Spaces Between Notes

by Kristina M Sanchez

  Bennett raised his hands, looking for all the world like he was about to start yelling. Before he could, he jumped up in the air, making a warped, startled sound. He looked down, and Niko had to grin.

  Maestro was attacking Bennett’s untied shoelaces with gusto.

  Bennett stared down at the cat in incredulity and then over at his sister. Niko didn’t have to know sign at all to understand the clear “what the fuck?” written all over the other man’s face. He looked up, glared at Carys, and started in, hands flying.

  “They’re both here, in my house, because I want them here.” She paused, watching her brother’s hands with fire in her eyes. “Well, not everything is about what you want, Bennett.”

  He huffed and reached down just as Niko did for the kitten he’d been trying to edge away with the toe of his foot. Niko wouldn’t have put it past him to kick Maestro, and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

  Bennett looked up at Niko, yanking the kitten up as he stood. He shoved the mewling creature at Niko’s chest and then grabbed him by the arm, hauling him toward the door.

  Niko wrestled his arm out of the other man’s grip, clutching Maestro to him with one hand and balling the other into a fist.

  “Benny!” Carys put a restraining hand on her brother’s arm. “You—”

  All at once, Benny’s expression changed from one of fury to something else, something pleading. His hands, when he spoke then, moved slower. Carys’s look changed as she read, and her lips turned down into a sad frown. “Oh, Benny.”

  Niko wasn’t even a little surprised when she turned to him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “My brother needs me.”

  The next day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. No excuse not to work today, Niko noted. His fingers twitched at his sides, and disappointment spread through him. It took him a minute to realize he was tapping his fingertips along his jeans in the same succession he would if he were playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” With just a taste of the guitar, was he already addicted?

  Niko remembered the heat of Carys’s breath against his lips and quickly pushed the thought away. Just a taste indeed.

  When he got to the house, Jamie was already there. “You better have brought breakfast!” he called and grinned when Niko held up a bag.

  When they’d fortified themselves enough for the day, they set to work on the porch. Niko went to set the boards they were going to use against the front of the house and happened to glance in the window. He was surprised to see Benny asleep on the couch, tangled in a blanket. The remnants of a night’s heavy drinking lay on the coffee table. In spite of his dislike for the man, Niko felt a grudging tug of compassion. He’d obviously really needed his sister the day before.

  “Did you get the concrete from the back?” Jamie asked. “We need to finish the footings.”

  Niko turned away from the window and pointed to the concrete bags.

  “Let’s get to it, then.”

  It was almost noon when Jamie said, “Is there something going on between you and Carys?”

  A jolt of surprise went down Niko’s back, and he turned to stare at his friend. The other man wasn’t looking at him, though. He was stirring the cement and shaking his head. “She’s got to be pissed off at one of us. I can smell the French toast and bacon from here, man. I’m starving.”

  Niko huffed in relief. Paranoid bastard, he thought, turning his head back to his task. Not that he’d done anything wrong. Carys had no reason to be angry at him. If anything, it was the other way around. He didn’t understand the game being played. He was useless as a friend, and he knew that. Carys had also seen him angry, which hadn’t been pretty.

  The anger alone should’ve been a deal breaker. A man who could tear apart a house could probably do a lot worse. Niko never had and never would, but he was capable. He knew the appeal of the bad boy, but there was a difference between the rebel without a cause and a man who was prone to violence. He wasn’t a man she should’ve wanted to kiss.

  Jamie snapped his fingers in front of Niko’s face. “What? You’re losing your hearing now, too? I’m talking to you, man.”

  Niko glared and gestured for him to repeat whatever he’d been trying to say.

  They worked for another half hour before Carys stuck her head out the front door. He was in the outline of the porch’s foundation, closer than Carys suspected. Her cheeks tinged pink, her look shy as she offered him a tentative smile. “Are you guys willing to take a break if I feed you?”

  Jamie could always be depended on where food was concerned. “Are we talking about that amazing bacon I smell?”

