AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 30
As happy as I would have been to keep breaking in the new house for my birthday, more festivities had been planned. Brandon had tickets for my favorite pastime: visiting the symphony. He also surprised me by inviting Jane and Eric to go along too.
"I still can't believe you came," I said as Jane and I followed the boys to Brandon's box seats. "You know, considering what happened at the..."
We had talked several times since then, but Jane had steadfastly refused to discuss the fight on the balcony, and so had Eric. I didn't know how, but somehow the two of them had reached a sort of detente.
"It's cool," Jane said as she clutched my arm. "I wasn't about to miss out on my best friend's birthday or the luxe private jet Moneybags there sent to get me. Again. That plane is nice, chick. Anyway, the Walking Pathogen and I can get along for a night here and there, because I am not sharing you."
She had assumed that Eric couldn't hear her, but I knew better as I caught the black look that flashed across his face.
"I don't think you'll be able to keep that peace if you keep referring to him as an infectious disease," I said as we entered the hall.
The four of us filed to our seats, and I was surprised when Jane and Eric took seats together instead of bookending Brandon and me. They both looked at each other as if in surprise, but shrugged all at once as if mutually agreeing that seat choices weren't worth a battle.
The hall filled up, and we all sat back to enjoy a rousing rendition of Mahler's Fifth. It was one of my favorites, and the guest conductor was a legend. I recalled the last time Brandon had surprised me with a date to the symphony––Valentine's Day. It was one of the first times I'd really allowed myself to become vulnerable with him, partly because it was one of the first times he'd really shown his true, thoughtful side. Much like tonight, it was an evening filled with signs that he knew me and paid attention to the person he found.
As the strings sounded, I took Brandon's hand and squeezed. Surprised, he smiled and kissed my knuckles lightly. Even in the dim light of the hall, his eyes sparkled with adoration, and my heart was filled with gratitude that this wonderful, complicated, sometimes tortured man was in my life.
~
"Good birthday, Red?" he murmured as we exited the hall after the performance. From behind me, he clasped his hands on my bare shoulders and nuzzled my ear.
I smiled, my body feeling warm and light. "The best." When Brandon did gifts himself, he really did them right.
He hummed contentedly, and we followed Jane and Eric down to the main lobby. Jane and I stood to the side while Eric and Brandon went to retrieve our coats from the coat check.
"Thanks for coming out again, Janey," I said again to my friend, who was pounding a glass of wine she'd snagged from the concessions table just as they were packing up. It must have been harder to sit next to Eric than I'd thought.
She tossed back the rest of the wine and gave me a wide, cheesy grin. "Anytime, chickie, anytime." Then her face twisted with displeasure. "Shit."
"What?"
"Two o'clock. Look––very carefully––and then you need to get behind this pillar. Your hair is like a homing beacon for assholes."
"Oh, like your spikes are much better?" I grumbled.
"We don't have time to for this!" Jane hissed. "Even though, for the record, your hair could direct airline traffic in a snowstorm, and you know it. So, I'm pretty sure that Jared Rounsaville is going to notice it in a room full of black tuxedos!"
At that name, every hair––no matter what color––on my body stiffened. My eyes grew wide enough to split my skull as I stared at Jane.
"Tell me you're joking."
She shook her head. "Not even a little."
I gulped. "We have to get Brandon and Eric and go. Now."
"Does Brandon know what Junior Khaki Boy Scout did?" Jane asked as we started to worm our way through the crowd. Thank God, Eric and Brandon were next in line, even though that mostly consisted of Eric waiting while Brandon chatted with the numerous people seeking his attention.
"He does," I confirmed. "And considering how tightly wound he's been lately, I really don't know what he'll do if he sees him..."
Jane cut a sharp look back at me. "It's still that bad?"
As I passed one of Brandon's donors, I gave a brief smile and spoke through my teeth. Then I checked over my shoulder and relaxed once I saw that Jared was safely out of sight. Maybe we'd get lucky after all, and he wouldn't see us.
"Yes," I said simply. "It is."
I didn't expand––I didn't need to. Jane just squeezed my hand behind her, and went back to guiding us through the crowd.
