by Leta Blake
Aaron cleared his throat and studied the chairs in front of her desk, trying to determine if one was less stained than the other. The last time he’d chosen the chair closest to the window, but that one now looked to have a new dark patch.
“Aaron!” Principal Shock said again, voice demanding his attention. “You and I need to talk.”
He dropped into the chair closest to her desk without another glance at the upholstery and smiled. He hoped it was a winning one, but given how the morning was going, he had his doubts. “Yes, Mom?”
The new log cabin that Casey and Joel were building on Joel’s property by the lake had taken slow but sure shape over the last year. RJ had been privy to update photos by text all during his last tour.
When RJ hopped out of his mom’s car and waved his family off, he barely turned in time to intercept the greetings of Bruno, Joel and Casey’s pitbull rescue dog, before he could be knocked down by all that enthusiastic muscle.
The trailer Casey and Joel lived in while they built their dream home was decorated for Christmas. Lights were strung along the edges and gutters, a multicolored Christmas tree blinked by the front stoop, poinsettias rested on the stairs to the door, and a giant Blow Glow nativity set was arranged near the road so everyone passing by could see it. Like at Mom and Doug’s, it was full-on Christmas at the Vreeland/Stevens’s household. Unsurprising since Joel owned a home and garden store. It made sense that he’d indulge in his own wares.
The dodgy van Joel had scored to use as an equipment vehicle for the band, an older SUV, and a new Nissan LEAF all sat in the driveway area. RJ hoped Casey’s parents weren’t visiting. He’d never been the Stevens’s biggest fan. And the feeling had been more than reciprocated. Though they seemed to loathe him a little less now that they thought he had connections to famous people and big money. Casey’s folks had always loved connections and cash.
“Hey! How’s it going?” RJ called out when Casey opened the door to his and Joel’s trailer to check out who or what had Bruno so riled up in the yard.
Casey grinned. “It’s going okay. Bruno, down!”
The dog ignored him entirely. “You got visitors?” RJ asked, nodding toward the extra car as he contended with Bruno’s slobbery love.
“No.” Casey whistled for Bruno, who continued to jump and lick at RJ. “Long story.”
“Cool. How goes the wedding planning?”
Shaking his blond head, Casey smirked. “How’d you know that’s what I was doing?”
“Just a guess.” RJ finally freed himself from Bruno’s affections and stepped toward the trailer. “You and Joel were arguing about the venue in the van on the way to the show yesterday.”
Casey snorted, holding the door wider as RJ started up the steps. “That wasn’t arguing. You know Joel. He has to act like he hates every idea at first so he can give in later.”
RJ laughed, taking Casey’s hand and squeezing it. “Sounds about right.
“I guess you’re here for your jacket.” Casey looked out over RJ’s shoulder. “You caught a ride over here?”
“My mom. I’ll get an Uber back home. Don’t worry about it.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Casey closed the door behind them, trying and failing to leave Bruno and his slobbery love out front. “I could lend you the SUV while you’re in town.”
“Why would you do that?”
Casey blushed and turned toward the living room, which featured a fully decorated Christmas tree with a tin star on top and electric candles in the window. “Because my folks got me that LEAF for Christmas? And Joel won’t give up his old truck? So, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with the SUV until I sell it.” He frowned. “If I sell it.”
“Dude, it’s a Lexus.”
“I know.”
RJ leaned against the back of the sofa, admiring the colorful tree. “I can’t drive a Lexus.”
“That’s what Joel said when I tried to give it to him.” Casey laughed.
“Thanks for the offer, but—”
“But you’ll take it while you’re here,” Casey said.
“I can’t.”
“You can. You will.”
“Stubborn.”
“That’s my middle name. Don’t wear it out.”
RJ rolled his eyes.
“Sit down,” Casey said, motioning at the wrapping-paper-strewn couch. “Let me just…” He moved the colorful rolls down to the floor, and Bruno promptly sat on them, crunching them up. Casey patted the sofa. “Have a seat.”
