Chapter 4
JASPER ADJUSTED his suit for the umpteenth time as they headed into the performing arts center.
He’d never been to a concert before, or was this considered a symphony?
Violinist Ugetsu Kunihiko was his favorite artist and had been for the last several years.
Jasper had found his music during his freshman year of high school, shortly after his brother moved out and left Jasper to deal with their drunken asshole of a father on his own.
He’d never told anyone that he’d contemplated taking his own life back then.
The stress of school, of trying to find food in a house that rarely had more than booze, of the constant yelling and threats of violence.
There’d been no reason to continue. No one would have missed him.
His father kept a loaded gun in his dresser that Jasper had taken out at least twice, though he’d never been able to go through with it.
Then he’d heard someone listening to Ugetsu’s music in the stairwell during lunch.
He hadn’t understood a word of the Japanese lyrics, but the dark violin music and soulful voice had stopped him in his tracks.
He’d immediately searched the artist with an identifier app on his phone and spent the weekend downloading and listening to every song released, finding translations of the lyrics, and losing himself in the one thing he could focus on enough to pretend his life wasn’t the shitty clusterfuck it was for a few hours each day.
Vincent’s hand brushed against Jasper’s, grounding him back in the here and now.
In the hot summer evening and the sweet scent of the flowers blooming along the path.
In the hotter press of Vincent’s hand against his lower back as he guided Jasper into the building.
In the sharp-yet-subtle scent of Vincent’s cologne—spicy and woodsy and somehow the epitome of mind-blowing sex.
Or maybe that was Jasper’s bias; he liked how Vincent smelled.
And now he was utterly distracted for an entirely different reason.
He tilted his head into Vincent’s shoulder and breathed deep with a soft moan.
His eyes fluttered shut as he stepped closer, nearly tripping them both as his leg pressed into Vincent’s with every step.
Instead of pushing him away, Vincent slipped his hand from Jasper’s back to his hip and held him there.
Jasper didn’t even try to fight his grin as he wrapped his own arm around Vincent’s waist. All his worries about tonight, whether they were overdressed or if Vincent would even enjoy this, became obsolete.
He knew—hoped—Vincent would enjoy this because only an asshole with no musical taste at all couldn’t appreciate it.
And their clothes didn’t matter. There were some in nice clothes, others dressed more casually, but Ugetsu’s music meant more to him than being comfortable in old jeans and a T-shirt.
Vincent led the way to their seats. Bottom balcony, dead center of the stage. He’d have to thank Amber again; no way were these seats cheap.
They sat, and Jasper leaned forward, tucking his hands under his thighs as he scanned the theater, surprised but pleased to see it filling so quickly.
He hadn’t been sure what to expect since this wasn’t a rock concert or big-name band.
He tilted his head enough to glance at Vincent from the corner of his eye.
His legs were crossed and he had his phone out, but Jasper leaned over enough to bump his shoulder against Vincent’s arm.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” he murmured. “You didn’t have to.”
Vincent slipped his phone into his pocket after silencing it and turned a mild frown on him. “Do I not owe you one date most weeks?”
Jasper shrugged. Sure, Vincent had put that in the new contract, but most of their dates so far had been dinner followed by some kind of scene.
This was the first time they’d gone out as a couple that wasn’t to the club or a restaurant.
He’d been so excited over the concert itself that he hadn’t realized that until now, and the burst of nerves in his stomach joined the others that had been growing since Vincent offered to take him away on a two-week vacation.
Just them. Far enough away that no one could bother them or drag Vincent into work.
Starting tomorrow, he’d have Vincent completely to himself for fourteen days.
On one hand, yessss. On the other…. Holy shit, what if he fucked something up?
Two weeks was a long time to be around someone.
What if he got on Vincent’s nerves? What if Vincent got on his nerves?
He doubted that would happen. He really, really hoped that didn’t happen, but it wasn’t like they’d be having sex twenty-four seven.
He’d at least learned that lesson early.
He blinked as Vincent grasped his chin and tipped his head back, his attention zeroing in on Vincent’s dark hazel eyes that were focused on Jasper.
