“You look good, bro,” I said as I hugged him.
“Thanks,” he replied. “We should get going.”
I chuckled. “You act like it’s your boyfriend we’re going to see.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he retorted, shoving my shoulder. “It’s general admission. I just want to get good seats.”
I smirked. “Well, I’m ready. What are you waiting for?”
He rolled his eyes. “Ass.”
Jeremy was premiering his piano concerto tonight with the Queer Urban Orchestra. It was a small organization dedicated to giving queer musicians a voice. They were over the moon when Jeremy approached them with the idea of using their orchestra for the world premiere of his concerto. It would give them the necessary visibility to take their mission to the next level.
The downside was their venue was a small church in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. We had tickets, but we needed to get there early so we could sit up front.
The stretch limousine waited for us in front of the hotel. Jeremy had gotten tickets for me, Liam, my mom and Robert, Caitlin, Chris, and Maya.
They were already in the car waiting for us. Evan and Raphael were going to meet us there. To my surprise, Marco was driving.
“Hey, Marco, I didn’t know you could drive one of these things.”
Marco scoffed. “I can drive just about anything.”
Liam made a strange noise, and when I looked over at him, his cheeks were pink. “You okay?” I asked quietly.
“Yep. Just fine.”
I side-eyed him, but he didn’t say anything else, so I let it go. The drive to the City was without incident, with no accidents or traffic jams. It was a small miracle three days before Christmas.
Marco dropped us off in front of the church and went to park the limo around the corner. Evan and Raphael were waiting for us in the foyer of the church. Evan pulled me into a tight hug.
“How is he?” I asked quietly.
“Still pissed,” Evan replied. “But he’s not letting it stop him.”
A week ago, we discovered word had gotten out about Jeremy’s addiction and stint in rehab. It didn’t take long for him to find the source—Pierce. But he couldn’t figure out how his ex knew until he spoke to his mother. She let it slip that she told Pierce as a way of explaining Jeremy’s “bizarre” behavior. I was in the room when Jeremy blasted her and told her he was going no-contact with her and his father.
That was two days ago. Jeremy was still seething when he left for the City this morning, and I was worried it would affect his performance. Evan, however, seemed to think he would be all right, so I had to believe he would be.
An usher escorted us to the front of the venue. Apparently, Jeremy had been adamant about us getting front-row seats because the first two rows on the right-hand side were roped off.
There were two performances before Jeremy’s concerto, both well-known works. Not that I minded, but I was eager to hear his full performance. I’d heard snippets here and there, but without the full orchestra, I couldn’t get a good sense of how it would sound.
The rest of the audience slowly filled in behind us. I was talking to Liam when I heard a pair of familiar voices. I turned to find Ryan and Isaiah taking their seats behind us.
“Hey! I didn’t know you were coming.”
Ryan gave me a hug. “We came to spend Christmas with my parents. Then we’re flying to Seattle to spend time with Isaiah’s family.
“Wow, lots of flying,” I said. “That’s tough at Christmas time.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. But when Jeremy told us about the concert, we were glad we would be able to make it.”
The artistic director came out to announce the first symphony, so we all took our seats. The Queer Urban Orchestra was small but very good. They played in the space where the altar would normally be. The acoustics of the church were fantastic.
I’ll admit I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to the performances of the first two symphonies. I was really just eager to hear Jeremy’s concerto.
Finally, after a seemingly interminable fifteen-minute intermission, it was Jeremy’s turn. They moved the grand piano in front of the orchestra so my man was front and center.