RJ did as he was told. He was tired, the night before was starting to catch up with him now, and in the cozy warmth of Joel and Casey’s living room, he yawned.
“Long night?” Casey asked with a gleam in his eye.
“Maybe.”
“Fun night?”
“Definitely.”
“Ah.” Casey cocked his head. “Was it with Mr. Danvers?”
RJ’s drowsiness fled and he sat up straight. “How did you…? I never said that.”
Casey laughed, his head flinging back as he shook with it. “Oh my God, you slept with Mr. Danvers!”
“Hey, now,” RJ said, before groaning and covering his face, understanding dawning. “Shit. You saw me talking with him after you finished loading out.”
“Yeah. We were gonna come make sure you didn’t want a ride home, but when I saw who you were talking to, I knew better than to interrupt.” Casey flashed an incredulous grin. “Wow. You did it? You really slept with him? Your high school wet dream?”
RJ rolled his eyes, but a sheepish smile drew over his face. “You could say that.”
“Was it everything you wanted it to be?”
RJ flopped back on the sofa, eyes on the ceiling, and let out a long, wretched groan.
“Oh, wow,” Casey said, chuckling. “That good, huh?”
“Unreal.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
RJ pressed his hands to eyes and sat up again. “Something. I don’t know what yet, but I’ve gotta do something.”
“Isn’t he kind of old?”
“Just twenty-eight. Not that old.” Hell, RJ had been in a semi-long-term relationship with a guy way older than Aaron. Like in the second half of his thirties kind of old. Of course, he and Pan had seriously crashed and burned in the end, but who didn’t? He just hoped Mom and Doug didn’t napalm the kids’ lives when they inevitably went down in flames.
Nothing was permanent.
Not bands, not tours, not homes, or relationships. It was best to try not to overthink anything or get too invested. Just take the rides as they came. And fucking Mr. Danvers had been one hell of a ride. He supposed this attitude was why he was so behind on the whole “being a grown up” thing.
“So you’ll see him again?”
RJ hissed out his confusion. “I don’t know. I want to. But…he wanted to keep it to just one night.”
“Did he give you his number?”
RJ reached down to rub Bruno’s head. “I gave him mine.”
“But did you get his?”
RJ shrugged. He wasn’t a fool. Of course, he’d sent a text from Aaron’s phone to his own, so that he’d recognize Aaron if he called. But would it be a good idea to use it? He didn’t want to be creepy about it.
Casey guffawed. “Why are you even hesitating?”
“Because…I don’t know. It’s probably best to just leave it at the one night. I mean, he’s a teacher here in town and, from what I can tell, probably a closeted one. I’m a homeless musician on tour most of the year. What could really happen?”
Casey started to count on his fingers, “First, you could sleep with him again.”
RJ groaned softly. That’d be reason enough.
“Second, you could make a real human connection outside of old high school friends and the messed-up assholes in the rock ’n’ roll world. You know, the drug-addicted dicks you normally travel with. Third…” He smirked. “True love.”
“Ha! Tr
ue love.” RJ rolled his eyes. “Just because your holiday fling with Joel turned into wuv-and-marriage-and-a-baby-carriage, it doesn’t mean that mine would.”
Bruno edged closer to RJ, flopping down on top of his feet and staring up at him hopefully. RJ relented, scratching behind his silky ears.
“Hey, hey, no one here’s considering a baby yet. Or ever. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Casey rolled his eyes. “You were onboard last year when it was me pursuing Joel. You were all about us falling in love. But now that it could be you going after a real happy-ever-after, you’re resisting.”
“Happy-ever-after?” RJ scoffed. “I banged the guy.” A lot. So good. Damn.
“You’re a lot like Joel, you know that? Gotta fight the thing you want before you take it. Why not just take it?”
RJ rolled his eyes. “Mr. Danvers might not want to be taken.”
“Seems like something you should find out for sure though. With your phone. Using that number he gave you.”
“Well, the thing is…he didn’t give it to me. I kind of took it. So ha!” RJ pointed at Casey. “I do just take what I want sometimes!” Bruno huffed at RJ’s feet and shifted heavily against his ankles. RJ stroked his ears some more.