Vincent was silent for a beat before tracing his thumb beneath Jasper’s lower lip. “I enjoy spending time with you.”
Jasper’s face heated, but he couldn’t pull away. Not when Vincent had him trapped in that intense gaze of his. He wasn’t used to being subjected to it outside of scenes.
Vincent traced his thumb back the other way, and Jasper couldn’t help the shuddery breath as he tipped closer, hardly caring that they were in public. Not like they were being indecent, even if Vincent was watching him as if planning how to undress him and have his way with him.
A moan built in his throat that he couldn’t quite stifle, and Vincent’s eyes darkened before he flicked Jasper’s nose and pulled his hand away. Which, unfair. He sat back with a huff. “You’re not allowed to get me riled up in public,” he muttered.
“No?” Vincent asked, amusement thick in his voice. “I don’t recall that being in the contract.”
Jasper wanted to say that it should be, but he couldn’t make the words form. He refused to admit why as he shifted in his seat.
The lights flickered, and he turned his attention to the stage as the theater settled. The support orchestra finished setting up on one side, but his attention caught briefly on the man who sat at the piano before Ugetsu stepped onto the stage and applause rippled through the theater.
He practically vibrated in his seat with excitement as the lights dimmed.
The moment Ugetsu put his bow to his violin, goose bumps burst across his arms and neck.
Hearing this music through his headphones was one thing, but here, the rich violin music resonating and vibrating through the cool air directly from the source, was transcendental.
The addition of a piano was new, but it worked to deepen and brighten the melody.
He closed his eyes for a long moment as he let the music crash over him.
One song flowed into the next, and he pried his eyes open to watch, nearly falling out of his seat as he leaned forward as far as he could, transfixed by how such small adjustments of the bow changed the violin from remorseful to haunting.
How the piano swelled and lifted it to hopeful.
Ugetsu’s rich voice melded with the music, its own counterpoint that sucked Jasper in even deeper.
He could have sat there listening forever, all the stress and anxiety and doubts melting away until all that was left was whatever feeling the music evoked in the moment, and Ugetsu was a master at evoking them all.
From pits of despair so deep Jasper could see himself in his father’s closet with a gun in his hands to regret so profound he could taste it on the back of his tongue to effervescent euphoria that left him breathless with yearning.
Two hours passed far too quickly, and Jasper couldn’t quite comprehend it was over even as most of the audience surged to their feet in a standing ovation.
He should get up and join them, but moving was beyond him at the moment.
All he could do was sit and breathe as reality crashed back in around him.
Vincent’s fingers in his hair worked to ground him, and he leaned into the touch with a deep sigh of pleasure. “Ready?” Vincent asked, still sitting despite those around them already slowly filing towards the exits.
“Mm, I guess.” Vincent curled his fingers tighter but immediately released them, so quickly that Jasper could have believed he’d imagined it if not for the tingles along his scalp and the burst of heat in his gut.
His hand found its way into Vincent’s as they joined the procession, and he was almost scared to ask, “Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes.” Vincent squeezed his hand, rubbing his thumb against the back of Jasper’s. “Not nearly as much as you did, though. You seemed to be in a trance.”
Jasper ducked his head and used the crowd as an excuse to press closer and hook his other hand beneath Vincent’s arm. “I’ve never been to something like this.”
“Do you want to do it again sometime?”
He jerked his head up in surprise. “Really?” He tried to keep the eager excitement under control but failed miserably.
Vincent glanced at him in obvious amusement and squeezed his hand again. “I’m sure we can find another we’d both enjoy.”
Jasper grinned and didn’t even try to hide the bounce in his step.
Getting out of the building took far longer than getting in, and the traffic wasn’t any better, but it gave him time to come down from the high of seeing his favorite artist live. He was simultaneously buzzed and limp with catharsis, not unlike after an intense scene that pushed him into subspace.
By the time Vincent parked in the garage Jasper was yawning, his eyes drooping, and not even the knowledge that they’d be on a plane in a few hours could fully wake him up.
He trudged upstairs where Vincent undressed him and tucked him into bed, and he sank into the deep sleep of the blissfully exhausted.