Wrestling With Love (7 page)

“You look awesome!” He walked around Derek to take a look from all angles. Coming back to Derek’s front, his eyes were filled with wonder and admiration. “You look so fucking hot.” He reached over and ran his finger along Derek’s chest, tracing the crease in the middle. Both Josh and Pierre giggled, but Derek couldn’t focus on anything but Scott and his willingness to be so open about his admiration once again. Turning to Pierre, Scott’s crooked smile crossed his face. “You’re good!”

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Pierre bowed and smiled, wrapping his arm around Josh’s waist. “Derek, you can keep that. It looks far better on you than it does on me. Plus, how can I deny Scott something that will bring him so much pleasure in the future?”

Derek stood in a stunned silence, surprised by the attention. More than anything, he was shocked by Scott who continued to openly admire him publicly, showing all of the affection he usually saved for their private time together. The fact that Josh and Pierre were complimenting them as a couple, and Scott seemed to be eating it up, sent waves of electricity through him. It was like he was a different person. If this was a taste of what life would be like at college, he realized he had been worrying needlessly. When Derek came out of his momentary haze of thoughts, Scott was standing in front of him, gazing at him with hunger in his eyes. “Well, I suppose we should get going.” He leaned in and gave Derek a kiss on the lips and squeezed his ass. As their lips touched, Derek closed his eyes, the sweet scent of champagne filling his nose. When they pulled apart, Derek licked his lips and could taste a hint of the flavor. Scott hugged him, then turned to face Josh and Pierre. “Thank you for dinner. It was awesome. And thanks for being so cool. Derek wanted me to try to be a little more public about our relationship and it feels really easy to do that around the two of you.”

Josh smiled. “It’s like I said. Things won’t always be perfect, but if you love each other and communicate, things will work out.” With that, he walked with them to the door. “Remember, call if you need anything and enjoy your evening.”

As they headed to the concert, Derek considered the ease with which Scott was showing him affection. This is what he wanted from Scott, but he never imagined it would come so naturally or quickly for him. Not wanting to assume too much or to cause Scott to feel self-conscious, Derek kept his thoughts to himself, but as they walked down the street, hand in hand, he couldn’t help but hope things would continue like this once they began college together.

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Chapter Three

There was a long line at the Bowery Ballroom when they arrived. The crowd was young and there was an excited buzz as people began to enter the concert hall. Scott allowed himself to be guided up the stairs to the balcony, chuckling to himself as Derek practically jumped out of his skin. “I can’t wait for you to hear Howie Day play his music live. It’s so much better than his recorded music. He has this mixing board which he uses during his concerts and he blends his own music right there as he’s performing. It’s like he’s playing in a band with four people but it’s just him.”

Scott loved listening to Derek talk about mixing. Ever since the first time he had gone to his house and learned how he picked out sounds and loaded them onto the mixing board to be blended into songs, he had begun to listen to music differently. He no longer judged songs by the type of music or by how they made him feel. Now, when he listened to music, he heard how sounds were put together to create the feelings and mood. Staring at Derek, Scott’s chest puffed out with pride. His passion was one of the things Scott loved most about him, and watching him enjoy this evening was more fulfilling than he anticipated.

As they stepped into the open balcony area, Scott was surprised to find there were no seats. Like the main floor of the concert hall, the upstairs area was also a standing area. Looking down at the crowd below, Scott could see why Derek had chosen to bring them up to the balcony. Most people crowded in front of the stage. With all of the milling about before Howie came on stage, Derek and Scott were able to slowly creep closer and closer to the railing until, just as the show was about to begin, they had an unimpeded view of the stage.

Finally, Howie came on stage and greeted the crowd. The stage was practically bare, quite different than the typical set up and lighting he had come to expect from concerts. There was a stool and several bottles of water and, Scott noticed a good deal of equipment on the floor. One piece of equipment captured his attention. It looked kind of like a rug, but there were several pedals with wires hooking into a recording device similar to Derek’s mixing board. Scott had to get in close in order for Derek to hear him.

