Half Notes and Highlights (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The next weekend, when Tyler joined the tour in Dallas, Ethan needed to check in with Wolf to make sure he was OK. The guy had been unusually quiet and withdrawn, and he worried Wolf was going to have a meltdown or something once they were all in the same room together.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Tyler.

“Where are you going? I just got here.”

“I need to talk to Wolf for a minute.”

Tyler stiffened but didn’t say anything.

“I just want to make sure he’s OK. I don’t want any surprises when he sees you.”

“What kind of surprises?” Tyler asked, suspiciously.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said much all week. He’s the kind of guy who keeps everything bottled up, so I worry about him. He doesn’t talk about his feelings.” It hit Ethan how Wolf and Tyler were the exact opposites in every way, except they both had a tremendous amount of inner strength. Despite all of Wolf’s insecurities and internal trauma, he had tenacity and the will to fight. Ethan joined Tyler on the couch and rested his hand on Tyler’s knee. “I won’t be long. I promise. You trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course I trust you. Just . . .” Tyler forced a smile. “Go. Check on your friend.”

Ethan moved his hand to Tyler’s cheek. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.” He left Tyler with a quick kiss and headed across the hall to Wolf’s suite.

“What are you doing here?” Wolf asked when he opened the door. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“In my room. Can I come in?”

Wolf’s expression never changed, and his voice remained neutral. “Make yourself at home.” He walked over to the couch and casually sat down.

Ethan shut the door and took a seat next to his friend. “Are you OK with Tyler being here?”

Wolf’s jaw tensed. “Of course, I’m OK with it. He’s your boyfriend.”

The repeated use of the term boyfriend proved that Wolf wasn’t OK. “Are you sure? You don’t sound OK.”

Wolf relaxed, and a small smile lifted the corners of his lips. “Yeah. I’m OK with it.”

“If you need to talk, I’m here. I mean it.” Ethan slung his arm over Wolf’s shoulder and gave him a side hug.

Wolf nodded, his eyes round and filled with emotion. “I know.”

“Good.” Ethan paused for a second. “Try to get along with Tyler. Please? For me?”

Wolf started to protest, but Ethan cut him off.

“I’m going to tell him the same thing. I know he’s not totally innocent. He goes back at you too.”

“As long as you see it.” A smirky smile permeated Wolf’s face. “If he wasn’t so easy to rile up or give me so much ammunition to work with all the time, it might be easier to control my tongue.”

A smile spread across Ethan’s cheeks because Tyler was a character. He placed a hand on Wolf’s back. “Thanks. Why don’t we all have dinner together again tonight?”

“Did you clear it with him?”

“I don’t have to clear it with him. You guys are my friends. My pack.”

Wolf smiled at that last remark. “OK. As long as Harris and Marsh are there. Otherwise, it might be weird.”

Ethan rolled his eyes and shook his head as thoughts of the last time the three of them were along together, and what transpired, filled his head.

“I promise not to drink tonight.”

“Good idea.” They both stood up and shared a quick hug.

“Let me know what time to come by,” Wolf called as Ethan left the hotel room.

When he stepped into the hallway, he almost walked into Tyler. “Were you listening at the door?”

“No. Of course not. OK. I lied. I had my hot little ear pressed against the door trying to hear what you two were talking about. I’m a nosey bitch.” He let out a long exhale. “There. I said it.”

Ethan stared at Tyler for a second before a short laugh left his lungs. “Remind me never to tell you a secret.”

“Did you invite him to do something later? I couldn’t hear anything through that damn door.”

Ethan placed an arm over Tyler’s shoulder and headed back to his suite. “Yeah. I thought we could all have dinner again. Is that OK?” he quickly asked, because he made up the part about telling Wolf that he didn’t need to clear anything with Tyler. It was common curtesy to check with Tyler, who was only here for one night before he had to get back to LA.

“Sure.” Tyler presented a huge smile. “As long as I’m not propositioned again.”

“We’re never going to stop talking about that, are we?” Ethan was grateful that Tyler was able to brush off the incident and find the ability to joke about it. Most people wouldn’t have done that, but Tyler wasn’t like most people.

“Eventually.”

“One more thing. I asked Wolf to tone it down. I want you two to get along. Can you try too? Please?”

Tyler gave Ethan the side eye for a quick second before his face returned to its usual carefree expression. “Of course, I’ll try to get along with him. I always do.”

Ethan sighed, unsure if anything would ever change between the two people he cared about most in the world. “Thanks. I know this isn’t easy for you. It’s not easy for him either. Or me.”

