Page 51 of Inevitable
It was easier to ignore that he was balancing on a precipice. If he didn’t concentrate on the very real possibility of tumbling into the abyss, he felt happier than he’d ever been before.
Almost like he was a part of something.
Like he belonged.
* * *
“The meeting went well?”
Bas grunted his reply as they dragged the couch toward the window. “Yeah. It’s a bit surreal, actually, to play with a band you’ve been basically stalking for years.”
“So you went all fanboy on them?”
“Of course not. I was cool and composed, and I didn’t say a word about my plan to tattoo their names on my butt. Overall, a success.”
Ezra laughed.
They pushed the couch until it was at the exact spot Bas had chosen for it earlier. Ezra blew out his breath and dropped himself on the couch. Bas moved around the living room some more, rearranging things here and there. He was trying to act calm, but Ezra could see how excited he was. There was so much energy in the air that Ezra felt like he could reach out his hand, and if it came into contact with Bas, he would be zapped. This was a new side of Bas Ezra had never seen, and he couldn’t seem to look away.
“Couldn’t you have hired somebody to drag all this heavy shit around your living room?” he asked to get his mind out of the gutter.
They’d spent the last hour rearranging everything in Drew and Bas’s living room, and since Bas didn’t have an exact plan and was winging it half the time, they’d moved some of the heavier pieces way more times than strictly necessary.
“Why would I do that when I have you?” Bas dropped down next to Ezra.
“You think he’s going to be surprised?” Ezra asked.
Bas grinned. “Definitely. We discussed this once upon a time but never got around to doing it. Now, it feels right. I want to be here. It’s only a home if we actually spend time here.”
Just then, they heard the sound of the front door opening.
Ezra glanced toward the opening that led from the living room to the hallway. “I guess we’ll see how Drew feels right now.”
Bas grinned and got up.
“Hey, has anybody seen my—”
They didn’t get to find out what Drew was looking for because the man had lifted his eyes and had stopped dead in his tracks.
Drew blinked as if he was making sure he wasn’t seeing things. He stepped forward slowly and slid his fingers over the lid of the piano. Bas’s brand-new, shiny, black piano. Drew looked up at Bas, whose energy levels had seemingly doubled now that he got to witness Drew’s reaction to his surprise. The intensity between them filled the air with crackling electricity. How the two of them had managed to hold up the just friends narrative for so long was something Ezra would never understand.
“You bought yourself a present, huh?” Drew asked. He looked as if he was too afraid to hope. As if he was expecting Bas to yell, “Just kidding,” and cart the piano to his studio, instead.
Bas scratched his head and looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced first at Ezra and then at Drew.
“Turns out I don’t need isolation to compose. You once told me I should get a piano here so that when I get an idea, I wouldn’t have to run off to the studio.” Bas shrugged. “It seemed like a good plan. I can do my thing in the studio during the day and then come home after that. Like people do. You know, job during the day, relax in the evening. Unless I have a gig. But that’s an exception. People have those. Work commitments, you know? So… I thought it was a good plan. And maybe I could play you two something sometime?” He was starting to sound more and more nervous with every word that passed his lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, dragged his fingers through his hair, and sent Ezra a pleading look. “Ezra and I were talking. Apparently I’m an idiot. His words, not mine. I think I’m at least somewhat delightful. Otherwise, I don’t think you would have put up with me for so long. I digress. Fuck, how do people do this?”
Ezra felt the strangest urge to laugh.
Bas looked like he was going to hyperventilate.
“I want to try,” he blurted out. “Us. I want to try. I want to give this a chance. You asked me once, way back when, and I’m hoping maybe it’s not too late and you still want me, too.”
Bas clamped his mouth shut. For a moment, it looked like time had frozen. And then it sped up as Drew strode to Bas in three long steps. He grabbed Bas’s face between his palms and slammed his mouth down on Bas’s. Bas melted against Drew like he belonged there. Two halves of a whole. They were locked in an embrace so tight that it looked like even oxygen molecules would have had a difficult time fitting between them.
Bas’s hands were wrapped around Drew, Drew’s palms still cradling Bas’s cheeks as they kissed. They’d seemingly forgotten the rest of the world existed.
Ezra’s throat went dry as he watched the two of them go at it. He’d never seen anything that romantic in his whole life. Had anybody ever kissed him with such passionate abandon? Yeah, that was a definite no.