Love at the Right Tempo

by Michael Mandrake

  “Well, lucky for you they’re not the one sleeping with you.” Kelliani whooped and hollered as Matt’s team made a breakaway down the court. When that wound up in a missed basket and the other team getting possession of the ball, Kelliani sat. “This is between you and Frederick. What I say, or his best friend says or his parents say, is just static. Some of it may make sense, and some won’t. In the end, you and Freddy boy have to determine what’s best for both of you and your life together.”

  Vaughan reached over and pressed a kiss to Kelliani’s head. “That, my friend, is no static.”

  “Hey.” Kelliani beamed prettily at him. “Sometimes I make sense.”

  Marietta, sitting on Vaughan’s right, laughed before yelling even louder than Kelliani. Matt took the ball all the way down the court and went in for a jump shot under the basket. Vaughan applauded before sticking two fingers into his mouth and whistling. Matt turned to the audience, and Matt gave him the thumbs up.

  “This talk is not over,” Kelliani whispered close to his ear.

  Vaughan grunted. “I miss him, Kelly. Damn, am I an idiot or what?”

  “No. You and Frederick had something nice. There’s no shame in admitting you miss him, that you want him. Men are such idiots.”

  Vaughan pouted at her. “I don’t mean to be. You know my track record with men. I know, I get that Frederick might be different. And when he looks at me I can tell because he looks at me like I am the sexiest man alive. Damn…”

  Kelliani hugged him. “I’m so happy for you. Everyone should find someone to make them feel like that. Why do you think we women get the lingerie and the fancy digs to entice our men? We want to look like the sexiest piece of ass on the planet. I think men need that too.”

  “I wouldn’t say I needed that. Before Frederick I never even thought about it. But that first night we made love, he looked at me and I lost myself.”

  “Come on! Dee-fence!” Marietta shrieked from beside Vaughan.

  He’d almost forgotten where he was. Shocked, he looked over at Marietta until Kelliani recaptured his attention.

  “Sorry,” Vaughan said. “These basketball moms are intense.”

  “That’s nothing. You should meet the hockey moms. Or heaven forbid the dance moms!”

  Vaughan groaned. “Seriously, Kelly. I could see myself with this man—I mean waking up in the mornings, kissing him as he leaves for practice or a meeting while I get ready to go into Prince’s. I even wondered what it would be like for us to have kids.”

  “Oh dang. I didn’t think you two left off on a good note.”

  “So-so.” Vaughan lifted a hand to wiggle his wrist. “We fixed that with a special phone call before he left.”

  Kelliani went silent so Vaughan turned to see she had a confused look on her face. When he wiggled his brows at her, Kelliani flailed.

  “Oh ick!” She giggled.

  Vaughan smirked.

  “I’m glad you could make it,” Marietta said, drawing Vaughan back to her. “He’s been looking forward to this for a while now.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

  The game went on, and in the end, Matt’s team won. As his friends hoisted him in the air, Matt lifted his father’s dog tags to show Vaughan, who laughed and pointed at the teen. People watching may not know what that meant, but Vaughan did.

  They all met up after Matt could leave, and Vaughan drove them in Kelliani’s car back to Prince’s. Though Marietta tried declining, Vaughan wouldn’t have it. Matt had done well and deserved a treat. Their time together kept Vaughan from losing his mind. It wasn’t only for them.

  But the night had to end, and soon he was standing at his window in the apartment, with Nefertiti chasing her tail in the center of his bed. Vaughan laughed and reached for his cell. At first he figured he’d call Frederick. He had tried before, and he didn’t pick up. Not wanting to seem needy, Vaughan hadn’t called back.

  He stared at the phone before an idea hit him. Smirking like the Grinch, he hurried into the bathroom with the phone and closed the door. After setting the phone up to record, he got into position and slowly stripped. Once he was naked, Vaughan touched himself until he was breathing so hard, he thought he would fall over. All he had to do was imagine Frederick’s hands on him coupled with Frederick’s mouth and heated breath. All of it, plus Frederick’s voice moaning, begging, whimpering—it wasn’t hard for Vaughan to lose himself. Yet, he pulled back only to build the fire inside his core again and again until finally, he growled Frederick’s name and allowed himself to explode all over his hand and the floor before him.

