Frederick sighed, “All right, doctor Deena.” Frederick mock saluted her and sat back on the bed.
“No, not a doctor, just a friend. I care about you, Freddy. You’re my bestie. I want you around for a long time.”
Frederick took her hand and kissed it. “You’ll have me, don’t you worry. You and Vaughan. Now, please leave so I can take care of business.”
Deena leaned down to kiss his cheek then promptly turned on her heel, leaving his room.
Once she closed the door, Frederick sat back on the bed and pressed play again.
“Whoa, baby.” He watched the screen intently, dragging his finger down on the moving picture in front of him.
“You’re so beautiful. So sexy.” Frederick licked his lips and watched Vaughan climax, and he shook his head, wishing his sexy man was here with him.
“God, I miss you. I miss you so much, Vaughan.” Frederick stopped the video a moment to recall Vaughan’s face and his body, tangled in the sheets at his hotel and Vaughan’s apartment. Both times, Frederick could recall being totally transfixed by Vaughan’s long arms, toned abs, and legs. His beautiful pecs resembled small discs on his chest. Frederick would love to have them between his teeth right now while he impaled himself on Vaughan’s …
Dick.
Frederick smiled to himself, then opened his text window to send his lover a reply. First he apologized for not messaging back since the video had been sent a while ago. Second, he wrote:
Lover, that was amazing. You are amazing. I can’t wait to see and feel your beautiful body close to mine. Please tell me you’re saving all that sexiness for me when I return to Cardova. I can’t wait to see you and feel you deep inside me. I might not want to go back on tour after that, but at least I’ll know the trek will be over and I’ll be spending a lot more time in Cardova instead of Los Angeles.
Love, your man, Freddy.
Frederick hit send and went back to the video to press play again. He watched it with the sound up. Then again with the sound down. The third time, he fell prey to his own desires and stroked his own length while he watched Vaughan finish himself off. When that occurred, he, too, finished, leaving another sticky mess as he did the first time they’d had phone sex. He looked down at himself again and decided to send a video in response to Vaughan’s.
Frederick held the camera, starting at his face, then went slowly downward on his body until it finally reached the liquid on his stomach and his inner thighs. He dragged his finger through his own release, then followed that finger with the phone until he showed himself sucking it. “Delicious. And all for you, lover. I miss you and can’t wait to see you.” Frederick kissed at the camera, sent it, and winked.
Completely shocked by what he’d done, Fredrick shut it off quickly and put the phone down on top of Vaughan’s jacket. He laughed to himself and turned over, not caring about being sticky and wet.
Right now he was too tired to shower, think, or anything else.
Though he knew he’d need to contact Delaney, all of it could wait until he had more sleep to dream of his man back in Cardova, waiting for him to come home.
Chapter Twenty
The day before, a courier dropped off a package containing tickets and VIP passes from Frederick. Kelliani had been super excited. Vaughan noticed her happiness was only bolstered when she realized Frederick had also added two passes that allowed them to get anything they wanted from concession and merchandising—free of charge. Vaughan smiled. Strange, he was dating the guy and Kelliani was still over the moon about getting swag at the actual venue.
Morning arrived and even before Vaughan’s alarm could go off, Kelliani started calling him. One call morphed into two then three and soon his phone began flashing low battery. After the eighth call, Vaughan’s phone died and shut itself off. He plugged it in, left it turned off, and took the queen for a walk. With that out of the way, he ensured her bowls were clean and refilled before heading to the bedroom. He found a pair of black jeans, red boxers, and a graphic shirt that read, “I’m Your Daddy” on the front and laid them on the bed beside his leather jacket. They had decided that since Frederick still had Kelliani’s helmet, they would take her car and Vaughan would pay for parking.
Seemed fair.
A quick shower later, Vaughan stopped to check his facial hair. Not wanting to waste more time, he merely shaped up the little that had grown in, and nodded appreciatively. Frederick may not like the facial hair, but it wouldn’t be forever. With a mental shrug, Vaughan got dressed. Nefertiti wandered in then, demanded him pet her before he did anything else, then climbed onto his bed and curled herself in the middle of it. He turned on some music, ensured it was low before sitting on the top of the chest at the foot of his bed to haul on a pair of Converse. They were all black except for the red star and limited edition written on red at the back.