Tyler paused to look at Ethan, his face now serious. “I know that seeing you and I together is hard for him. I understand that you’re in the middle and don’t want to take sides. I’ll try to be patient with him if he gets testy, but I’m not going to be ridiculed or be on the receiving end of snide comments without standing up for myself. I’m not anyone’s pin cushion.”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” Heaviness weighed on Ethan’s head and heart, because he knew he couldn’t force Wolf and Tyler to be friends. He only hoped that they could be civil to one another.

“Now, let’s move on.” Tyler waved his hand through the air, as if to wipe away the tension, and his eyes took on their usual brightness. “What’s the plan for the rest of the day? I saw signs in the lobby for one of those paint things going on here this afternoon.”

“What paint things?”

“You know. Where you drink wine, and an instructor teaches you how to paint a cool landscape or bird or something.”

Ethan had zero artistic talent. “You paint?”

“No. But it’s supposed to be easy because the instructor tells you exactly how to do it. Like a paint-by-number but without the numbers.”

“That doesn’t sound easy, but I’m up for it. I’ll have Zoe look into it and figure out how we can attend without causing a scene.”

“Life with you is always a scene. But I like it.”

Zoe was able to sneak Ethan and Tyler into the paint class early, and they sat in the back of the room, almost unnoticed. The event was in one of the hotel conference rooms, so only those with paid tickets were allowed on the floor and able to enter. As the room started to fill, a few stares came Ethan’s way and he saw a phone or two click a photo, but once the artist started giving out instructions, she held everyone’s attention.

“She’s going too fast,” Tyler commented. “I’m still painting the shore and she’s already on the boat.”

“Tell me about it,” Ethan mumbled. “I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. I’m just painting.” It was kind of abstract, but he could tidy it up at the end. Right now, he was trying to keep up.

It turns out, he didn’t have time to fix some of the mistakes he made because as soon as the instructor painted the last element on the beachscape, Zoe slipped in and sat at the table with Ethan and Tyler.

“The instructor is going to detain everyone for five minutes. Come with me.”

They followed Zoe, and a bubble of security accompanied them back to the suite without anyone noticing.

“That was so stealthy,” Tyler commented. “Do you get tired of it?”

“Dodging the fans so I can leave my room and walk around at will? Hell yeah. But it’s better than the days when no one knew who I was.”

Tyler stepped back and admired their paintings which were side by side on the credenza, drying. “They’re so different, but they’re both amazing.”

“You’re amazing.” Ethan cupped Tyler’s face in his hands and kissed him. The touch of his lover’s lips stirred every inch of him, just like they always did. He couldn’t believe they’d been together all day and hadn’t made love yet. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn’t wait another second and brought Tyler into the bedroom where they spent the next forty minutes reacquainting their bodies.

“You kill me,” Tyler panted when they were done. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You kill me too.” Ethan traced a finger down the perimeter of Tyler’s beautiful face. His complexion was perfect, with a slight tan and healthy glow. His soft honey eyes were breathtaking. And his perfect heart-shaped lips were intoxicating. “That mouth.” He kissed Tyler, probing his tongue deeply. “The things you do with it.” He placed another penetrating kiss on Tyler’s gorgeous mouth, tasting every inch of it.

“And the places I put it?” Tyler asked, coyly, then laughed.

A reminder of where Tyler’s mouth had been a very short time ago, made Ethan’s butt cheeks clench, and then he let out a small laugh. “I don’t care.” And he kissed Tyler again, his tongue invading every inch of that delicious mouth.

“I’m glad you’re open-minded.” Tyler snuggled into Ethan, and they languished in bed until they needed to get up.

Part of Ethan wanted to stay in bed all night, since Tyler was leaving in the morning, but he also wanted normalcy between Wolf and Tyler, and the only way for that to happen was for all of them to spend time together. On the other hand, the whole thing could backfire again. One sure way to start the night off wrong was to be just rolling out of bed smelling of sex when Wolf arrived, so Ethan nudged Tyler. “Let’s get cleaned up. The guys should be here soon. Race you to the shower?”

Another thing about Tyler that shouldn’t have been a surprise is that he had a super competitive streak, and at the mention of a race, he was out of bed and in the bathroom turning on the shower jets before Ethan had his feet on the bedroom floor.

The guys arrived shortly after Ethan and Tyler were dressed and relaxing on the couch watching re-runs. Ethan was on edge, waiting to see Wolf’s reaction to seeing Tyler again, but he really didn’t have one. Harris and Marshall gave Tyler hugs and told him it was good to see him again, but Wolf just nodded once in greeting, and Tyler returned the gesture.