  Even with how hard his orgasm was, Vaughan still had the mind to lean forward and peer into the camera. “I thought one good turn deserves another, Freddy,” he said before stopping the recording. He quickly washed his hands, dried them in a towel, then picked up the cell. Vaughan ensured he was sending it to the right person and hit send.

  The video was gone, and there was no way to take it back—the thought was so final. The moment it swirled through his head, Vaughan frowned. Were he and Frederick at the point in their relationship where a video of that sort was acceptable? Hell, they’d had phone sex before Frederick left, so sending him an actual video couldn’t be any different.

  But, as the hours ticked by with no reply from Frederick, no reaction, Vaughan was beginning to believe he’d made a mistake. All he wanted to do was call Frederick and tell him to just delete the video without watching it. But that would only make him look like an idiot.

  Ugh!

  Note to self, learn how to build a time machine.

  Vaughan frowned but eventually fell into bed. The next morning, he woke to Nefertiti licking his face. It seemed that was the norm, and it always meant she wanted to do her business. Hauling on a shirt with his track pants, he found a plastic bag, her leash and attached it, then picked up his cell, keys, and wallet and exited the apartment. As he walked her around the large field in the back, he was barely looking where he was going. He checked his phone constantly but still no reply from Frederick.

  Maybe that vid was a bad idea, V ma boy.

  “You think?” Vaughan asked out loud.

  Shit. Now I’m arguing with the voices in my head.

  Vaughan sighed, picked up after Nefertiti and headed back to the entrance. He stopped to dump the plastic bag of dog droppings in a nearby garbage can, then walked the queen into the building. When they arrived at his door, Vaughan was glad to see Kelliani there. She was digging furiously through her purse.

  “Kelly?”

  “I can’t find your keys,” she said, irritation evident in her voice.

  “Okay, no matter. I’ll let you in.”

  She sighed. “I swear, if my head wasn’t screwed on I’d lose it.”

  “It’s not that bad. I’m pretty sure it’s in that suitcase you call a purse.” Vaughan scooped Nefertiti up and placed the puppy in Kelliani’s arms. Nefertiti proceeded to lick Kelliani’s face.

  Vaughan let them into the apartment, and after the queen was free to roam, he brought Kelliani into the kitchen for a drink.

  “Kelly, I did a bad thing.”

  “Okay. I know a lawyer and a guy who knows a guy who knows how to get rid of a body.”

  Vaughan eyed her. “What? No! I sent Frederick a dirty video.”

  “As in porn?”

  “No!” Vaughan answered, exasperated. “I dirty video of—well—of me.”

  Kelliani blinked. “Doing what?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not David Blaine. I can’t read your damn mind.” Kelliani smirked.

  “Damn it to hell, Kelliani!”

  “Don’t you growl at me! The man you’re supposed to be growling at will be coming back soon. Now tell me what’s on that video.”

  “I can’t say it.”

  “What are you? Three?” Kelliani sighed. “You were yanking it like a spider monkey, go on.”

  Vaughan frowned and rubbed a han
d over his heated cheeks. “And now I think I might have done the wrong thing.”

  “How?”

  “He hasn’t replied.”

  “He could just be tired,” Kelliani said. “Maybe he hasn’t seen it yet. You know how those celebrity types are.”

  “So he doesn’t check his phone a million times a minute like everyone else?”

  “Of course not. Most of those types let their managers or assistants do the phone stuff.”

  “Oh gawd!” Vaughan’s heart slammed into his chest at the thought of Deena seeing him jerking off.

  Kelliani laughed. “The look on your face right now.”

  “You are not helping!”

  “Sure I am. I could have said maybe you sent it to the wrong person.”

  Terrified, Vaughan opened his phone and checked. He did send it to Frederick. Relieved, he bypassed the juice and poured himself some Crown. “I wish he’d just tell me to fuck off already,” Vaughan muttered, then knocked the shot back. “At least then I’d know.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Once the tour got started, it was as if Frederick was on the treadmill leading him to absolutely nowhere. Sure, there were several plane stops in city after city, meeting with fans, press, and members of GLBTQ organizations to see, but all these faded in the background as he’d thought about who he’d left behind.

