Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
GREG
I was putting my tablet into my backpack when Jeremy came into the classroom, closing the door behind him. “How did it go?” he asked.
“Good,” I replied. “They were a good group. The new girl, Zari, has a lot of potential already.”
He nodded. “I saw that when she auditioned. Keep an eye on her for a couple of months. If she’s good enough, we can assign her an individual tutor.”
“Sounds good,” I replied. “I’m so impressed by what you’re doing with this community here. If it wasn’t for this school, very few of these kids would get access to music education like this.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
The sound of little feet running on the hardwood floor echoed in the hallway outside the classroom. Jeremy went to open the door. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
A little boy, around four or five years old, with a head of dark curly hair, came bounding into the room, followed closely by a man with short black hair wearing a leather jacket.
Intricate tattoos covered the tops of his hands and I could see the edges of black ink on his neck as well.
I vaguely remembered the little boy from a fundraiser we’d done the previous May for his Uncle Zach.
Cody. That was his name. I had no idea who the man was, although his resemblance to the little boy led me to believe they were related.
Cody stopped when he saw me and ducked behind the dark-haired man. Jeremy went over to the little boy and held out his hand. “Cody, I want you to meet someone.” He brought him over to me. “This is Mr. Greg. He’s a piano teacher.”
Cody’s eyes brightened. “You are? Can you teach me?”
I glanced up at Jeremy, who in turn looked over at the other man. He nodded. “Yeah. That would be good.”
Jeremy smiled. “Greg, this is Nico, Cody’s dad. He wanted to meet you.”
I stepped forward and held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Nico.”
“Same,” he replied.
I turned my attention back to Cody. “Do you like playing the piano?”
He nodded his head vigorously. “Mr. Jeremy taught me how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
“That’s great,” I said with a smile. “Would you like to show me?”
I walked over to one of the keyboards and turned it on. I adjusted the seat so he could comfortably reach the keys. He clambered onto the bench, put his little fingers in the correct position on the keys, and played the tune with surprising accuracy. When he was finished, we all applauded.
Cody scrambled off the bench and ran to his father. “I did it, Daddy!”
Nico picked up his son and held him close. “You sure did, little man.”
Jeremy turned to me. “I’d like you to take him on as an individual student. He’s really not old enough for the regular group classes. Plus, I don’t think it’s wise to make him work more than fifteen minutes at a time to start. You can increase the time as you see fit.”
I glanced at Nico. “Is that all right with you? Fifteen minutes isn’t a very long time. You’d probably have to hang around here until Cody is done.”
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s fine. I only want him to be happy.”
His words sent a pang of longing through me. Those words had never been spoken by either of my parents when it came to me. I smiled. “Cody’s lucky to have a father like you.”
Nico ducked his head, and I noticed a hint of pink tinge his cheeks. “Thanks.”
“I’m only here on Fridays,” I said. “Will that work for you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. My boss lets me off early on Friday so I can spend time with Cody. I can be here by three.”
“That should work. My classes with the older kids start at four. That will give me plenty of time with Cody.”
Nico gave us a tentative smile. “I really appreciate this. I can’t pay much right now, but I’ll do what I can.”
Jeremy was already shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it. When you start getting paid better, we can talk about payments. Until then, this school is here to give opportunities to kids whose parents can’t afford to pay for lessons.”
Nico’s eyes got shiny. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Jeremy said. “Come to my office so we can get Cody signed up.”
After they left, I made sure all the keyboards were turned off before I locked up the classroom. It was after seven, and I was hungry and tired. I grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby Korean Fusion place and then walked to the station to catch the next train to the City.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long for the train to arrive.
I took a seat in a half-empty car and put in my noise-canceling headphones.
I was listening to the score from the musical I’d gotten the contract to substitute for.
The musical director would expect me to play as close as possible to how the principal pianist played it.
During the hour-and-a-half ride, I couldn’t help thinking about the evening I spent with Tony.
He’d done everything I’d asked. He didn’t make a fuss when I wanted to split the check both for dinner and at the bar.
The sex had been spectacular—again. But when he offered to clean me up, I freaked out internally and hightailed it out of there as quickly as I could.
I felt bad about it because I could tell I’d hurt his feelings.
I was beginning to wonder if this arrangement was a good idea.
But I liked hanging out with Tony. We always had good conversations.
He was always respectful. He even stayed for my audition when other men would have wandered off to a bar or gone home in a huff.
I blew out a frustrated breath and leaned my head against the headrest. I wish my stupid brain would stop telling me I was in danger whenever Tony got too close.
Maybe it was time for me to go back to therapy.
My eyes had just drifted shut when my phone vibrated with a text. It was from Tony.
How did it go at Jeremy’s school? Did you tell him about the audition?
It went well. He asked me to teach Cody piano. I think you know him from the Drag show night. And yes, I told him about the audition. He was very happy for me.
Of course I know Cody. That’s awesome that you’re going to give him piano lessons. He’s had a rough year. His mom was killed last April and his dad just got out of prison in October.
Oh wow. Jeremy didn’t tell me any of that. But Cody was standing right there, so I guess I can understand why.
You still in Jersey?
On the train to Penn Station. We just passed Newark Airport.
On a whim, I added:
What are you up to tonight?
Not much. I cleaned my apartment and got some takeout. I was about to watch a movie. Why, you got something in mind?
Want to come to my place tonight?
There was a long pause, during which the dots danced and stopped before dancing again. Finally, a single-word answer popped up.
Sure.
I’ll text you my address and let you know when I get home.
I spent the next half-hour wondering if I should have done that.
Did I really want Tony to know where I lived?
Then it occurred to me that he could easily find out where I lived if he wanted.
His brother Michael could find my address with a couple of keystrokes.
I sighed. “Shut up, brain. You’re annoying. ”
The man sitting across the aisle from me glanced over and chuckled. “I hear you,” he said.
The rest of my trip was uneventful. Thankfully, there were no delays on the subway and no weirdos stalking the platforms. It was almost ten by the time I got to my apartment building. I texted Tony.
I’m home. If it’s too late, I understand.
No problem at all. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.
See you then.
For whatever reason, my brain quieted after Tony’s text.
I gave up trying to understand it. The hallway was empty when I got to my floor, not surprising for the time of night.
When I got to my apartment, I noticed a single daffodil lying on the floor in front of my door.
I looked up and down the hallway to see if there was a basket of flowers in front of someone else’s door.
Maybe the delivery person dropped one. But there was nothing.
I picked it up and brought it into my apartment, tossing it on the kitchen counter before heading into my bedroom.
Almost exactly twenty minutes later, there was a buzz on my intercom.
I pressed the button to speak to Tony. “Hey, I’ll buzz you in.
” I pressed the button that allowed him to open the inner door, which let him get to the elevators.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on my apartment door.
I grinned as I hurried to let Tony in. “Hey, Tony. It’s good to see you. ”
He returned my smile, kissed my cheek, then held up a bottle of red wine. “I brought this. I thought it would be nice to chill a bit and let you relax from your day.”
Warmth filled my chest. “Thanks. That was really nice of you.” I pointed to the small kitchen area. “Just put it on the counter. I’ll dig out a bottle opener in a sec.”
He put the bottle down and picked up the flower from the counter. “One of the kids give you this?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I found it in the hallway outside my apartment. I figured someone dropped it. Probably a delivery person.”
“Huh.” He put it back down. “A strange thing to lose.”
I shrugged. “It’s New York. When aren’t things strange?”
Tony laughed. “Truth.”
I pulled the bottle opener from the back of a drawer and opened the wine. “Let’s go watch Netflix and chill.”
He slid his arm around my waist. “You have the best ideas.”