“What’s all that?” He placed his hand on Derek’s hip and leaned his head on his shoulder before realizing he had done so. It caught him off guard how he had so naturally touched Derek while surrounded by strangers and it surprised him even more that he enjoyed the public contact.

“It’s how he mixes his music during the concert. You’ll see. It’s awesome. I’m not even going to pretend I know how he’s set it up, but he uses his feet to record sounds that he plays and then does something else with his foot to loop the recording.” Derek was practically jumping up and down as he was explaining this to Scott. Listening to him sent chills of excitement through Scott and reminded him of their multiple evenings up in Derek’s attic as he mixed for parties or for fun. It was a different kind of 35

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admiration than when the two of them talked about wrestling. That was something they shared. Mixing was purely Derek’s.

Sliding his arms around Derek’s waist, Scott hugged Derek close. There was only a slight hitch in Derek’s voice as he paused mid-sentence, and then he continued explaining the process Howie used to record while performing. The words floated through the air to his ears, but Scott wasn’t hearing. Instead, a slew of thoughts were flying through his mind, crowding out anything but Derek and their touching bodies. Looking around, the concert goers were busy talking and waiting. No one was paying attention to them and the few people who glanced their way smiled, then went back to their conversations.

Inhaling deeply, a mixture of fresh soap and Derek’s own unique smell filled Scott and stimulated his senses. Closing his eyes, he tightened his hold and ground his groin against Derek’s ass. Already aroused, the friction from the rubbing caused his cock to strain within his pants. He was about to lean in and kiss Derek’s neck when the lights dimmed and Howie came onto the stage.

The concert began with some of his standard popular songs such as Collide, She Says, and Be There. For his fourth song, he played Ghost, telling the crowd to get ready for a crazy ride before he began the song. He started with a beat which he tapped onto his guitar. After he completed a couple of rounds of the beat, he tapped another part of the floor contraption and the beat began to replay. He then played guitar harmonies, recording and looping them as he had with the beat. Next, he recorded a few vocals. By the time he began singing, he had at least eight different recorded sounds looping at the same time, harmonizing him.

The song lasted much longer than the radio version. After about ten minutes, he began to experiment with new vocals and beats, removing some that had been looping and replacing them with others. He messed with the tempo and the volume, filling the concert hall with a myriad of sounds.

Scott looked at Derek, who had a dreamy expression in his eyes, swaying to the music and gripping the railing tightly. Watching him enjoy the music filled Scott with emotion. This was exactly what Derek loved about music. He loved how a musician could create a mood that could move you through the air, losing a sense of place and time. Sliding behind Derek, Scott wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his head on Derek’s shoulder, closing his eyes and letting the music fill him. He was brought back to the party senior year when he had first watched Derek mix; the party where he finally took Derek outside and kissed him. That had been almost a year ago and he loved the man in his arms more now than he could have ever predicted. When the song ended, the crowd screamed and cheered. Scott leaned in a whispered in Derek’s ear. “He’s great, but I still think I like your music better.”

Derek turned in Scott’s arms so he was facing him. “Are you saying that so you’ll get lucky tonight. ‘Cause you don’t have to work for that to happen.”

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Before he realized what he was doing, Scott leaned in and kissed Derek. It wasn’t one of their intense, meant for the bedroom kisses, but it was lingering and sweet. Drawing out of the kiss, Scott suddenly realized what he had done and nervously glanced to either side of them. A few people were looking at them, but they were smiling. No one seemed to be bothered or to even care that he had just kissed another boy. Shrugging, he returned to his position of holding Derek around the waist as Derek leaned against the railing.

Leaning his head back, Derek put his mouth next to Scott’s ear. “I’m not complaining, not by a long shot, but I can’t believe you just did that.”

