Syncopation

by Jodi Payne

  “Oh, Colt. That’s so…. You’re wonderful. This is so thoughtful, it will inspire me. Thank you.” Kyle waved him back to the couch and pulled him down on it, dropping a kiss on his lips. “I love you.”

  “Good. Would be weird if you didn’t.” He petted Kyle’s belly. “Loving you is a good thing, hmm?”

  Kyle kissed him again. “Really good. Hey, speaking of love, I have one last little present for you.” A wee box appeared, wrapped in sheet music, and Kyle had drawn little ballet feet and a guitar on it. “I hope you like it.”

  He opened the box, making sure to save the paper. He liked it; it could go in his wallet. There was a key in the box, a guitar pick on the keychain.

  “I promise this isn’t just so I don’t have to get up and answer the door when you bring pizza home.” Kyle looked at him, leaning in, one arm behind his back. “Home, you know? To our place.”

  “Yeah? Like… home.” Colt’s hands shook, because no one had ever offered him that, not in his memory. No one let him come home.

  Kyle caught his shaking hands up and kissed his temple. “Home, Colt. I want this to be our home. I want you to stay. Will you?”

  “Yessir.” He could. He wrapped their fingers together, held on tight. “You make me want to play.”

  “You make me feel like dancing. The joy is going to blow the roof off this house.”

  “Well, you got a Cajun in it now. We do laissez le bon temps rouler, cher.” Lord knew, he could do joy, especially where his dancer was concerned.

  Kyle laughed and kissed him, eyes shining. “Bring it on.”

  “With all I am, swear to God. With every bit I got.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “HEY, KYLE.” Timmy stood up and gave him a hug, then leaned over and touched a lever on the soundboard.

  “Sorry, I’m interrupting.”

  “Nah, you’re good. Just keep it low-key. They’re finishing up. It’s good to see you, dude. Colt didn’t tell me you were stopping by.”

  “He doesn’t know. I got done early. Thought I’d come pick him up. See if he wanted a date night. We haven’t seen each other except, like, sleeping and coffee in days.”

  “He’s totally working his ass off.”

  “I know. He’s happy as hell about it too.”

  “I think he’s at his best when he’s living it, you know?”

  “I know exactly.” He’d been busy too. He was choreographing a new show that was opening in ten days. And after agonizing over it for a week, he finally did ask Colt about playing for his rescheduled exhibition.

  “So how’s the foot?”

  He wiggled it for Timmy. “Perfect. I got sprung from rehab yesterday.” He thought maybe Colt had been even more excited about that than he was. It was adorable.

  “Right on. Oops. Hang on.” Timmy tucked headphones on, and the booth got quiet.

  Colt’s face was a study in exhilaration, his lover lost in his work, in the passion of music. It was the hottest thing in Kyle’s world.

  He needed to do more of this. Stop by the studio, be supportive. Colt cleared the recording calendar for his opening weekend, and since his lover rarely performed live, this was the closest he could get.

  Timmy nodded and stood up, held one hand up in the air, and after a few seconds made a fist. Kyle watched everyone in the room relax, grins and high fives all around. He hung back, just watching, taking in how at ease Colt was in that room.

  Suddenly, Colt saw him, and a grin blossomed over his lover’s face. “Cher!”

  Oh. Oh, he’d walk through the snow a hundred times just to see that face. He smiled and waved back, knowing Colt couldn’t hear him.

  “Go on around, Kyle. I turned the recording lock off.”

  “Yeah?” He ran over and kissed Timmy on the cheek. “Thanks. Hey, Colt ordered a Looney Tunes DVD. Come watch it with us soon.”

  “Nothing I’d like better, dude.”

  Kyle ducked out of the booth and made his way around, carefully opening the door into the studio.

  Colt was putting his six-string away, laughing at something this mandolin player the size of a mountain said.

  “La! Cher! What a surprise.” Colt came to him, offering him a deep, happy kiss.

  Kyle accepted the kiss exactly as offered, pleased that Colt liked the surprise. “I got done early and walked over to see if you were anywhere close to finished. I thought we could go home together. It’s snowing a little.”

  “Sounds perfect. Can we stop and eat? Timmy starves me!” Colt’s laugh tickled his lips.

  “Dude!” Timmy scooted around them into the room. “Did you just throw me under the bus, man? That Cajun lies!”

  Kyle laughed along. “Mm. You gotta watch them, they’re wily. And hungry all the time.”

  “True dat.” Colt snuggled in close. “You gon’ watch me, cher?”

  “No, I’m going to listen.” He tucked his arms around Colt. “You’re going to watch me.”

  “Yo, get a room, Boudreaux!”

  He looked over Colt’s head at the smiling giant Colt had been laughing with a moment ago. “If you’re offering, we’ll take one at the Mandarin.”

  “Don’t need a room. We got us a home.” Colt took pride in their house, tiny little touches appearing everywhere.

  Timmy laughed. “So there, Sam.”

  “Let’s get you covered up and get out of here, hungry boy.”