  Vaughan had been on his brain from the day they’d hung up after phone sex to now, and all Frederick could think about was when he would return to the Lauriette theatre to play for thousands, including Vaughan and Kelliani. That day couldn’t come soon enough for him. For now, he’d have to put it in the back of his mind so he would remember his playlist and all the notes. If he would’ve forgotten, it would be quite embarrassing for himself and mortify his parents.

  With Vaughan back in Cardova, Frederick heavily relied on Gabriel to keep him company. When the performances were over, he found himself spending time in his hotel room practicing for hours, to temporarily forget how much he missed his lover. Although he wanted to hear his sexy voice, he couldn’t bring himself to call. Not that he cared about Vaughan deeming him a dweeb and calling him needy. Frederick truly thought hearing the deep alto tone in Vaughan’s voice would kill him. So he refrained and sent texts instead. He didn’t receive too many responses, so he figured Vaughan was busy. He wouldn’t push. The last thing he wanted was to run the man away when they’d just begun.

  By the time week two of the tour rolled around, Frederick was already feeling the effects. His two bowls of cereal in the morning along with candy corn and Skittles would be all he ate for most of the day with Sprite as the chaser. In truth, he hadn’t had too many meals other than sushi with Deena when he performed in Seattle. Frederick didn’t feel he needed to eat all that much because consuming too much would make him sluggish. He couldn’t very well perform at that pace with an overly full stomach to drag him down.

  “Freddy?” Deena’s voice woke him from his slumber. Right now they were in Chicago, getting ready for night two at the Opera House. Due to staying up, practicing his own concerto he’d been writing, he’d only slept for four hours.

  “Yes, Deena?”

  “I was wondering did you want to go out for breakfast. The president of Agatha Center would like to meet with you. And Delaney called me because he couldn’t get you on your cellphone. Did you plug it up?”

  Frederick silently cursed himself when he remembered that it had died after his performance in Cleveland two nights ago. After letting go of Vaughan’s jacket, Frederick slowly dragged himself out of bed, ambling over to his messenger bag and plucking the phone out. He fished in the bag for the charger and when he found it, he headed back to bed, plugging the phone into the outlet behind the nightstand.

  “Freddy?”

  “Sorry, Deena, I didn’t.” Frederick ran his hand through his messy locks while he waited for it to power up.

  “Can I come in?” Deena sounded annoyed.

  “Oh sorry, love. Yes.”

  The sound of Deena closing the door, then padding across the room disturbed Frederick’s thoughts for a moment. He eyed her looking strangely at him.

  “What?”

  Deena sighed heavily and took a seat on the bed. “I swear you’ve been acting like a total zombie lately. Do you miss the bartender that much? And I still haven’t forgiven you for the stunt you pulled before we left. You had me order the cereal then when you had the dirty sex call with your man.” Deena groaned, holding her hands up in quotes. “You forgot all about breakfast. I swear, Freddy, I don’t like this new version of you. You’re acting like more of an ass since you started seeing him. And now that he isn’t here, if you’re not on stage, out with the press or fans, or the people in these organizations, you don’t even come out your room. You’re freaking pale for godssakes! You need to get out and grab some sun.”

  Frederick nodded, knowing his friend Deena was partially right. He put his phone down, even though he noticed that Vaughan sent him a video. Despite wanting to see it, Frederick had to clear up things with his best friend.

  “Deena, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to treat you badly. Don’t blame Vaughan for this at all. It’s me.” Frederick inched up on the bed a little, feeling his joints protest his sudden movements. “No question, I miss Vaughan, but that’s no excuse for the way I’ve been treating you. You’ve been with me through thick and thin, and at times I’ve taken your goodness for granted.”

  Deena nodded, appearing to be satisfied with his apology. “Yes, you have. I mean, dude. Was the dick that good?”

  Frederick smiled wryly and wrapped one arm around Deena’s shoulder.

