by Max Hudson
The walls were stark white with a few posters of masterpieces on the walls, mostly Van Gogh and Picasso. The carpet was beige, and the bed was made in a combination of grey and dark blue. Simple. Perfect. It was a rented apartment, personalized just enough to avoid breaking the lease and still have a bit of himself in the place.
For a moment he even thought that it was so perfect it must have been a dream. But there was a body next to him. It was warm and cuddled close to his form. Devlin. He smiled softly and slowly pulled himself away. He was ready for the day to start, but he didn’t want to take the extra sleep from the man in the bed next to him. Devlin clearly needed it. The man had been taking up extra time that he didn’t have to spend on Chance. Maybe there was something that he could do to help.
So, he was careful as he slipped out from under the blankets and stepped barefoot onto the cheap carpet of the bedroom. He padded out to the living room where he had dropped the small overnight bag that he had brought in with him. There was an actual suitcase in the car, but he would deal with that later. He walked into the bathroom and carefully took care of his business. A morning necessity that let him peek into the secret life of the man that he had spent the night with.
Everything there looked normal. Nothing overtly expensive. It seemed the Devlin kept his stuff stocked, but didn’t go crazy with the fancy scents and smells. Chance took a moment to smell the shampoo that was out in the shower. It did smell like Devlin and made him close his eyes and remember the night before. Rolling around for hours on the couch and then the bed before they had fallen into an exhausted slumber. It was a perfect analog for all the plans that he had for this vacation.
A part of him wondered if he should get a hotel room, just in case, but he decided against it. He could ask about it once Devlin woke up. But there were a few things that he could do in the meantime. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and unlocked his phone.
“Breakfast.” He had no idea the kind of food that Devlin would enjoy, so he ended up ordering much more than the two of them could possibly eat. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
Then he plopped down on the couch. Reaching into his bag again he pulled out that old leather book where he began to scribble words onto the page. Another song that would never see the light of day but remained a part of him.
Songs that would never be heard except in his head as notes quickly joined the words. It came so naturally, easier than it had in many years. Maybe it was the location. Maybe it was the company. He shook his head. It was definitely the company and that thought made him smile.
Every so often he glanced over at the phone sitting next to him on the couch. The delivery was growing closer. It wouldn’t be long at all for the driver to get there. He went back to the words in his hands.
But it wasn’t long until he heard movement next to him. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he shoved the book into the bag next to him. “Devlin!”
Devlin’s laugh sounded tired. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. You looked busy.”
“I was just writing a little bit.”
“Do you write a lot?”
“Whenever I get a chance. It’s nothing serious. Just some thoughts and stuff.”
“I didn’t think we’d had much time to think since you’ve been around.” Devlin offered a tired smile. “What did you want for breakfast?”
“It’s already on the way. I didn’t know what you wanted, so I pretty much ordered everything that I could.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“You looked like you needed sleep.” Chance was happy to draw attention away from the book. It would be so difficult to discuss anything more of what was going on in that book. Everything that it meant. A part of him wondered why he was keeping it a secret from Devlin. It wouldn’t have made a difference to him. The man was an artist. Someone who lived to create beautiful honest things that seemed to brighten the world around him. It was a bit of magic in the mundane that belonged to this world. And it was something that Devlin deserved to see, but he wasn’t ready yet.
He didn’t know why he couldn’t show it off. Devlin had passed every background check that they had done. They had shared so much over the past couple weeks. They had talked and laughed and pushed on the edge of falling in love. They had shared a night in each other’s arms, but he still couldn’t talk about that one thing that was so deeply personal to him.
And he didn’t know why.
But his thoughts could only hold him so long. The knock sounded on the door. Breakfast had arrived and they were planning to share it. It was going to be an amazing meal. Ironically, it was going to be the first one that they shared.
It was hard to believe as he accepted the delivery. Devlin was watching him with a soft smile. “You’re stuck in your thoughts this morning.”
“Yeah, kind of.” Chance started to lay out the food. “Just a lot going on.”
“Missing the tour already?”
“Definitely not. I just was thinking about how I never expected to be here. I was half sure you would send me away last night.”
“Have I ever given you that impression?”
“No. But I was worried about it anyway. I can’t really explain it.”
“I figure that’s normal. To be worried when you do something like that.”
Chance laughed. “Let’s just get some breakfast.”
“I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“Figure you could use a good one before we head out and get to work.”
“Yeah, I have to get ready for the market in the morning.” Devlin grinned. “I need to make sure I have the stock.”
“Well, I’m here to help.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a big help or a big distraction.” The artist was joking around a little bit. It put Chance at ease.
“I’ll attempt not to be too incredibly sexy.”
Devlin laughed. “Something like that.”
“You laugh so easily. I love it.” Chance couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “It’s nice to see someone so happy to sit around in his boxers and eat breakfast.”