“Are these the paintings you did today?” Marshall asked, walking over to the two canvases.

“Yes!” Tyler exclaimed. “Aren’t they fantastic?” He picked up his painting to show it off. “I’ve never painted anything before. I had so much fun. And it really came out wonderful. I changed some of the colors, because I like color, and I think it works.” He placed the painting back on the credenza. “Ethan’s came out good too.”

Listening to Tyler put a crazy smile on Ethan’s face. The guy was always full of effervescence and playful remarks. He was so caught up in admiring his boyfriend, he didn’t realize Marshall and Harris were trashing his painting.

“That boat wouldn’t last ten minutes in the water,” Harris joked.

“Is that supposed to be a dolphin or the Loch Ness monster?” Marsh asked, laughing.

Wolf was standing in the background with his arms folded, watching, a big smile on his face. His gaze shifted to Ethan. “Nice job, Picasso.”

“It was really difficult,” Ethan replied. “The instructor was going so fast. I couldn’t keep up.”

“You just went rogue,” Tyler said. “But it’s art, so it can be whatever you want it to be.”

Wolf sputtered a laugh, and Tyler’s eyes shot to Wolf, suspiciously.

So did Ethan’s.

“Is my painting amusing you?” Tyler questioned, a brow raised.

“It’s not your painting,” Wolf replied, a questioning smile on his face. “What are you wearing?”

Tyler was wearing an adorable pair of leopard print spandex shorts, his combat boots, and a cropped graphic tee. The whimsical outfit fit Tyler’s personality perfectly, but Ethan knew exactly what Wolf meant when he said Tyler kept giving him ammo for commentary. He hung his head and waited, envisioning how this was going to play out.

“I’ll have you know,” Tyler began, a fist on his hip. “I took your fashion advice.”

“My advice?” Wolf pressed his hand to his chest. “I never told you to wear tiger print shorts. And I certainly never suggested you wear spandex.”

“First.” Tyler raised his index finger in the air, then pointed to his shorts. “These are leopard.”

“A cat’s a cat,” Wolf replied.

Tyler’s jaw fell open. “Do I have to buy you a picture book? One has stripes. The other has spots.” Tyler tapped his shorts for emphasis. “Spots.”

Shit. Tyler and Wolf had been in the same room for 10 minutes and were already bickering. Ethan blew air out his nostrils, waiting for the fallout. But Wolf didn’t respond.

“Second,” Tyler continued. “You were right.”

Ethan immediately lifted his head to hear more.

“My leather pants were way too hot for the West Coast, and maybe a little too fashion forward. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been wearing jeans.”

“Those aren’t jeans,” Wolf commented. “They’re barely shorts.”

“Leather’s too much. These are too little. There’s no pleasing you, is there?”

“OK. That’s enough talk about shorts, and cats, and paintings,” Ethan interrupted. “Let’s change the subject.”

“What else should we talk about?” Wolf asked, a taunting spark in his eyes.

Perfect timing on the part of room service halted conversation. For the moment. Thank God, because, although Wolf was being playful, there was a ton of attitude behind his statements, and Tyler was in total defensive mode.

“Saved by the bell,” Harris whispered to Ethan.

“Feel free to jump in anytime and play referee,” Ethan said.

Harris grunted a laugh. “Not a chance.”

Room service quickly set up another beautiful table on the balcony, and the five of them sat down to dinner.

“I’m looking forward to Rocktoberfest next week,” Tyler said, happily cutting his steak. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“You’re coming to Rocktoberfest?” Wolf asked dryly, his gaze darting to Ethan.

Ethan placed his arm on the back of Tyler’s chair. “I invited him. We never get to spend four days together where I have so much free time. It’ll be like a mini vacation, and we’ll be able to enjoy the festival together.”

“Great,” Wolf muttered sarcastically.

“That’s cool,” Harris said. “Can you do my hair before the show?”

“Of course,” Tyler replied. “I had this great idea.” He hesitated, then looked over at Ethan. “How would you feel if I set up a trailer and did hair and makeup for the event? I think it would be great exposure for me, and I think a lot of rock stars would be interested in my services.”

Wolf’s eyes immediately shot to Ethan, and their conversation about Tyler using Ethan for his connections played in his head. Ethan slowly shook his head at Wolf, because that is not what was going on.

“I know a few guys in the other bands who I think would be interested,” Harris offered.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Ethan told Tyler. “I’ll have Zoe expedite any permits or whatever you need and get the word out to others on the lineup.”