Chapter 4 #2
It was an upbeat song, with a driving piano and bassline. From the lyrics he could make out, Colton thought the song was about taking a chance on love. The chorus of the song was a catchy…
“I gotta take a chance. I gotta take a chance.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Once the song was over, Dean threw his arms in the air. “Finally! Thank you, Dina!”
Dean explained that Dina was the fourteenth artist to record vocals for the song because none of the others were quite a hundred percent right.
“I knew there was someone out there with the perfect voice for this song. I’m so glad I kept looking!” He exclaimed, hugging Dina.
“I think you just won a fucking Grammy!” Dina smiled.
“From your lips to God’s ears, honey!” Dean laughed.
Dean walked Dina to the elevator and returned to Colton.
“Right! Where were we?” Dean clapped his hands. “First, wanna tour of my place?”
“Absolutely.” Colton smiled. He had never felt such a stirring in his body. A few simple words, and Dean’s sparkling, infectious smile, had sent Colton’s stomach flipping. He wondered if he needed to see a doctor. This had never happened before. And why was he smiling so much?
“Great. Let’s start in the main loft.” Dean walked him out of the studio, stopping at the front door.
“I own the entire floor,” Dean began to explain, but corrected himself. “Actually, I own the entire building. Most of my staff live in the building too.”
“Your staff lives in the building with you?” Colton quirked a curious eyebrow.
Dean chuckled. “It’s not as weird as it sounds.
And I don’t force them to live here, it’s their choice.
It’s one of the things I try to do to make life easier for my staff.
Rent and real estate in San Francisco is ridiculously expensive.
So, my staff live here and pay significantly lower rent than anywhere else in the Bay Area.
They only pay the costs to maintain the building, and most of that is covered by the rent from the first-floor businesses.
So, it’s a win-win for everyone. The top floor is mine.
The seventh floor is currently empty. The third through sixth floors are apartments for my dancers and admin staff.
The second floor has a few offices and meeting rooms, a staff gym, common area, and a large rehearsal space.
The first floor is commercial space for things we need…
coffee, groceries, dry cleaning, pizza, tacos.
” Dean grinned with a wink. “Tacos are important for staff morale.”
Colton chuckled. “Yes, very important.”
Dean’s positive outlook was infectious, and immediately put Colton at ease.
Why isn’t it this easy with everyone?
“When I bought the building, it was completely bare, no walls, no studs, just one giant open space. I designed everything from the ground up. It was an old industrial building and it was in pretty bad shape, so it took a while to get everything just the way I wanted.”
Dean’s loft was one massive room, separated into smaller vignettes.
Although it was a large space, it had a warm, homey, welcoming feel.
To the far left was a TV, media area, and wet bar, with a gigantic moss-green sectional sofa, complete with multiple pillows in various shades of blue.
There were large picture windows on the side and across the back wall with a couple of small balconies outside of them.
To the right of the TV area was a brick hearth and fireplace with a small sitting area in front…
perfect for sipping hot chocolate by the fire.
In front of the fireplace and sitting area stood a rectangular dining table with seating for ten, and just to the right of the fireplace sat a fancy billiards table with all the trimmings.
On the far right of the loft was Dean’s bedroom.
It was more of a sleeping area than a bedroom, since it was wide open to the rest of the loft.
Only two small walls, one with a TV facing the bed, and another bookcase on the side, separated the sleeping area from the rest of the loft.
Directly behind Dean’s bed was a grand bathroom and closet area, all white, silver, and mirrors.
Finally, just around the corner to the left of the entrance and behind the dining area, was an immense chef’s kitchen with blue cabinetry, two large islands, and a walk-in pantry the size of Vermont.
“This is a really cool space. You designed all of this?” Colton looked around the loft with wonder.
“Yep. Every square foot of it. I designed my dream space. Also, I wanted a dream space for my dancers. Dancers are so important to a live show, but they rarely make a decent living, so I pay them double the normal dancer’s salary and each of them has his own apartment.
All but one of my staff lives in the building.
I’m proud to be able to give everyone a nice, affordable home in San Francisco. ”
Colton’s heart swelled hearing Dean speak of taking care of his employees, seeing the joy in his eyes as he told the story. Dean was a rare gem in the entertainment industry. Hell, he was a rare gem as a human being, and that warmed Colton's heart.
