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Jax smiled at his boss, who was clearly pleased that he had finally remembered to call her by her first name. She was waiting with him for their cars to be brought around for them. The retreat had been over for an hour, everyone else had said their goodbyes, and theirs were the last two cars to be retrieved from the back parking lot where they’d been valet parked at the beginning of theweekend.
“You may not know this, Jax, but your colleagues are super impressed with you already. I can tell you, since they’re gone, that the few who may have been a bit of a challenge in that department have retired with all our blessings.”
Jax laughed, understanding what shewasn’tsaying. While age might really just be a number in certain areas, when it came to teaching in the music department, and probably in any college department, age was often resistant to change, set in its ways, and generally difficult to live with. Jax was impressed by the number of people under forty who worked in the music department, some of them in their very early thirties. He thought that it bode well for the health of the program.
“I’m happy I’ll have one less thing to worry about, then.”
A silver Saab approached, and Elise turned to shake his hand. “Well, here’s my ride, young man. I’ll see you in the department tomorrow morning. Faculty meeting’sat 9:00.”
Jax returned her goodbye wave and watched as she drove rather speedily down the long driveway. His car stopping in front of him brought his attention back to where he was standing. Tipping the valet, he took himself off, heading toward his new home. He had moved in only a couple of days before the retreat and most of his things were still in boxes. Thankfully, everything he had had in storage had arrived intact, and the heavier items had already been placed where theybelonged.
There’d be no time to cook dinner, as he was expecting Noah by late afternoon and he wanted to unpack a few more rooms, including the guest room, in case he wasn’t ready to share Jax’s space with him. Stopping into what was sure to become his favorite Thai restaurant, he bought Pad Thai, pot stickers, and bubble tea, then hurried home to get to work. His office and the master suite were already set up, and the guest room still needed fresh sheets, pillows, and the bedside lamps to be plugged in.
Once the food was in the refrigerator, he set to work, starting with Noah’s room. Once the cool blue bedding was spread on the queen-sized bed, he fluffed the pillows he’d brought in, plugged in the cute lamps he’d bought at a yard sale, and straightened the painting on the wall. Drawing up the blinds, he let sunshine into the room and opened the window so the sweet late summer breeze could flow in.
He worked steadily, not thinking about anything except getting the house set up. When Noah had left on Monday, he hadn’t known when he’d see him again. They’d spent the last two weeks together but hadn’t had time to do more than steal some heated kisses when they could find a secluded spot to themselves. And though his young lover had wanted to come up with him when he was moving, he hadn’t been able to switch his tutoring appointments.
The grandfather clock he’d had repaired before putting it into storage chimed four times. And as if on cue, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Noah’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey, how far awayare you?”
“About an hour. Want me to stop fortakeout?”
“No. I bought Thai food on the way home. Just get here soon.”
Shedding his clothes, he showered, changed into a pair of comfortable old jeans and an equally well-worn t-shirt, and went back down to ensure that everything was ready for Noah’s arrival. He felt unaccountably nervous, but he swallowed the irrational feeling, calming himself with deep breaths. Noah loved him, and he loved Noah. Whatever else there was to say and do, nothing could take that away from them.
He timed it so that when Noah rang the doorbell, their food was warmed through, and after a heated kiss that didn’t last nearly long enough, he led his lover into the kitchen where he’d set the table. Noah’s belly rumbled, and they both laughed.
“Bubble tea’s in the fridge,” Jax told him. “I’ll just put thefood out.”
Another hot kiss as they passed each other to the table, and then they sat down to eat. Conversation could wait until their bellies were full, but once they’d cleaned their plates and were replete, they took their bubble tea and went intothe den.
“So,any news?”
Noah had met with his friends in the quartet to discuss the future of the group going forward. They had come up to see him on the day Jax was moving, and he had introduced Jax to them. They’d seemed like very nice young men. He already knew that they were super talented, and he hoped that whatever decisions they came to regarding the future of the group, they’d find a way to keep Noah as part of it.
Noah settled into the armchair that Jax remembered had been his favorite seat—when he wasn’t straddling Jax’s lap or resting his head on it as he dozed—when they’d been together before and crossed one leg carelessly over the other. He really would have preferred to have Noah sit on him, but he could wait a little longer for that. They had the whole night, more than twelve hours, before life intruded on their time together again.
Noah’s voice interrupted his musing. “We’ve decided that the best thing for us, going forward, is to remain together as a unit, but with me in a non-performing role. Since I will no longer have the heavy demands of daily rehearsals or the touring responsibilities, I’ll be freer to compose more unique pieces for The BarringtonStrings.”
Jax smiled. “Nice. Love the subtle name change. How will you manage that in the media?”
“We’ll meet with Richie, our manager, next weekend to iron out the plan as well as the rollout of the new format. We’ll work out what he’ll put on our social media page together, and he’ll help me with what I put on my personal page, which I have neglected since the accident. I’ll probably need to grovel a bit.” His face flushed at those words, and Jax could see the shame inhis eyes.
Jax remembered visiting the page earlier in the summer, after he’d first bumped into Noah, and wondering what had happened to him, as well. He hadn’t gone there since. He had the real thing in his life … no need for substitutions. But Noah was right. His fans deserved an explanation and an apology. He resisted the urge to go to him. If he touched him before they were finished with the conversation, he knew it would become much more than an encouraging hug, and he wanted nothing to interrupt their lovemaking. He used his words instead.
“I’m sure you’ll say the right things, babe.” He sucked down some bubble tea before continuing. “Did the guys have any suggestions for what else you might do aside from composing for the group?”
“Well, that’s the other thing we’re going to discuss with Richie. I showed them the revised resume you helped me with, and we decided that Richie will know how to get the word out that I’m available for commissions, guest lectures, and anything else that a former violinist with an interest in paying it forward for younger musicians can do to keep body and soultogether.”
“You sound hopeful. I’m happy for that.”
He had hated how broken Noah had felt when he could see no light at the end of the tunnel. He didn’t know how he would have handled not being able to perform if he’d been in Noah’sposition.
“That’s on you,” Noah replied, surprising him.
“How so?”