“Give the man a prize!” Casey chuckled, and punched RJ’s shoulder. “Listen, here’s the deal. He didn’t tell you not to contact him, right?”
RJ shrugged. He guessed not explicitly, no.
“So try. If you text him and he says not to contact him again, then fine. Don’t. Boundary drawn. Consent not given. But if you text him, and he doesn’t reject you? Then you could have your high school wet dream in your bed for the holidays.” Casey waggled his brows. “Freak your stepdad out.”
RJ had never known for sure if the awkwardness between him and Doug was because Doug disapproved of RJ’s traveling rock ’n’ roll lifestyle or his queerness. A holiday boyfriend would definitely help clear that up. But wasn’t it better for everyone if RJ just made nice with his mother, made time with the kids, and then disappeared again as soon as possible?
“When is Chip giving you that recording studio time?” Casey asked, thankfully changing the subject.
“As soon as I ask for it.”
“Joel said he’d play for you on the demo if you want, but he needs time to learn the songs.”
“Yeah.” RJ rubbed at the back of his neck, pulling a face. “That’s just it. I don’t have any songs.”
Casey blinked at him. “Seriously?”
“I know, I know. I thought I’d have time to put a few together on this last tour, but then I got back together with Pan for a while—”
Casey groaned. “Why dude?”
“I’m an idiot. What can I say? And that turned into mucho maximum drama-rama plus a drug overdose.”
Casey’s eyes went wide.
“His, not mine. Obviously.” RJ sighed, thinking back to the mess of finding Pan like that. RJ had never been so scared in his life. “And he’s fine, by the way. I mean, I think he’s still using, but fuck if seeing him on the floor in that shitty motel bathroom with foam coming out of his mouth didn’t scare me straight…” RJ scrubbed at his shorn head and shuddered. “I don’t even smoke pot anymore.”
“Damn, RJ.”
“Yeah. But, hey, I can’t pretend I didn’t see that shitshow was coming. The music business is a lot of things, but healthy isn’t one of them.” RJ bit into his lower lip. “Truth is, I haven’t even taken my acoustic out since I got home. That’s the guitar I usually write on.”
“Why?”
“It’s so loud at Mom and Doug’s. Always a kid crying, or yelling, or stomping. Sometimes they have friends over. That’s like…whoa.” He shook his head. “I’m glad my mom’s happy, and I love the kids like crazy, I do. But being around them is not conducive to getting shit done.” RJ shrugged. “Maybe I’ll just let go of the studio time. Get back on the road after the holidays. Forget about making another demo. Where’d the first one get me anyway?”
Casey blew out a frustrated breath. “You were straight out of high school back then. Just a kid. You’ve got more to offer the world now.”
“Save your pep talks for Joel,” RJ said, winking at Casey. “I’m a lost cause for them.”
Casey smirked. “If Mr. Danvers gave you a pep talk, I bet you’d listen.”
RJ snorted. “If Mr. Danvers gave me a blowjob, I’d do anything he asked of me.”
“Call him.” Casey’s phone buzzed and he glanced at it. “I’m sorry, man. I have to take this call. It’s a client.”
“No problem. I’ll just head out.”
Casey nodded and picked up. “Stevens Branding and Marketing, Casey speaking.”
While Casey began to lead a local business owner toward the concept of rebranding to appeal to a younger crowd, RJ found his jacket on the coat rack by the door, gave Casey a wave goodbye, and patted Bruno on the head in parting.
RJ stepped out front and took his phone out of his pocket to summon an Uber, startling when Casey opened the door behind him. Cell phone still pressed to his ear, Casey shoved a car key fob RJ’s way. “Take it. Don’t argue. You’d be helping me out if you just took it off my hands for the next few weeks until I can convince Joel he’s allowed to drive a Lexus. Or until I find a buyer. Probably the latter.”
“Stubborn Casey Stevens,” RJ said.
Casey smirked. “I’ve heard there’s no arguing with him.”
Chapter Nine
“You have to chaperone? Like, she didn’t even give you a choice?”