  “No. I made something disgusting for you to eat while we feast like kings.” Carys rolled her eyes. “Come inside.”

  “As a gay man, I have no problem saying I appreciate bossy women.”

  “As long as they’re feeding you?”

  Niko snorted. At the noise, Carys’s eyes flitted to him. A shiver went down his spine, and he rolled his shoulders as though to shrug it off. As quickly as she’d looked to him, she turned back to Jamie. “Wash up before you sit down,” she said and turned to go back into the house.

  “You heard the woman,” Jamie said, giving Niko’s back a few helpful whacks to get him moving. “Let’s go.”

  As Jamie headed directly toward the kitchen, Niko diverted to the downstairs bathroom. It would take a few minutes to get all the dirt and concrete powder off their hands and arms. There was no sense in hanging out in the kitchen, waiting for Jamie to finish. It wasn’t as though he could chit-chat about the weather.

  He stood at the counter, thinking he probably should’ve used the hose rather than the bathroom sink to get the majority of the dirt off. He was almost done when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eyes.

  Carys stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, her gaze riveted on his. Caught unaware, Niko took an automatic step backward and stared. There was that bizarre sense of guilt rearing its head again. He wasn’t supposed to be in the tight space of a small bathroom with this woman. It was a feeling more than a rational thought, something to do with his inability to believe it was something she wanted. She shouldn’t feel trapped, threatened, but she was the one who’d trapped them both in here, which begged several questions.

  Why? She couldn’t—

  Eyes still locked with his, Carys stepped into his personal space. She put her hands on his waist and pressed onto the balls of her feet. “Am I barking up the wrong tree?” She glanced at his lips and back up again.

  Niko’s breath stuttered. He couldn’t get his brain to wrap around what was happening here. Her scent, the heat of her body so near his, distracted him. What was going on? He hadn’t charmed her. He was incapable of that now.

  But he was still capable of kissing a woman. Oh, yes. He knew how to kiss, knew how to consume, knew how to make a woman forget there was anything else but him, her, them. Whatever the reason, this woman wanted his kiss, and he wanted hers. There was nothing else to say. His lips were about to be too busy.

  Niko brought his hand to the small of her back and tilted his head, catching her lips with his. She took a sharp breath, her body going rigid beneath his hand before she relaxed with a sigh. He let his tongue dart out but not to deepen this kiss. He wet his lips and tasted hers—cinnamon, powdered sugar, a hint of syrup—curling his arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his.

  She arched up to meet him, pivoting to the side so her back was to the counter. Taking the invitation, he caged her in and leaned with both his hands on either side of her. Their kiss broke with a breathless gasp. He stole a sweeter kiss, a peck, from the side of her mouth, and she turned her head to catch him full again.

  “Niko! Where the hell did you go?”

  Carys groaned. The sound vibrated on his skin. She kissed him again, and they both pulled back. For a few seconds more, they stared at each other, each of them flushed.

  So… That happened.

  Her mouth twitched up, and s
he laughed, the sound thin but happy. “I’ll go first,” she said and then paused. “We should talk. About pages. I mean, if we’re on the same one.” She put her hand to her mouth and cleared her throat. “Anyway. Yeah.”

  With that, she opened the door and hurried away. Niko listened as Jamie greeted her, and she pretended to be shocked he hadn’t eaten her out of house and home already. Niko closed his eyes and swept his tongue over his lip, tasting the remnants of sugar. An urge went through him that bordered on need. He had to lock his knees to keep himself from racing out of that bathroom and pinning Carys up against the nearest surface.

  Niko bent over the sink and splashed cold water on his face. Baseball, baseball, baseball. It had been a while—a long damn while. Baseball didn’t work. He thought of his father, and his voice came as clearly as though he’d called.

  Little girls like pretty little boys. That’s why boy bands are a thing. Real women want a real man.

  That took care of Niko’s problem nicely. He clenched his jaw, wiped the water from his face, and went to join the others in the kitchen.