  “Go ahead, Colt. We’re wrapped here.”

  Kyle loved how Colt made a point of shaking hands, meeting eyes, exchanging smiles with each of the other band members, and he waited patiently for him to make the rounds. Then it was coat, boots, hat, toasty gloves, and out into the snow. It wasn’t really sticking to anything, but it was pretty coming down.

  “You have a good day, cher?” Colt wrapped one arm around his waist. “I was so glad to see you.”

  “I did. We ended early because we’d finished what I’d planned, and everyone was working so hard. This company is gelling really well. You’re going to be impressed, I think. And I’m so glad I got here before you wrapped up! I loved just listening. Have you worked with them before?”

  He led them around the corner and down the block. Planning on sushi unless Colt asked for something else along the way.

  “I have. They like my sound. Asked me to go on the road with them, but that ain’t my deal, you know?”

  He had made his peace with Colt’s inability to say no to people. In fact, he didn’t see it so much that way anymore. It was more about the joy Colt took in being able to say yes. So, sure. Colt was tired some days, some days Colt took something to help him keep up, and Kyle didn’t judge, didn’t say a word because Colt always came home in one piece and slept in their bed and let Kyle take care of him.

  He took Colt’s hand in his as they walked. He knew Colt wasn’t into the audience thing, but he wanted to be sure he wasn’t the reason Colt was holding back. After all, there was no telling what could come along for him down the road. He’d toured before, he couldn’t say he’d never do it again. “If you want to go, you should go.”

  “I spent a lot of life going. Right now, I’m happy.” Colt grinned over at him. “You tired of me already?”

  “Brat.” He laughed. What a question. “Are you kidding? I’m very happy being served regular helpings of Cajun with a side of ballet.”

  “I am. I know. I am your magic man.”

  “You are.” He didn’t know what it was. Magic, fate, a higher power, plain old dumb luck. Somehow Colt had just fallen right the hell out of the sky and into his arms. There was no rational reason in the world that a sweet, gifted, beautiful, Cajun blues guitarist should cross his path. None. Zero. Magic was as good an explanation as any.

  He stopped them, suddenly. They’d almost walked right by it. “Sushi.”

  LORD, COLT never would get used to how those guys could make bait and rice and seaweed taste so damn good.

  Weird.

  Fun, though, and he loved to sh
are it with Kyle.

  “Hey.” Kyle walked past him, barefoot with a water bottle in one hand, and slapped him on the ass. “Come on. Bring your friend, there.”

  He shamelessly enjoyed the view as Kyle headed off toward the studio, then grabbed his guitar and followed.

  “You looking fine, cher. I do love me some of that ass.” He let himself follow like Kyle had a leash on him.

  “Just some? I think you do a pretty good job loving all of it.” Kyle laughed and dropped a sweatshirt on the chair by the door, long legs moving easily across the studio to stretch. Or flirt. It was sometimes hard to tell the difference. “I have been itching to move since the PT set me free yesterday. I was hoping you would play for me, music man. Start our rehearsals for the show. Pretty please?”

  “It’s my pleasure. You got a preference to type?” He settled on the sweet cushion that was his spot. The acoustics right here were cherry.

  “Nope. You want to just see what happens? Improv awhile?”

  “That is what I do, cher. Wind me up and let me go.”

  Kyle did a set of turns, three in a row and a couple of jumps that landed on one foot as if testing his feet out. “Feels good.”

  He didn’t miss the pleased little smile on his lover’s face.

  Colt nodded, just about as tickled as Kyle was. His lover was born to move. He hummed softly as he let his guitar speak to him, rejoicing in Kyle’s good health, in the snow, in the sushi and the laughter and the whole world, just now.

  Kyle swayed to his music a little, marked out a set of steps and then tried them again. Then Kyle was off on a series of hops and spins, eventually moving right past him with a laugh.

  He let his guitar answer Kyle’s laughter, the joy bubbling through the strings.

  It didn’t take long for that give and take he remembered to come back. They stayed bright for a little while, and then Kyle stretched one leg long and high, suggesting another tempo, and he nodded as he caught on, moving into something smooth and jazzy.

  Kyle smiled at him, the look of approval suiting him to the ground.

  They got this.

  They’d lost it for a while, but truth had won out. They had won out.

  Colt wasn’t surprised. Music was bigger than both of them.

  Thank God they’d had the good sense to figure that shit out.

  More from Jodi Payne and BA Tortuga

  A Collaborations Novel

  Texas artist Tucker Williams arrives in New York City for a gallery showing of his work and finds the city blanketed in snow. He meets free-spirited underwear model Calvin McIntire on the steps of the Midtown library and is captivated by a wild beauty that manages to compete with the demons that occupy his soul and fuel his work with their lust for blood and erotic imagery.

  Unable to deny a new inspiration, Tucker sublets a studio and finds the city’s energy almost as addictive as Calvin.

