Chapter Nineteen #2
Kenny stood and hugged him. “Dude, it’s been forever.”
“I know. I heard you moved up to this side of town. I’m looking at a couple places on North Dearborn, so we’ll almost be neighbors again.”
“That’s sweet!”
Trish rose to greet Brandon, offering her hand and a flirtatious smile. “Jesse’s talked so much about you. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Jesse caught her attempts to entice his brother. “Forget it, Trish. After years of self-deprivation, he finally decided to let himself be fully queer.”
“Damn it!” Trish dropped down on the couch. “Is that all there is in this town?”
Jesse grinned at her. “All the best ones are.”
She scowled up at him. “Obviously.”
Julian slid into Trish’s place. “I’ll take over then.” He held his hand out to Brandon. “Julian Forrester. It’s a pleasure.”
Brandon gently took Julian’s hand and presented him with his most charming smile. “Mine as well. Jess told me you attended Julliard and that you’ve played with orchestras all across the country. I can’t believe someone with so much talent would want to go slumming with him.”
“Hey!” Jesse yelled.
Julian ignored Jesse. “Well, I am a man who enjoys diversity. You’ll have to forgive me for eavesdropping, but I could have sworn I overheard you saying that you were going to be playing the Phantom. Am I correct?”
“Very much so.”
“Then my sincerest congratulations to you. That’s always been one of my favorite plays. I actually dated an actor once who was a stand-in to Raoul in a small production of it. He was dreadful on stage, but excellent in bed.”
“Well, if you don’t have the talent for one, you better be good at the other,” Brandon laughed.
“So true,” Julian chuckled. One eyebrow raised. “And, where do your talents lie?”
Brandon leaned toward him. “I’m one of those rarities who excels at everything.”
Jesse stepped in between them. “This whole thing is creepin’ me out.
” He faced Brandon. “Jules has way too much class for you and we both know you only date losers.” He turned to Julian.
“And you said that you go for the tall, rugged, athletic type, and he’s a theatre freak. There’s nothing rugged about him.”
“No, but he is rather tall and looks quite athletic,” Julian said.
“Well, I did practice karate for ten years when I was younger, and I’ve had seven years of ballet, not to mention, tap, swing—”
“No one wants to hear your résumé, dork,” Jesse said. “Sit down and have some pizza.”
Brandon threw a grin at Jesse, sat beside Julian, and immediately took over the conversation with talk of theatre and the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle he was picking up that afternoon.
Evan handed Jesse a plate with two slices of all meat pizza when he sat down beside him. “You should’ve let them continue,” he whispered. “It was fun watching them.”
“You’re such a voyeur. That’s all I’d need is Brandon to sleep with him, then pull one of his I’m-just-not-looking-for-a-commitment acts and get Julian so upset that he leaves the band.
Brandon doesn’t have the best track record with relationships, and he really does always fall for losers.
You know, for as much as he always took care of and protected me, he’s the one who gets taken advantage of a lot.
He tends to be a little on the gullible side when it comes to the guys he’s dating. ”
“That’s so sad.”
Jesse nodded and took a bite of his pizza.
After lunch, everyone made their way back down to Studio B to begin the afternoon of recording, and since he had some free time, Brandon decided to stay and watch Jesse work. He started to walk into the control room, but Evan caught his wrist and pulled him back.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Okay,” Brandon said, confused. He glanced back toward the control room, saw Jesse and the others tuning and getting things ready, and turned to follow Evan up the hall.
Evan stopped near Studio A, standing with his arms folded across his chest. “So listen, I know when we met I was sort of a dick and I didn’t talk to you in the best way, so I just wanted to say sorry.”
Brandon stared at him. For the third time that day, shock jolted through him, and this time, so strong it forced his mind blank.
“I’m not really good at this kind of thing,” Evan continued. “Meeting friends and family of lovers. I’ve never been with anyone long enough to get involved in all that, but it’s different with Jess.”
Brandon’s mind began to function again. He looked at how tense Evan stood, listened to the hesitation in his voice. He could easily tell Evan wasn’t accustomed to apologizing and definitely wasn’t used to speaking his emotions.
Evan took a deep breath and spoke again, his voice softer.
“I don’t have a lot of friends, Brandon.
I could count the people I truly trust on one hand, and even then I wouldn’t use all my fingers, but I’d like to count you among them.
You’re very special to Jesse, and he’s very special to me, so that makes you special to me, also.
” He unfolded his arms and moved to walk past Brandon.
“So anyway, I just thought you should know.”
Brandon snagged Evan by his bicep. “I appreciate it. Nothing would make me happier than to be counted among the people you trust. The truth is, I don’t have a lot of friends either.
I know tons of people, but there’s a big difference between that and calling someone a friend, isn’t there?
For me, Jess has been my best friend forever, so to be able to call the man he’s fallen in love with a friend, that’s something I’ve always hoped for. ”
The apprehension on Evan’s face was vanquished with a bright smile. “I’m glad we’ve got that cleared up. Now you can take me for a ride on your new motorcycle tonight.”
“Only if you take me for a ride in your Enzo,” Brandon laughed.
“It’s a deal.” Evan walked toward Studio B. The sound of Jesse singing “Shattered” drifted out into the hall through the open door. He stopped and turned to Brandon. “You asked me that day at the restaurant what I wanted from him. Remember?”
Brandon nodded.
“I wasn’t ready to answer then, because at the time, I was still afraid to admit it to myself. What I want from him is, everything he is, everything he has ever been, and everything he will ever be. I want him and only him.”
Brandon smiled and laid his hand on Evan’s back, guiding him into the control room and to Jesse.