Aaron groaned. “My mother never gives me a choice. As far as she’s concerned, she’s the parent, I’m still the child, and I have to do what she tells me to do.”
The teacher’s lounge featured a small fiber-optic Christmas tree by the coffee maker, but otherwise was devoid of the charm of holiday décor. Aaron sat across from Lauren White, his colleague and best friend from graduate school. She’d followed him from grad school to teach at Taylor High, and then afterward she’d come with him to teach at Pineview Middle, and today she’d followed him to the circular wood laminate table in the faculty lounge. Talk about loyalty.
Both of them ate their lunches. Aaron’s was a bag he’d grabbed from the takeaway portion of the cafeteria before it closed, and Lauren’s was a preciously prepared lunch from home.
“She’d never treat another teacher the way she treats you.” Lauren patted Aaron’s shoulder sympathetically and heaved a sigh. Her shoulder-length brown hair was up in a bun, and she wore a candy-cane-striped, button-up shirt over a black skirt. Very strict-teacher in her look today. Aaron knew she was a softy with the kids, though.
“Tell me about it.”
“Plus, she’s making you dress up as an elf for Jack’s pep rally tomorrow, isn’t she?” Her golden-hazel eyes flashed.
Aaron shrugged. He wasn’t about to admit he’d volunteered for that humiliation himself. It was just that Coach Ramirez had been sweaty from running with the boys’ football team when he’d approached Aaron in the hallway to ask for his help. And the optimistic, horny slut in Aaron hadn’t been able to resist even the most hopeless of cases.
He wasn’t going to tell Lauren about that. No way. Let her think the humiliating elf costume tomorrow was all his mother’s fault too.
The teacher’s lounge was empty aside from them, but Aaron still spoke softly. No need for word to get back to the principal that he was bitching about her treatment of him. Sometimes he thought he really should have considered looking for a job outside of Knoxville after the scandal with Coach McAllister. At least he would have stayed out from under his mother’s thumb. But he’d just bought his apartment in the city, and he’d loved it dearly.
“Bring a date,” Lauren said with a smirk. “To the dance.”
“You know I can’t.”
“You realize they can’t really fire you for being gay, Aaron. The situation with McAllister was because he was married. The ‘affair’ is what violated the code of ethics.” Sh
e rolled her eyes. “Although why he got away with it and you didn’t…well, let’s just say I have thoughts about that. Still. To this damn day.”
“I know you do, and I know you’re right. They can’t fire me for being gay, but they can make my life harder.” He shoved aside his lunch, not feeling hungry now. “Besides, if I brought a date, Principal Shock would be so pissed she’d never ask me to chaperone again.”
Lauren lifted her mug. “Score.”
“You know I’d pay for it. She’d probably find a way to invoke the morality clauses in my contract.”
“Pfft. Aaron, no. No one would let that happen. And your mom might be pissed, but she wouldn’t take it that far.”
“I know, I know. But she’d find a way to make me sorry. I do have to spend Christmas with her, Lauren. She’d spend the whole day letting me know how disappointed she was in me, how I’d humiliated her, and after all she’d done for me, blah blah blah…”
“You actually don’t.”
“What?”
“Have to spend Christmas with her.”
Aaron swallowed hard, imagining what would happen if he told his mother he wasn’t coming over for Christmas Day. “I know. But despite everything, all our differences, she’s my mother. I love her. And I really want to enjoy my time with her this year.”
Lauren put her own leftovers back into the square, sectioned lunchbox she used. “Why do you give her a pass all the time?”
Aaron didn’t know that he gave his mother a pass, so much as he just hated to hurt her. He knew this wasn’t the life she’d imagined as a young woman. He wasn’t the son she’d wanted. His dad hadn’t been the husband or father she’d hoped for. And Christmas was an especially vulnerable time for her, had been ever since the divorce.
“She’s overly sensitive during the holidays because she thinks I have more fun with my dad.”
Lauren shrugged. “It’s the truth. You do. Rutty’s the best.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “Don’t call him that.”