  Tucker is obsessive, barely holding on to sanity as his art consumes him, and Calvin is dealing with demons of his own, trying desperately to protect his soul in a business where only his appearance has value. They each prove to be the perfect remedy for the other’s personal brand of crazy until, in the midst of stress and exhaustion, they discover that a promise Calvin needs is the one thing Tucker can’t give him, and their heaven turns to purgatory.

  Can both men find a path toward wholeness in Tucker’s beautiful but chaotic Texas home? In order for them—and their passionate relationship—to thrive, they’ll need to adapt, share their psychoses, and find a true balance between New York City and rural Texas.

  Colby McBride is a blue-collar cowboy trying to make ends meet laying tile in Colorado. A loner by choice, Colby works hard with his hands and finds his peace camping in the mountains outside Boulder. Gordon James is a white-collar restaurateur who owns not one, but two successful establishments in downtown Boulder. He’s a sophisticated urbanite who is devoted to his work and is accustomed to getting what he wants.

  The men are friends, but sparks fly when Colby falls in love and decides to show Gordon how much fun a good old boy can be. They’re just beginning to explore their relationship when Gordon’s sister’s suicide leaves him with custody of his five-year-old niece.

  Colby comes from a huge family and is eager to help with the girl and to prove his worth to Gordon. But neither of them is ready for the tremendous changes to their already busy lives, or for how this new relationship with Olivia challenges them, complicating the way they interact with each other.

  They say opposites attract, but can these two very different men work together to join their disparate lives and form a strong, if highly unlikely, family?

  Readers love Refraction by Jodi Payne and BA Tortuga

  “This is an amazing story and is as intriguing as the title suggests.”

  —Diverse Reader

  “…a gripping read that is full of passion, hot loving, and some amazing characters and settings….”

  —Rainbow Book Reviews

  “…this first-time collaboration by BA Tortuga and Jodi Payne was very interesting. Together they created two characters in Tucker and Calvin who were very opposite, so they have to find a way to compromise, understand and trust each other.”

  —The Novel Approach

  JODI PAYNE spent too many years in New York and San Francisco stage-managing classical plays, edgy fringe work, and the occasional musical. She therefore is overdramatic, takes herself way too seriously, and has been known to randomly break out in song. Her men are imperfect but genuine, stubborn but likeable, often kinky, and frequently their own worst enemies. They are characters you can’t help but fall in love with while they stumble along the path to their happily ever after.

  For those looking to get on her good side, Jodi’s addictions include nonfat lattes, Malbec, and tequila however you pour it. She’s also obsessed with Shakespeare and Broadway musicals. She can be found wearing sock monkey gloves while typing when it’s cold, and on the beach enjoying the sun and the ocean when it’s hot. When she’s not writing and/or vacuuming sand out of her laptop, Jodi mentors queer youth and will drop everything for live music. Jodi lives near New York City with her beautiful wife, and together they are mothers of dragons (cleverly disguised as children) and slaves to an enormous polydactyl cat.

  Website: www.jodipayne.net

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/payne.jodi

  FB Author Group: www.facebook.com/groups/jodisgents

  Twitter: @JodiPayne

  Instagram: @jodipayne1800

  BA TORTUGA, Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting, and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friend, Sean Michael, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

  Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery ménages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeonholed by anyone but the voices in her head.

  Website: www.batortuga.com

  Blog: batortuga.blogspot.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/batortuga

  Twitter: @batortuga

  By Jodi Payne

  Creative Process

  With BA Tortuga

  Heart of a Redneck

  COLLABORATIONS

  Refraction

  Syncopation

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  By BA Tortuga

  Best New Artist

  Bombs and Guacamole

  Boys in the Band

  Fighting Addiction

  Latigo

&nbs
p; Living in Fast Forward

  Long Black Cadillac

  Mud, Movies, Bullets, and Bulls

  Old Town New

  Private Dances

  Rainbow Rodeo

  Rough in Wranglers

  Say Something

  Seashores of Old Mexico

  Stetsons and Stakeouts

  Things that Go Bump in the Night

  DREAMSPUN DESIRES

  #6 – Trial by Fire

  #30 – Two Cowboys and a Baby

  #65 – Two of a Kind

  LEANING N

  #16 – Commitment Ranch

  #42 – Finding Mr. Wright

  TURQUOISE, NEW MEXICO

  #53 – Cowboy in the Crosshairs

  LOVE IS BLIND

  Ever the Same

  Real World

  RECOVERY

  Refired

  Slip

  THE RELEASE SERIES

  The Terms of Release

  The Articles of Release

  Catch and Release

  ROAD TRIP

  Road Trip Vol. 1

  Road Trip Vol. 2

  SANCTUARY

  Just Like Cats and Dogs

  What the Cat Dragged In

  STORMY WEATHER

  Rain and Whiskey

  Tropical Depression

  Hurricane

  THE WILDCATTERS

  Oil and Water

  With Jodi Payne

  Heart of a Redneck

  COLLABORATIONS

  Refraction

  Syncopation

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com