Smolder (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Sandy

I laughed as the memory of how ridiculous I looked back in high school popped into my head. Mom couldn’t buy jeans fast enough for me. I wore high waters for months and got made fun of until I started working out like it was my job. The ones who bullied me shut their mouths pretty fucking quick midway through my junior year.

“Ha, ha. I will have you know, I looked extra hot in a leotard,” I responded as we both continued to laugh at me taking ballet classes.

After Skyler finally calmed enough to speak, he grinned. “I’m sure you did. Anyway, I’ll clean up. Thank you for cooking dinner.” He stood and began gathering the dishes, so I did the same.

We carried everything upstairs, and that dumbwaiter idea stuck in my mind. I made a mental note to check into it on Monday, along with a possible balcony off the kitchen.

We were cleaning together, and I was at a loss for what to say. I didn’t want him to go to bed or return to work because I enjoyed his company. “You wanna watch a movie?”

I was drying the dishes as Skyler washed instead of stacking them in the dishwasher. I didn’t ask why, nor did I protest. After he cleaned them, I rinsed, dried, and put them away. It was a glimpse into what domestic bliss must be like, and I was shocked it didn’t make me want to run out of the house like my ass was on fire.

“Which movie?” Skyler dried his hands and turned to me.

“What kind do you like?”

Aside from sports, I didn’t watch much television, but maybe we could sit and watch a movie together? What was the harm?

“Not surprisingly, I like musicals. I also like scary movies and mysteries. How about you?” Skyler folded the towel and put it over the bar by the sink before he turned to me and crossed his arms.

“How about a thriller. I’ve got all kinds of streaming shit. We can see if there’s something we want to watch.” I turned off the lights except those above the cabinets and led the way downstairs to the media room in the basement.

I flipped on the recessed lights around the perimeter of the large room where my home gym was set up. There was a pinball machine, a pool table, and a big-screen television, but my theater room was through the door to the left of the stairs. I’d wanted one like it when I lived in Chicago so I could review game film, but I never got around to making it happen.

My house in San Jose was everything I’d dreamed about while playing. I had to lose my fucking job to get what I wanted, but the one thing I’d never wanted was to enjoy it alone.

I took Skyler through the game room/gym and into the deep maroon-and-black media room. I turned on the lights so he could see the setup—four large black theater chairs in the front row with a long couch behind it. A projector from the ceiling was directed at an eight-foot screen on the far wall.

It was everything I used to dream about having yet rarely ever used because I didn’t like sitting in there by myself. What was it they said—be careful what you wish for?

I handed the remote to Skyler and sat in one of the theater chairs. He walked around the room, taking in the décor of offset lighting, movie reels, old film canisters, and vintage movie posters. It was the only room in the house I had remodeled after I moved in. I was proud of it.

Skyler sat to my left and turned on the projector, scrolling through the selections. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

“You must spend a lot of time down here. You’ve got a lot of great choices.” He was so fucking cute it wasn’t funny.

“Not really. I’ve sort of fucked around doing nothing since I got released from the Breeze. I’ve been at loose ends, unsure what to do with my time.” That was a goddamn understatement, and why couldn’t I control my goddamn mouth?

“I’d guess it was a shock that you were let go. I mean, you didn’t do anything any other football player hasn’t done in the history of the game.”

Apparently, Skyler had done his homework. “True, but my problem was that I tried to do it with a guy—an undercover cop—and I have a morals clause in my contract that every player on the team violates at one time or another. Unfortunately, I believe I was made the example because I’m gay.”

Skyler turned sideways in the chair to face me, so I kicked back the recliner and turned on my side to face him. “Ask if you want to know.”

“Have you ever had anyone who was important to you besides your family?”

I exhaled. “No. I never let myself give a damn about any of the hookups, and the night it all went to hell, that’s all I was trying to do was hook up. The guys I’ve been with served a purpose: for me to blow off some steam. I made sure they knew that’s all it was for me. It wasn’t meant to be permanent.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m not out at school because West Peoria is a conservative town in a conservative Midwestern state. I don’t date. I mean, some of my friends know—well, a couple of them—I’m gay. It should be a lot easier, shouldn’t it?” Skyler stared into my eyes, empathy dripping off him. Why the fuck did he have to be so nice?

“It should indeed. So, what do you want to watch?” I was done talking for the night. I’d said a hell of a lot more than I ever intended.

I took the remote and scrolled through the horror movies, finally settling on one that had come out a couple of years earlier. Skyler kicked back in the chair next to me, and we turned on the movie.

Aliens who tracked humans by sound. Who knew I’d be sitting with a sexy teacher in my dark media room watching such a thing?

My phone buzzed just as the doorbell rang. I opened my eyes to see a big ass, spider-looking thing on the projector screen chasing a family over a rickety-ass bridge.