  If he’d needed any additional help to distract him from whatever the hell had just happened with Carys, Niko got it. He stopped short, taken back by the look on Jamie’s face. He’d known the man for too many years not to recognize the sight of Jamie on the prowl.

  He was sitting adjacent from Benny, a cocksure grin tugging at one side of his mouth. He was signing something, his movements uncertain. Niko caught onto the game easily enough when Benny took his finger and moved it into a different position, his touch lingering.

  Niko had to resist the urge to snort. No accounting for taste, he supposed.

  The sound of a plate being put down with unnecessary force made him jump. He looked to his side to find Carys had set down his brunch and was now fixing him with an unamused stare.

  Unable to help himself, he quirked an eyebrow. Really, given the interactions he’d had with her brother to date, what did she expect? Her hard expression faded, and she smiled.

  There it was again, that spark of appreciation, of attraction in her eye. There really was no accounting for taste.

  “So explain this to me,” Jamie said as they all tucked in. “What are we celebrating?”

  Some of the light faded from Carys’s smile. “I need a reason to make breakfast for lunch?”

  Jamie spread his arms wide. “A spread like this? I know how long this must’ve taken you to put together. If it were me, I’d have to have a damn good reason.”

  It was Benny who answered, his hands flying.

  “It’s not a celebration; it’s comfort food,” Carys said for her brother. Niko watched as she relaxed infinitesimally, speaking freely now that she had Benny’s permission. “See, my little brother’s an addict.”

  Niko stopped mid-chew, and Jamie stumbled to find words. “That’s… I, um…”

  Benny rolled his eyes. “Assholes,” he said, the word coming out in a rough, lurching speech. “I’m addicted to assholes.”

  “Well, that makes two of us,” Jamie said, his smirk back in full force. “But surely that wasn’t news to you.”

  Before Benny could respond to that, Carys reached over and yanked his loose sleeve up. The easy air in the kitchen was snuffed out instantly when they all saw what Benny’s baggy clothing hid. His arm was a mass of bruises—bruises in the shape of fingers above his wrist, dark black bruises at his shoulder— and a scraped elbow.

  Benny yanked his arm back, scowling at his sister. There was blunt, and then there was private, apparently. He signed at her, his look black with fury.

  “Because I’m not going to sit here and watch you make a joke out of it again,” Carys answered. “It’s not funny. It’s never going to be funny.”

  Here’s the thing; Niko didn’t like Benny—he had no reason to like Benny—but it hadn’t been that long ago he’d seen a picture of the twins, his little sister’s arms wrapped protectively around his little brother’s shoulders even as they mugged for the camera, as Micah’s high cheekbone under his right eye was still marred with the fading yellow of a bruise.

  He raised his hand, signing one of the few words Carys had managed to drill into him without thinking. He pressed his thumb to his chin with his index finger out. He bent his index finger in twice, not bothering to keep the fury from his face.

  Benny, who’d caught the movement, turned his pissed-off glare on Niko. He chuffed and signed at him, somehow dripping sarcasm by movement alone.

  “What the fuck do you care?” Carys said, translating. “No, wait. Don’t tell me. You think you’re going to impress my sister by beating the shit out of the asshole who beat the shit out of me? There are easier ways to get into her pants.” Carys shook her head. “Benny, what the fuck?”

  Niko held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. He didn’t like Benny at all, but he also didn’t think anyone should be hit. He could read between the lines well enough. He’d talked to Micah about one of his bastard boyfriends more than once. He knew what abusive relationships looked like, and he knew no one, asshole or not, deserved to be abused. He looked to Carys for confirmation, signing “boyfriend” with his eyebrow raised to indicate it was a question.

  Carys nodded. “Boy,” she said, putting a hand to her forehead. “Friend.” She brought her hands down and crossed her fingers once and again.

  Benny pushed back from the table and signed at his sister.

