Now Jax blinked, taking a step backward of his own. Ari must have surprised him. “Ah, you don’t have to—”
Ari could not allow any misunderstandings on this point. Especially these days. “Jax. Musicians in my employ are paid. I insist.”
Jax quirked a small smile. “Well. All right, then. I guess I’ll head back to the bar. You want anything?”
Your phone number, Ari thought, and then was horrified at himself for it. Such an overture would be inappropriate. “No, thank you.”
“Naomi?”
“Martini, dirty. Hold the innuendo.”
“You’re no fun.”
“That’s a nasty rumor.”
“Prove it!” was Jax’s parting remark as he about-faced and swanned out the door.
Naomi shook her head and grabbed a bottle of water from the counter. “He does like to make a dramatic exit.”
Ari was forced to agree.
JAX MADE147 percent of his usual tips, despite the low-key nature of the evening, the limited audience, and the fact that he spent the first part of the night on the stage. When Ari’s set ended, people seemed disinclined to leave, so Rosa and Naomi took a few requests and the tables were pushed back to make room for a dance floor. Jax kept slinging drinks, looking up every few minutes, hoping to see Ari on the stage.
Jax had hardly had a chance to appreciate the man’s incredible talent. He only accompanied him on a few songs, and he’d needed all his concentration to focus on his own part, embellishing here and there to cover the fact that he didn’t know the music. Jax had only taken a few piano lessons as a kid. He couldn’t sight read fast enough to keep up and had just penciled in the chords at the top of the sheet and hoped for the best.
That last song, though, had his blood pumping. The call-and-answer with Ari happened almost by accident.
Jax loved numbers. He was a math guy. To him, music was applied math.
What had happened with Ari on the stage was the closest thing to magic he’d ever experienced. It was…headywas a good word. If Naomi hadn’t been there, Jax would’ve offered Ari a blow job right there in the break room.
But when he got offstage, he was only able to half watch the rest of the concert as he filled drink orders and suffered through a semi for the rest of the evening until Naomi and Rosa took their last bows. Jax didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to Ari.
Jax helped Murph close up the bar and rode his bike home in the wee hours. Thankfully London wasn’t big enough to make it a long trip, and soon, Jax unlocked the front door. He was greeted by the sound of the TV and the sight of Hobbes sacked out on the living-room couch.
Jax smiled as he toed off his shoes and crept up to his roommate. The deep circles under Hobbes’s eyes, which had moved in before Jax met him, had finally dissipated in recent weeks, but even in the low light of the TV, the newly acquired gray was visible in his beard and at his temples. Jax bit his lip and didn’t reach out to smooth the hair away from his face. Instead, he grabbed the throw off the back of the couch and gently draped it over him. It wasn’t the first time Jax had tucked his friend into bed.
After one last look at that too-handsome face, Jax turned away and switched off the TV. Then he tiptoed out of the room.
“Meow!” Captain Tribby sat in the kitchen doorway, eyeing Jax with an air of impatience and displeasure.
“Hey, Captain Tubs,” Jax whispered.
Tribby lurched forward to rub against Jax’s shins, then looked up to loudly demand,Where the fuck you been?
“Yeah, yeah, meow, meow. Feed me, bitch. I hear you.” Jax checked the feed schedule to make sure he wasn’t double-feeding, then filled the kibble bowl with a fresh scoop and the water dish, and left the cat to it.
Teeth cleaned and clothes tossed… elsewhere, Jax climbed into bed clad only in his boxers and settled onto his pillow with a sigh. He could still hear the music he and Ari had played, still feel the buzz in his fingers. Jax wondered if Ari would be that precise and commanding in every situation. The implications sent a shiver down his spine.
Though maybe he brought instead the slight stiffness he had offstage, the faint air of condescension. Jax snickered into his pillow, imagining Ari thanking him for a roll in the hay and offering to cover the taxi fare because he would never let a one-night stand pay for their own way home. The image did little to wilt his semi. He considered rolling over to take care of it, but his limbs felt too heavy to move.
As he dropped into unconsciousness, he felt the bed dip under Tribby’s not inconsiderable weight and then the warm body curl up against his hip, vibrating with purrs.
Chapter Two
JAX WOKEto bright sunshine and an empty bed—a stark contrast to his dreams of starlight and a heavy body pressing him into the mattress.
He rubbed his eyes and yawned, then blinked at the ceiling as he realized his dreams had starred Ari instead of—well. In any case, it was a welcome change, but now he needed a nice hot shower. It seemed his dick felt owed after yesterday’s long work shift.