“Oh!” Dean shouted so loudly that he startled Colton.
“I forgot to show you the best part.” Dean walked Colton past the kitchen and down a small hallway to the stairwell, where they took the stairs up one flight and exited the onto a rooftop oasis.
“Tah-dah!” Dean sang, opening his arms in a presentational gesture.
The rooftop was a warm, inviting space. There was a large rectangular pool with a long strip of turf beside it.
Chaise lounge chairs had been scattered around, accentuated with a free-standing hammock, strings of lights, and incredible views of the bay.
A small, covered breezeway with access to the stairwell behind the elevator led to a large pergola and seating area with multiple tables and chairs.
Between the pool and seating area, connected to the pergola, was a huge indoor/outdoor kitchen and cabana.
The cabana was practically a studio apartment in itself, with a large indoor seating area, a huge skylight, and retractable French doors on both sides, to allow access to the pool and seating area.
There was a large bathroom, shower and changing area across the back of the cabana, and the fully furnished indoor/outdoor kitchen and grill area.
The kitchen was open on three sides to the pool and seating area, with stools lining a bar along the breezeway.
Strings of white lights outlined the pergola, cabana, and pool area, creating a magical enchanted vibe.
And of course, because it was Dean, the entire roof was wired for sound, like the loft downstairs, with music wafting throughout.
“Jesus! This is impressive Dean.”
Dean smiled ear to ear. “Thanks! Once I saw the roof, and these incredible views, I knew I had to splurge. I love to grill, so I had to have a really nice outdoor kitchen.”
“Me too! I cook on the grill almost every night.” Colton smiled with a strange warmth in his cheeks.
Dean slapped his shoulder. “How about that! Well, maybe I'll cook for you one day.”
They headed back downstairs to the loft, turning the corner at the front door.
Just across from Dean’s sleeping area were two large rooms.
The room at the far end was Dean’s home gym, with an impressive array of equipment, including dumbbells, kettlebells, stability balls, a squat rack, double stack cable crossover, and a weight bench.
The entire back wall was mirrored, with an open wooden floor space for yoga or practicing choreography.
Toward the back of the gym, Colton eyed a small wooden piece of equipment. “You have a pilates reformer?”
“Yes!” Dean’s face lit up. “It’s my favorite piece of equipment. I’m on it at least once a day. I always feel taller and stronger when I get off the reformer.”
“I know, right? Same! I use the reformer every day. It’s probably the main reason I stay injury free.” Colton’s cheeks were hurting from smiling. He was a little shocked that they had so many things in common.
They exited the gym and headed next door to the studio. A large object caught Colton’s eye on the wall in the hallway.
“Oh my God! You framed your jersey!” Colton pointed at a large silver frame with the jersey inside and a small lamp on top.
“Fuck yeah, I did! I love that jersey.” Dean reverently ran a finger along the frame.
As soon as those words were out of Dean’s mouth, his phone started ringing, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Hello?”
As whoever it was spoke on the other end of the line, Dean turned to Colton.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Lynch. How are you?” Dean grinned. “I’m here with Colton, can I put you on speaker?”
Colton winced slightly. He wasn’t sure he wanted the general manager of the team knowing he was hanging out with a gay DJ.
“Okay, we’ve got you on speaker.”
“Great. Hi Colton.”
“Hey Mr. Lynch.” Colton responded, hoping Dean didn’t hear the nervousness in his voice.
“Dean, I wanted to call to tell you that we received your new video today. We absolutely love it. We love how you captured the team, the players, even the facility. It’s amazing.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lynch. That means a lot.”
“We were wondering, would you mind if we played the video at the beginning of our home games before the team takes the field? We think it would really hype up the crowd.”
Colton shot a grin at Dean, and Dean mouthed an excited ‘Wow!’
“Oh my God, I would be honored! Thank you, sir.”
Colton gave Dean a high five.
“No, thank you for creating something so wonderful. I can’t wait for our fans to see it on Sunday, but I won’t keep you. You boys have fun. Colton, I’ll see you soon.”
“Oh. My. God!” Dean shrieked as he ended the call.
Colton punched his shoulder. “That’s fucking awesome! Congratulations.”