Scott laughed. “Well, no one seems to care. Maybe it’s the music. Maybe it’s that we’re in the East Village. Maybe it’s this city. Who knows? But it felt good to kiss you in front of people. Just don’t expect me to do it all the time. I’m still uneasy about public displays of affection.”

When the concert ended, they headed north on Avenue A. Josh had told them that they would be able to find a ton of restaurants and coffee shops where they could sit outdoors and enjoy the summer night. As they walked down Avenue A, Scott decided to test his new sense of freedom and took Derek’s hand. At first he felt tense and glanced around to see if anyone was watching them or reacting badly, but as it had been at The Bowery, no one paid any attention to the two of them as they walked down the street. He quickly relaxed, twining their fingers together, and rubbing the inside of Derek’s wrist with his thumb.

“I’m amazed by you tonight, Scott. I can’t believe how touchy feely you’re being. I love it.”

Scott smiled, squeezing his hand. “I’m kind of surprised by myself as well. But, I’m enjoying this. New York is so different than Boston. Back home, everything is so conservative. Here, it’s like nobody cares about anything you do.”

As they continued, they passed several other couples of various gender configurations. Kids with brightly colored hair or metallic spikes sticking out of lips and noses walked side by side with preppy college kids. It was as if The East Village were the original melting pot that the history books referred to in school. Every type of person imaginable could be seen, yet everyone blended together and co-existed peacefully.

A few blocks later, Derek stopped in front of a brightly lit window. Scott stopped mid-stride and stood next to him, slipping his arm around his waist. “What’s up?”

“Check it out. It’s a pool hall.”

Scott glanced up at the storefront and read the name which blazed in bright pink letters. “The Pink Triangle Pool Hall and Pub. Well, I guess it’s not much of a stretch to guess the clientele in here.”

Derek shoved his arm and laughed. “I haven’t played pool in forever and this place looks fun. We don’t have to worry about being underage, but we can get a taste of gay life in the city around people who are our age and older. Want to go in?”

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“Sure. I love pool.” Derek’s smile caused his own mouth to pull back into a grin. Jesus. He’s really easy to please tonight. He took Derek by the hand and led him into the hall. “Besides, I’m hungry and we can get food here.”

Derek’s smile broadened until it lit his entire face. “Yeah. I’m hungry too.”

When they went in, they were immediately greeted by a thin man, pale, with a large mole on the side of his neck. His hair was bleached platinum and he wore a tight black long-sleeved shirt which accentuated how lanky he was. “Hi, boys. You here to eat or play?” His voice was high pitched and he spoke with a lisp. Even so, Scott found him to be charming. He wasn’t trying to be someone he wasn’t.

“Can’t we do both?” Derek pouted but then the corner of his mouth began to curve up and he broke out in restrained laughter.

The receptionist smiled, dimples adorning his cheeks. “Of course you can, sweetie. I’ll set you up at a table and then you can order from one of the bar boys. We have a full menu. My name’s Steve. I haven’t seen the two of you around and I would remember if I had.” He gave Scott and appraising look, then gazed up and down Derek’s body.

“Nice to meet you, Steve. We’re actually from Boston, but came into the city for the Howie Day concert at the Bowery.” Derek removed his hand from Scott’s and followed Steve to an empty table.

As Scott followed the two of them, watching them chat, he was surprised by the twinge of jealousy that crept into his gut. He had never had to face sharing Derek with anyone. Here, surrounded by dozens of gay men, many of them very attractive, he had to work hard to keep his insecurities at bay.

When Steve stopped by an empty pool table, he turned to Scott. “You’re one lucky guy, Studmuffin. Derek here tells me this trip is your graduation present.” He sighed, a dreamy expression crossing his face. “That’s so romantic. I know my no-good other half wouldn’t do something like that for me.” He placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze. Despite the thin arms, he had a surprisingly strong grip. “Hold on to him. He’s a keeper.”