“This early in the morning, you’re damn lucky I’m functioning enough to wear boxers.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I ordered coffee.”
“God above. Coffee is so perfect right now. You are a Godsend.”
Chance snickered. “If I knew all it would take was coffee, I would have had it sent to your place every single day.”
Devlin paused for a second. “How did you find out where I lived anyway?”
“I have guys that can do some research.”
“Should I be worried about that?”
“No. Not at all. I just asked them to find out where you lived.”
“The internet is a scary place, I guess.” Devlin shrugged. “I guess I don’t think about it a lot.”
“Are you offended by that?”
Devlin sighed. “I guess I understand it. It’s just a little odd to think about.”
“My people thought it was a good idea.”
“And you wanted to make sure that you were safe. I guess you checked me out pretty good, right?”
“Just for red flags.” Chance explained carefully. “All I wanted was for them to tell me if there was anything important that I needed to know.”
“Were you afraid that I was a con man or something?”
Chance looked up from his coffee. “No. I didn’t think that at all, but it’s easy to see only the good when you’re so attracted to someone. And it’s a little scary to trust someone, I guess. I probably should have asked first.”
“I assume you wouldn’t have come if I had ended up being a suspected con artist or something.”
“That would have been a hell of a coincidence.” Chance shrugged. “That the con artist was the one guy I picked out in the farmer’s market.”
“You haven’t met some of the vendors. There are a lot of people out to get a step up on the competition any way they can.”
Devlin shrugged. “Not that I blame them, not really. It’s hard to make it as an artist. And it’s getting harder and harder every day.”
“Is that why you use this whole process so you can make more and more stuff?”
“Yeah. I modified some existing practices, and it allows me to get things moving a little quicker. When I started it took a long time to do this stuff and I couldn’t make enough money to survive off of it. But over a couple of years, I got to develop it.”
“Must have taken a lot of work.”
“It did.” Devlin went into great detail to explain how he had modified the brushes so they could make those beautiful swirls, layering the paint onto whatever material he’s painting. He talks about the different types of paint and how he had to learn to prepare each item he was working on to take the paint job.
“You must have made a lot of mistakes over the years.”
“There are some things that I can’t work on. Anything with cloth or soft plastics. Most metals. All of them give me a bit of trouble.”
“Isn’t that piece metal?”
“Yeah, but I was able to treat it properly so it can take the layer. It’s something new that I’m trying.” Devlin launched into another explanation, he seemed to be excited by the things that he was developing. Chance enjoyed the excitement in the young man’s voice, how much he seemed to light up while he spoke of the magic that he created with his artistic endeavors. “I’m really starting to figure more and more out as I work on it.”
“It’s a really nice process. I was always wondering about that. You’re not exactly painting on a flat surface, and everything is so different.”
“Tables are probably the easiest to do. Chairs are a lot more difficult.”
Chance nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Getting it all to work out together.”
“And I had to learn basic upholstery work for the chairs and stuff. I try to avoid having to do too much.”
“How do you pick your stuff?”
“I do a lot of wandering the streets before bulk pick up days.” Devlin was animated as he explained. “I pick up some at garage sales and thrift stores, but most of the stuff I don’t actually have to pay for.”
“That’s got to be pretty good for the bottom line. Just the tools and the paint.”
“And the time.” Devlin nodded. “That’s where most of the cost is. How long it takes me to make this stuff.”
“I bet it is.” Chance was happy to let Devlin talk about it as long as he wanted.
And Devlin took advantage of it, talking as they finished breakfast and got ready for the day. There was a lot to be done, and Chance started to learn more about the work that Devlin did. His respect rose even higher as he watched the careful job that the man did.
He loved it. He loved the passion. And while they worked, he felt so much more connected to the artistic soul he had quashed to become a major pop star.
Chapter Twelve
Devlin paused outside the small gas station. He had gone on a drink run, leaving Chance to keep working at the studio. The famous singer hadn’t really wanted to go out too much. Devlin couldn’t blame him for that at all. It was a complicated matter, the fame that he carried. In some ways, it was good for people, but it made it more difficult for him to live any sort of normal life.
This trip gave him a chance to think. Something that he needed to do. He thought about the background check that had been done on him. He understood why it was done, but couldn’t get past the slight awkwardness that came with the revelation. He truly didn’t know what he was going to do about it. What he was going to do about Chance. Or even if it was worth torturing himself over. After all, there was a good chance that this wasn’t going to go anywhere.
He sighed as he stopped and decided to top off the tank before he went in for drinks and a few cheap snacks. A few of the other regulars waved at him and he returned the sentiment. But he was too distracted to speak to these people. Instead, he made his way into the store after he finished, his thoughts dancing between the possibility of a future with the Chance Bradford and the book that the man had pulled out and even darting over to the background check every so often.
