered Angel, Bleeding Dawn, and Wild Child.
Not only were we both blown away but seeing the way the guys in the other bands took care of the members of Shriveled Rose and performed tribute songs with them while shortening their sets was seriously touching.
I was in tears, and that’s a rare thing for me, and Song was bawling his eyes out. ”
“I have plenty of video footage dating back to the early days of the band that I’d be happy to show him, if he’s interested.”
“No ifs, he will lose his fuckin’ mind when you tell him that.”
“I forgot to ask you about sugar,” Cooper blurted, feeling his cheeks heat up when they both looked his way. “We don’t allow Zachy any after eight. Does Song have a cutoff time for when we should refrain from giving him any?”
“Eight is perfect,” Solo replied. “Just in case you were wondering, he doesn’t regress far enough to use a diaper or a pull-up, but if he starts squirming in the middle of a movie or activity, it’s always good to prompt him to go to the bathroom before he has to sprint to avoid an accident.”
“Good to know. Thank you for sharing that; we’ll keep an eye out,” Gage said.
“Something tells me that he and Zachy are already becoming fast friends with many more playdates in their future. Zachy has a playground in the backyard and a little fort, though it’s gotten a bit too cold for him to spend much time out there.
Come spring though, look out; he’s rarely indoors when the weather is nice. ”
“Song is the same way. He loves being outside and exploring new places, especially if there is anything artsy about them.”
“He’s a creative soul, just like Zachy,” Cooper said. “I think they’ll be good for one another.”
“I believe you’re right,” Solo replied as she finished her coffee. “Thank you again for having him over.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Cooper said.
“I’d better get a move on, but I’ll see you at nine. Let me give you my number before I go, just in case you need to get ahold of me early. Song has a spare set of clothes in his backpack just in case he needs them.”
“Perfect,” Gage said as he passed over his phone so she could enter her information in his contacts.
A little ping followed as he shot her a text, sharing his number so they’d be able to communicate, then they saw her to the door and headed down the hall to check on Zachy and Song.
Not that they’d been worried about how well they would play together.
The noise factor alone, from the toy drum and guitar they’d picked up earlier in the week, was accompanied by their wailing and screeching as they rocked out to the nonsense songs they created.
There's a bear in a bush.
And he’s gonna get some honey.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz
The bees all swarm.
Yum yum yum yum
Honey all gone.
Chaotic, exuberant, and punctuated with giggles and laughter. They were clearly having a good time and needed no interference from the Daddy Patrol to make sure things were going right.
“Just look at those smiles,” Gage said as they backed out of the doorway and headed back down the hall. “Anyone trying to dim them needs to have his head knocked off.”
“Is that what you threatened to do to Brekken?”
“I used my words and not the profane ones this time,” Gage replied.
“Hank, on the other hand, gave him an earful that turned the air blue, but the only threat either of us leveled was to have a conversation with Donovan if it happened again. I doubt he’ll be any happier to learn about his attitude, and he’s got the power to put a stop to it permanently if Brekken didn’t catch a clue after me and Hank went off on him. ”
“Did he give any reason at all for making Song quit playing?”
“Just that he couldn’t deal with any more of the noise, especially once one of the littles grabbed a pair of cymbals while another found one of those electronic saxophone toys.”
“He should have just taken his ass to the library if he wanted quiet,” Cooper grumbled. “Or stayed home. The playroom is never quiet.”
“No shit. I don’t think it was just the noise he was pissed about, but that’s his issue, not anyone else’s. Those toys are there for a reason, and if a bunch of littles want to play them together, then they should be allowed to do so to their heart’s content.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
Gage tugged him down on the couch, stroked Cooper’s hair, and snagged the remote, pulling up a movie that they could enjoy together while their boy played with his new friend.
“We should talk about Christmas before it’s right on top of us,” Cooper said as he got comfortable. “And figure out if we want to go traditional or do something different.”
“You have something in mind?”
“Well, for starters, I thought it would be nice for Zachy if his Nana and her friend were able to join us,” Cooper admitted. “They’re both absolute riots and fabulous ladies to talk to. I can’t believe how easy it is to talk to them when we video chat.”
“Why?”
“Just kind of like today when Solo arrived. I just felt completely thrown when it came to starting off the conversation with her. I’m not used to feeling that way, at least, not at work.”
“Because you’re in your element there with people who come from similar backgrounds and educations as yours,” Gage replied.
“You excel in the business realm because that’s where you’re comfortable but give it time and you’ll start to see where you have things in common with folks who know nothing about it.
Sometimes I think that’s one of the problems with our world today.
So many people are just so rigid about staying in their lanes and never stepping outside of the bubbles they were raised in that they miss out on the rest of the world. ”
“Yeah, seriously, and it sucked when I realized that I was one of those people. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the new things you and Zachy have introduced me to over the past year.”
“See, that’s why I love the music scene,” Gage said. “Because it brings people from all walks of life together to enjoy something they love. In the crowd it doesn’t matter if you’re a lawyer or a sanitation worker; you just rock out to the band and battle it out in the pit. It’s that simple.”
“I’ll rock out,” Cooper replied, “but I’ll keep my ass out of the pit, thank you very much.”
Gage chuckled at that and pinched the very ass he’d been referring to.
“Good idea; wouldn’t want to bruise up such a stunning package.”
“Says the man currently trying to bruise it up himself,” Cooper snarked, earning himself a chuckle from his wicked partner, who just smirked down at him and pinched it again.