  “Deena it’s more than the just the … um … sex. It’s him. Everything about him drives me nuts. Sure, the sex is wonderful. In those three days we had an amazing time between the sheets. Even when we weren’t tangled up in the horizontal tango, Vaughan had me going crazy. I swear I don’t know how to handle all this. I’m away from a man who I want in my life for the rest of my existence. I want us to grow together, live together, maybe have kids down the line if he wants them. I am fucking batty over this man, and I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”

  Deena’s eyes widened, and she shook his head. “Yeah, it’s his dick. The man has got you kissing me off with a middle finger and cursing aloud. Too bad he ain’t straight because I would’ve loved to try it on for size.” Deena laughed.

  Frederick growled then pushed her off playfully. “No dear. He’s mine, so hands off! Get your own. You know, he actually has a couple of military friends that I met. Maybe he could introduce you to one of them?”

  Deena straightened up. “Oh honey, you ain’t said nothing but a word in that case. What are their names, and what do I have to do to get them both in bed?”

  Frederick shook his head, smirking. Deena never did back down from any challenges. “Well, for one, I won’t do anything until you stop calling Vaughan ‘the bartender’. He is more than the bartender, Deena. He’s my lover.”

  “Ooh, wow. After three days he’s your lover?”

  “After three days, yes, he has more than earned that title. And like I said, it is more than just the dick, since you must make everything so blunt.”

  Deena laughed and fell back on the bed, kicking her legs. “Oh my God, hearing you say that was priceless!”

  “Deena, watch out for Gabriel!” Frederick nearly had a heart attack when he saw her fall backwards.

  “Oh God, Freddy he’s here, too? Vaughan’s jacket, the violin. Damn, I think I’ll be happy you’ve got a man so you can stop sleeping with fucking objects!”

  Frederick harrumphed and got up from the mattress. He picked up his phone to eye the message Vaughan left. When he pressed the screen, Vaughan’s sexy brown body appeared, and Frederick nearly lost his breath.

  Mother of God!

  Frederick’s cheeks heated and quickly pressed the pause button.

  “Um, sweetheart? Do you mind giving me a moment? I wanted to take
care of some business.”

  “Oh? Is it the same business that happened when I was left in the hotel room with soggy Rice Krispies?”

  Frederick grinned, but he refused to give up his secrets.

  “No, ma’am. I need to call Delaney and then Vaughan because I miss him. I don’t need you in here cheesing in my face and making me nervous.”

  Deena stood. “All right, fine. What should I tell the people with the Agatha Center?”

  Frederick shrugged. “I suppose I’ll meet with them later. I’m really tired. I didn’t sleep well last night after the show.”

  “Okay, so what time?”

  “Er. My performance isn’t until eight. Can we say around five?”

  “Isn’t your sound check at five? And dammit, Freddy, you need to get out a little. You’re looking pale, and you need to eat. Remember what doctor hottie told you when I took you in for your last visit?”

  Frederick wrinkled his lips into a snarl. “Prescott is hot, but he has no clue what he’s talking about. I’m fine. Nothing is wrong with me. I know I have heart palpitations from time to time and I run myself ragged during tours, but it’s part of my life as a musician.”

  “Freddy, c’mon. You need to listen to him. Do you remember when you walked off stage and nearly fainted after going days on just candy and cereal? Do you? When will you ever learn?”

  Frederick didn’t want to remind Deena that except for the sushi six or so nights ago, he hadn’t had too many full meals. “Um, love, I’ll be fine. And if it will make you happy, I’ll go for a bike ride later, outside.”

  “No, no bike rides. Besides, your BMX isn’t here. It’s in Los Angeles.”

  “I know, but I’m quite sure the hotel knows of a place I could rent one. Actually, they have those rental bikes all over the city. I should try to find one and ride before soundcheck.”

  “Freddy!”

  “What? I’ll be getting sun like you said.”

  “No, you’ll be wearing yourself out. I’m going to order some breakfast for us. It’s almost eleven, but they should be still serving. It’ll take a minute, so after you call your lover and manager, get a little rest. It’ll do you some good.”