I turned to my left. Skyler was also asleep, and my hand was on his thigh with his hand on top of mine, holding it in place. Time stood still. The warmth from his hand lit up every nerve ending in my body.

The doorbell rang again. When I checked my cell screen, the entry camera showed a delivery man on the porch, so I hit the mic icon. “I’ll be right there.”

Skyler’s eyes shot open at the sound of my voice. When he glanced down at our clasped hands, he quickly released mine and pressed the button to lower the leg rest of the chair so he was sitting up, just as I was doing the same. “What happened? Who’s at the door?”

He turned toward me, and I wanted to pull him over the arm of the chair and sleep for another five hours. “Your piano is here. I’ll go meet the delivery guys.” I hopped up and stretched before running up the stairs.

“Delivery for Skyler Ashe,” a young guy announced when the sun blinded me as I opened the door. Two other guys were standing next to a delivery truck in the driveway.

“He’s here. Come on in. It’s going in there.” I pointed toward the mostly empty formal living room where the piano would look incredible.

There was an ivory couch, a black-and-ivory leather chair, and a gold-and-glass cocktail table near a black-and-gold marble fireplace against the far wall. On the other side of the large room was a huge picture window that let in a lot of light and nothing else. It was the perfect spot for a grand piano to be placed, and I hoped it was a good place for Skyler to be creative.

The handsome teacher entered the living room, and when the movers brought in the gleaming black instrument with one leg on one wheeled cart and three legs on another, he got a dreamy expression on his face.

Skyler hurried forward to watch the three men assemble the magnificent beast. When the delivery men seemed a bit baffled regarding how to connect the foot pedals, Skyler slid under it and used their tools to do the job. When he slid out from under the grand piano, his grin was as bright as a spotlight.

The crew leader handed over a clipboard, and I signed it. “What about tuning it?” I had no idea if they did it or if we needed to find someone to do it so Skyler could use it for writing his music. Seemed like it was important.

“Oh, that’s okay. May I borrow this? I’ll return the tools with the piano. I can tune it myself. Thank you, guys.” Skyler reached into his pocket and handed the lead delivery man some money before they gathered their equipment, and I walked them out.

I closed the door and locked it, turning to see Skyler had lifted the large top and propped it on the arm from inside the piano. He raised the cover and touched a key, cringing a little. “That’ll take some work.”

“Before you get started, do you have time for some coffee or breakfast?”

He chuckled. “That would be great. I need a shower and a change of clothes too.”

I chuckled and walked by him on my way to the kitchen to start the coffee maker when Skyler touched my arm. “Thank you for dinner and the movie last night. I had a really nice time.”

God, my lips wanted to take his, but it seemed we had an unspoken agreement not to push things between us. It was probably for the best. He lived in Illinois, and it sounded like he had a job he loved. It was best to let any thoughts of hooking up fade into the back of my brain, never to be heard from again.

I returned from my run Tuesday morning to find two young guys in the living room with Skyler, one sitting on my couch and the other in the chair while Skyler played the piano he’d tuned on Monday with the deliverers’ borrowed tools. There was a music composition book on the bench next to him.

“Hello.” I glanced between my guests, waiting for someone to explain what was happening.

Skyler stood and gently pushed back the bench. “Sandy, you remember my brother, River. This is JD Horn, Ripper’s son. JD plays bass like his father. We’re trying to figure out the guitar bridge. JD, this is Sandy—”

“Kensington. Wow, man, nice to meet you.” JD stepped forward to shake my hand. I’d seen River at Hope’s rescue farm, but I hadn’t met him. I shook his hand, too.

I was sweaty and smelly, so I headed toward the stairs. “I’ll get out of your way.”

“Thank you, Sandy. We’ll try not to disturb you.” Skyler’s big sage-green eyes met mine, and he smiled. I sighed. The moment was…jeez. I had to stop thinking like that.

I went downstairs and did some free weight reps since I didn’t have anyone to spot me on the bench—not that I ever did. My mind was all over the place, and the likelihood I’d end up hurting myself or maybe even choking on the weight bar was high.

I hadn’t put on music for fear of interrupting them, nor had I put in earbuds because I was nosy and wanted to hear what was happening upstairs. The sound of the piano carried easily throughout the basement, making me smile involuntarily.

The song Skyler was playing was the original version of ‘Bury Me’, which was growing on me, especially since I knew the meaning behind the song. Then, there was a loud, aggressive guitar chord that stopped abruptly. The same chord was repeated twice more.

I knew nothing about music, but it sounded cool. The piano played softly again, and someone began to sing. I stopped my curls immediately because the voice was beautiful.

Bury Me

You said I’m cold you think I’m meanYou claim when I’m with you,you still feel unseen

But you don’t knowHow hard I try To be the man who walksThrough life by your side

The singing stopped, and there was a muted conversation I couldn’t exactly pick up. Were they talking about me? How did JD know my name? Why was I such a fucking idiot?

All very good questions for which I had no answers.