He picked up his purchases and headed back to the truck. He wanted to spend more time with Chance. Beyond all of the stress and the worries, that was the truth that belonged in his memory. He wanted to be near Chance and he was going to go back and enjoy the day with him. With that, he turned the key in the ignition and headed back to his small studio space.
Chance was there, waiting for him. Something about the guy looked so perfectly ordinary with sweat dripping off of his brow from helping move large pieces of furniture around the space so they could work on it. “Hey!”
Chance smirked as Devlin passed him a drink. “Hey. Find anything good?”
“Just the normal gas station fare.” Devlin shrugged. “I got some chips and beef jerky and a bunch of drinks.”
“Energy drinks?”
Devlin laughed. “Yeah, a few of them.” He started to produce the selection that he had picked up. “Which ones are your favorite?”
“Just about every one of them.”
“Really?”
“I used to survive on these things, actually.” Chance explained. “It was a lot of work to get used to it all. A lot of singers turn to drugs, I didn’t need to because there were energy drinks.”
“Did you make places supply them for you?”
The singer laughed. “I didn’t ask for them, but they did. Most of the time I think the team let them know it would make my life easier. I tried to keep them low calorie at least.”
Devlin nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense. The ones without sugar probably helped keep your body like it is.”
“The body is always a process. I’ve thought about stopping it sometimes. Just worrying about staying healthy.”
“What’s stopping you from doing that?”
“I don’t know.” Chance shrugged. “I can’t really explain it. I just feel like it needs to be done. And to be honest, it irritates me, but I’m happy with the results.”
Devlin watched the man’s face, wondering if that was the truth or not. Maybe Chance was under some kind of pressure from his label or a manager or agent. He couldn’t tell though, and the last thing he wanted to do was pry. But something about Chance seemed to hover just under happy most of the time, especially when talking about his career. “You should do what you want to do. I don’t care either way.”
“I know you don’t.” Chance grinned. It looked a little forced. “Let’s talk about something else. My job takes up way too much of my time as it is.”
“Sure, what do you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know. What about favorite food?”
“Are you really going to start on twenty questions?”
“Isn’t the goal to get to know each other better?”
Devlin thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Deviled eggs.”
“Really?” Chance started to laugh.
“Yes, really.” Devlin nodded. “I make them every couple of weeks for myself.”
“What’s so good about them?”
“I really don’t know how to explain it, but I make them with green onions and bacon and it’s just really good.”
“That does sound pretty good, do you do the paprika sprinkle too?”
“Of course. You have to have that for deviled eggs.” Devlin explained. “They’re just really good. I love it.”
“That’s pretty funny.”
“It’s your turn now.”
Chance thought about it for a second. “I guess I like a good mac and cheese. Well, that’s a lie.”
“How is that a lie?”
“Because I don’t like good mac and cheese. I grew up with that boxed stuff with the powder. And I really like that.”
Devlin broke out in laughter. “I can believe that. I really like that stuff too. Growing up broke has that going for it I guess.”
&nbs
p; “I can’t really admit it. Everyone expects me to like good food and stuff.”
“You can like both.”
Chance nodded. “I always keep some at the house. And even in the bus in case I get the urge to have some.”
“I don’t blame you there.” Devlin shook his head.
“All right. Next question. Favorite color?”
“I like robin’s egg blue.”
“That’s really specific.” Chance looked surprised. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone answer it like that.”
“I work with colors all the time.” Devlin shrugged. “I kind of have to get specific. It’s a really nice pastel that kind of goes with a dark purple, grey or black.”
“I can see that.” The singer looked around at all the projects that were in the studio. “That really explains a lot of stuff.”
“Hey, are you saying that I use those colors a lot?”
“You kind of do.” Chance laughed.
Devlin couldn’t keep the smirk off of his face. “What about you?”
“Hmmm, red.”
“Just red?”
“Yeah. Just red. I don’t really know shades. I work in music.”
Devlin thought about it and nodded. “Fine. Ok. Let’s pick something else.”
“You should ask this time.” Chance offered. “I’ve asked the last two times.”
“All right. I got it.” Devlin tilted his head. “Morning or evening?”
“I’m definitely a night owl.”
Devlin laughed. “Wake up at noon?”
“If I can skip the whole morning, I totally would.” Chance grinned. “Morning time should not exist.”
“If it didn’t exist, what would you sleep through?”
“That’s the only way it should exist.”
“That makes sense.” Devlin grinned at the other man. “I’m more of an afternoon guy myself. I like staying up late, but not so late that I miss the whole morning. If I don’t get started until noon, I feel like I lost the whole day.”
“Does that make any sense at all?”
“Probably not. But it messes with my head and makes it harder to get any work done.”
Chance nodded. “That whole mind thing, yeah, I can get that. I don’t do that anymore. Late-night shows killed that for me.”