  “You lecture me all the time about falling for assholes. That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” she translated. “A few weeks ago, he was staring at us like we were freaks for signing, and now he’s got you teaching him? He’s a fake. I don’t want—”

  Carys narrowed her eyes. “Benny, that’s none of your fucking business.”

  A look of disgust came over Benny’s face. He shook his head and turned away from his sister, striding out of the room, and she followed him. In any other house, the sound of their yelling would’ve carried across the block.

  In this house, Niko looked away from the door to find Jamie staring at him, bacon in hand, chewing in what could only be described as condescension. “So…” he said.

  Niko grimaced and waved his hand. So what?

  “You and Carys?”

  Niko stabbed his French toast, stuck a bite in his mouth, and didn’t acknowledge the question. Instead, he remembered the taste of her lips as he chewed.

  Jamie snickered. “Interesting,” he said.

  Niko was alone at work in the backyard while the concrete was drying in the supports in the front. Today, he was going to sand and stain the wood.

  As he set to work, Niko glanced at the house. He could hear the sounds of Carys and Benny moving around. Well, more likely it was Carys if Benny was still moping. From the smells emanating from the back window, she was going to attempt to bribe him awake again but earlier this time. It was only 9:00. Niko’s stomach rumbled.

  Maybe her preoccupation with her brother would keep her from that conversation she’d threatened him with. He snorted. Conversation. Sure. We should talk. Three words that struck fear into the heart of anyone with sense.

  What the hell good was talking, anyway? He’d said those words more than once in his life, and they struck him as bittersweet now. He’d never liked these types of conversations. He’d had more than one breakup that had included the words “you just don’t talk to me, Niko.”

  What the hell good was talking?

  You had to ask, didn’t you, asshole?

  Niko shook his head. No use feeling sorry for himself. Besides, if anything, his whole situation made the prospect of this upcoming one-sided conversation even less appealing. Like he would’ve known what to say to her even if he had a voice to use. Page? What page? She was an attractive woman, and he liked her. She’d looked at him with a message in her eyes that clearly said she wanted to be kissed. He’d have been a fool to turn down an open invitation. What else was there to say?

  The backdoor opened, and Carys appea
red. Niko glanced up, and his heart gave that pleasant flutter it sometimes did when he saw a beautiful woman. Warmth spread through his chest like it always did when he saw Carys. It made sense. She was more than a random, pretty stranger.

  On the tail of the warmth, his stomach twisted with a sense of dread. Here it comes.

  “I made breakfast for you.”

  He looked up and quirked an eyebrow. For him?

  “You never eat breakfast when it’s just you. If Jamie’s here, he’ll feed you or you’ll feed him, but you don’t feed yourself.” She offered a shy but stern smile. “I’m just covering my ass for lawsuits. As your employer, I can’t have you dropping dead of exhaustion on my watch.”

  Despite all the twisting, his stomach gave a loud grumble at the thought of food. It was an excuse, and he knew it. He could see a touch of anxiety in her eyes, the look of a woman who wanted to talk.

  “Benny’s asleep,” Carys said, reading something in his face and guessing incorrectly what it was. “It’s just us.”

  That wasn’t really his concern. He wasn’t the one who gave a damn what Benny thought, but it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like he had a choice but to listen. He had to come back, and he couldn’t interrupt her. He might as well get breakfast out of the ordeal.

  He stood and took off his gloves, his eyes on her and hers on him. There was no denying the feel to the air around them. Who could be satisfied with one kiss? He wanted more, felt the pull like a need. Now that his subconscious knew she wanted his kiss, wanted him at least that much, desire was all but impossible to ignore. Breakfast? Pah. She was the one he wanted to devour.

  In Niko’s experience, talks never ended well. Odds were that one kiss was all he was ever going to get out of whatever this was.

  To hell with that.

  Throwing his gloves to the ground, Niko strode forward with a purpose. He wrapped an arm around Carys’s waist and pulled her to him. She gasped, her head tilted up and her eyes wide with surprise, and he kissed her. The vibration of her whimper against his lips sent his heart pounding. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed tighter against him.