“Thanks, man. This was fun.” Dean grinned as he patted Colton on the shoulder.
“This was fun! We’ll have to do it again sometime.” Colton smiled.
Dean dressed back into his chinos and polo and they walked back out to the field.
Everyone had left and Dean turned to Colton, extending his hand for a handshake and taking one more opportunity to fully admire the beauty of Colton. “Nice work today. Thanks for everything. It was so nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Dean.” Colton smiled sincerely.
They shook hands and Dean ambled down the sideline with a bounce in his step and a giddy smile on his face. Today was a damn good day!
Chapter 4
Colton
Colton dropped his bag as he entered his condo after practice.
He lived near downtown, which was about a forty minute drive from the practice facility. The condo was stark and sterile; white walls with minimal artwork, a cream sofa and armchair, along with a large TV mounted to the wall. A spacious kitchen rounded out the living area, and a short hallway led to two bedrooms. It had a spacious balcony along the side wall, with a nice view of the downtown skyline, a grill, and outdoor seating.
Colton liked his condo, but he hadn’t put much effort into making it a home. Maybe one day he would, but for the time being, it was just a place to sleep.
He picked up his guitar, dropped onto his sofa with a big sigh, and began aimlessly strumming some notes. He was no expert, but playing guitar always helped him relax and unwind. He started playing in high school, when he was really stressed during exams. Feeling his fingers on the strings gave him atactile release, and even all those years later, he could feel the stress and anxiety leave his body, flowing into the strings of the guitar, every time he played.
As he continued to strum, thoughts of Dean and their shoot last week randomly entered his mind.
He smiled at the thought of their time together. Filming a video was a hell of a lot more fun than he had expected.
He was totally not what I expected.
In his mind, when he heard the word ‘DJ’, Colton envisioned a completely different picture of Dean, long hair, lots of tattoos, kind of grungy and messy looking.
Dean was none of those things. He had the clean cut all-American boy-next-door look…chiseled jaw, dimples, cleft chin, with brown hair cut short and tight on the sides but left longer and slightly wavy on top. He wasn’t the same as the other spoiled, petulant rock stars and musicians Colton had met over the years. And he was assuredly not like any of the nauseatingly vapid celebrities he’d met through his fiancée.
Colton felt a flutter in his stomach at the thought of Dean.That’s odd. He thought. He’d never had that sort of reaction to anyone, man or woman. Maybe it was just gas.
Colton continued to mindlessly strum his guitar, still replaying the memory of the video shoot. Dean was level-headed, composed, and down to earth. He seemed genuinely happy and totally likeable. And he was so sweet with Tommy. It was confusing. Colton thought gay men didn’t like children. Yet, Dean was friendly and completely natural with Tommy. And the way Tommy looked at Dean with big doe eyes, it had been clear he was meeting one of his idols, and that was really cool to see.
Colton's brain homed in on how Dean would bite his bottom lip, Colton wondered if it’s something he inadvertently did when he was thinking. Either way, it was really cute.
He wasn’t wearing underwear.
Colton thought of Dean changing into his football gear. He recalled the muscles…so many muscles. Muscular thighs, thick calves, washboard abs, and nice, defined pecs. He'd had to work really hard to get a body like that.
Colton had never laughed that much at practice. Dean was easy to talk to and, strangely, Colton felt completely relaxed and comfortable around him. That never happened. Most people outside of his teammates got under his skin and annoyed him.
Colton shook out of his musings. He realized he’d stopped playing his guitar and was full-on daydreaming about Dean on his couch.
What the fuck?
Colton returned to strumming, thoughts of Dean still bouncing around his brain. As he hit a sour note, he wondered if Dean could help him with his guitar.
He reached for his phone and searched for Dean on Instagram. He found @DJDVLN and followed, then took some time to scroll through his posts. there was a vast array of shirtless thirst traps with millions of likes, of course. There were also multiple reels of Dean playing guitar, or piano, and singing.
Cool!Colton thought.Maybe he can help.
Dean was an international superstar, he wasn’t exactly taking on clients for music lessons at the local annex, but Colton decided to roll the dice and send him a DM.
Colton: Hey Dean! It’s Colton Merrick, from the video shoot last week. I was wondering…I always wanted to see the inside of a real music studio. Could I get a tour of your studio?
