TYLER
It washard to let the little annoyances get to me over the course of the weekend when I could look up and see Owen’s smiling face as he lost himself in the music. I wondered if he realized he wasn’t on the stage making the sound with how intense he got at times.
Once, I’d glanced over and his eyes were closed as he sang along with a power ballad from when we were kids and I couldn’t help but laugh. We used to take turns trying to one-up each other belting out the lyrics as obnoxiously as possible.
But there was nothing over-the-top about watching him sing today. Our eyes met, and it felt like every word was directed at me. My breath caught, and I had to grip the edge of the makeshift bar to keep from losing my balance.
“You okay over there, Tyler?” Billy called out as he pulled the draft beers from the tap. He shot me a questioning side-eye as he delivered said beers to a group less than six feet away from me. I’d been so captivated by Owen that I hadn’t even noticed them approach. Once they left, Billy moved closer. “Just a few more hours, and then you can ride off into the sunset with your boy.”
“He’s not my boy,” I protested. If anything, I’d be the one filling that role, not Owen.
He’d been so commanding Friday night and I was hungry to see what else he could do. My body craved his next instruction. Even here, surrounded by half the damn town, I found myself seeking him out, wondering how I would react if he pulled me behind the old maintenance shed and shoved me to my knees. So far, everything had felt very one-sided, as if he was trying to prove how much pleasure he could give me if I let him in.
I didn’t need the reminder, as nice as it was. But more than the fooling around, it was just being with him that filled my heart with something I’d almost given up on finding. I didn’t feel lonely when I was with him.
Last night, both of us had been too tired for anything more than falling into bed and passing out holding one another. That was one hell of a wakeup call because that wasn’t the type of thing you did with someone you didn’t want to keep around.
“You could’ve fooled me,” Billy scoffed. “The two of you keep making moony eyes at one another. It’s sickeningly sweet.”
“You’re just jealous because you have to turn to your right hand if you want to feel the love,” I teased. As soon as I said it, my face blushed bright red. I wasn’t the guy who engaged in witty banter with others. I was serious, devoted to proving the community partnership hadn’t made a mistake when they hired me.
But maybe I could be that guy. Maybe it wasn’t only the lack of someone to share my bed that gnawed my insides, leaving the bitterness of solitude behind.
“Damn, you need to keep him around. I’d ask how he got the stick out of your ass, but I might not want to know.”
I threw a wet rag at him. “Dude, not cool. If I wanted everyone to know about my sex life, I’d tell Jasper.”
“Fuck you very much, Tyler.” Jasper sashayed past me, flipping his hand next to his head as if he still had hair longer than Owen’s. “You make it sound like all I do is gossip about other people’s lives.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I understand that it’s a hazard of the job.” The old ladies had almost lost their shit when Jasper bought the hair salon in town from his aunt. They all threatened to head into Eaton to get their hair done, but it wasn’t long after the first snow storm that they started coming to him.
“No, it really doesn’t.” The band fired up one of their fans’ favorite tunes, and the crowd abandoned the beer lines in favor of dancing and screaming the raunchy lyrics. Jasper leaned on the bar. “Now, what’s this about you finally getting some? Seriously, Tyler, I was starting to worry you might be broken after that string of failed hook-ups.”
“Gee, way to make a guy feel like a pathetic loser.” Fine, so maybe I had a run of bad luck, but that wasn’t the fault of any of the men I’d been with; it was my own because I couldn’t get my head out of the past. And now, the past was home and my dry spell was ending. “And it’s not about finding a random piece of ass.”
“Oh, so this is someone special then? Do you move ridiculously fast when you find someone you want or have you been keeping secrets from us?” I gave Jasper a playful shove when he pouted at me. “Come on, I have to live vicariously through someone. And if I have to hear about the boobs Billy’s chasing much longer, I’ll have to bleach my brain.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I looked up to see Owen staring at me, an undecipherable look on his face. He wasn’t exactly pissed, but he definitely wasn’t happy.
Okay, so maybe Jasper stood closer than most friends would, but that was just how he was. And yeah, his hand was on my forearm, mindlessly rubbing back and forth, but it didn’t mean anything. The man had zero concept of personal space. But Owen wouldn’t know that because he’d left before Jasper came leaping out of his glittery rainbow closet. Hell, he probably didn’t even recognize Jasper, even though we all used to play together.
“Honey, don’t look now, but that man who’s been eye fucking you all day looks like he’s getting ready to stake his claim,” Jasper whispered. He was oblivious to the tension growing as he leaned closer. “Oooh, I don’t think he likes me touching you. How do we want to play this?”
“Jas, I love the hell out of you, but you’ve got to back away. Please.” Jasper’s shoulders fell as he put a bit too much space between us. I closed in on him enough that he’d be able to hear me over the music. I didn’t want him thinking I was upset with him, but he needed to realize what a tricky spot he’d put me in. “That man who’s been eye fucking me, as you so eloquently put it, is Owen Smythe.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jasper leaned over the bar so far I was surprised his feet were still on the ground. He looked back at me, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip. “Damn, he grew up pretty.”
Jasper gaped at me as he realized what I wasn’t saying. I stood a bit straighter, squaring my shoulders. I wasn’t afraid of what was going on between Owen and me, I was fucking proud. Okay, so I was terrified, too, but I was proud of myself for standing up to that fear to see what might be. And if I was going to get a chance to be with the boy who’d owned my heart since before I knew what love really was, it didn’t hurt that he was sinfully sexy.
“Wait just a damn minute!” Jasper spun to face me, gripping my shoulders tightly as he shook me. “Are you seriously telling me he came back to town and the two of you are getting your happily ever after? Do you realize how romantic that is?”
“Settle down,” I hissed when I realized Jasper’s exuberance was garnering unwanted attention. I kept my voice low as I answered his questions, even though the damage had already been done.
Behind him, Billy was laughing so hard he could barely stay upright. He quirked an eyebrow as if to say,you knew better than to tell him. Yeah, the entire town would probably know before the lights went out for the last time on this year’s festival. But as I thought about it, I realized that didn’t upset me the way it would have in the past.
“Yes, it’s all very romantic,” I deadpanned. “Yes, Owen came back. No, I didn’t know he worked for the company Grant hired to do the sound this year. Yes, he and I…uh, well, I’m not sure what’s going to happen after this weekend, but I think both of us want to see if there’s something good between us.”
“Of course there is!” Jasper tucked his chin to his chest. “Sorry. Oh god, I’m as bad as you said I was, huh?”