“Sin?” Kelliani called.
Nefertiti surged to her feet, stuck her tongue out while wagging her tail furiously. When Kelliani made an appearance, Nefertiti couldn’t contain her happiness. Vaughan smiled. “Someone is happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to see you, too, your highness,” Kelliani said in that voice people used for babies and pets. She scratched the puppy behind the ears. “Who’s a beautiful puppy! You are! Yes, you are!”
“Okay, what do you think?” Vaughan said, standing.
“You look great.” Kelliani turned from Nefertiti to give him the thumbs up.
They stopped to eat something since they didn’t really have to leave for another hour and that would give his phone a little more time to charge. After they ate, watched a rerun episode of some reality show with down and out celebrities, he noticed Kelliani was beginning to get a little antsy.
“Can we go?”
Vaughan checked the time and tilted his head. He sighed and shrugged. “I suppose. But we are going to be crazy early.”
“We should be.”
“Why? We have VIP tickets. We won’t have to join a line or shove in to find our seats. All of that is taken care of.”
“Who is the Frederick Tremblay expert here? You or me?”
Vaughan winked at her. “Seriously? After the times Freddy and I have spent together, do you seriously think you know him better than I do?”
“Sex doesn’t mean you’re getting to know anyone.” Kelliani pouted.
“Honey, I licked him.”
“Fine! You win!”
“That’s what I thought.” Vaughan smirked.
Kelliani merely crinkled her nose at him and jangled her keys.
After kissing Nefertiti’s head, Vaughan and Kelliani were on their way. He did force her to stop at a nearby drugstore to pick up a few necessary things just in case he and Frederick could get some private time together. There was a very slim chance of that, but Vaughan wanted to be prepared. Hell, he’d be happy with a kiss and a grope at this point.
“Two weeks is a long-ass time,” Vaughan muttered when he was finally back in the car and Kelliani turned it toward their destination. “Especially after just starting to see what we could be to each other. What if he doesn’t want me like he did before?”
“I don’t think that’s…” Kelliani pulled over and glanced one way, then the other. “Crap, can you check the GPS on your phone to see where I go from here?”
“Sure.” He pulled the cell and turned it on. By the time he had the app opened to the GPS, he couldn’t figure it out since the map wouldn’t pick up their location.
“Here,” Kelliani said, after shifting to park and reaching for the phone. She tapped around on it for a few silent moments. “Ah-ha! That’s the issue. You didn’t have location on…” Silently, she perused the map. “Okay. Good. We need to go left at that light—oh, you have a message from Freddy.”
“I don’t think you should…”
Before Vaughan could finish, Kelliani had already opened the message. “Oh-em-gee! That’s what that boy is workin’ with?”
“What?”
<
br /> Vaughan reached for the phone and was delighted to see Frederick had sent him a naughty video of his own. While making a mental note to give Freddy a spanking later for touching Vaughan’s dick like that, he was horrified that Kelliani had seen it. “Lord have mercy! You cannot tell Freddy you saw that!”
“Aww, come on!” Kelliani said. “How am I going to keep that in? I know the man is packed like a horse, and you want me to keep that to myself? How is that fair?”
“You don’t understand. He’s going to die of embarrassment. He’s really shy.”
“Oh for fuck’s sakes.”
“Kelliani, I mean it!”
“Ugh! Fine! Sheesh. Kill my fun, why don’t you.”
Vaughan turned the volume off and watched the video again. By the time they arrived at the theatre, Vaughan had watched the video three times and now was so hard, he was definitely going to steal Frederick away for a little relief. Somehow, he managed to climb from the car and stretched his muscles. Lately, his back had taken to throbbing at the weirdest time. Perhaps it had something to do with being blown up halfway around the damn world.
Rubbing his lower back, he groaned.
“Having issues with that again?” Kelliani asked, walking around the vehicle.
“Yeah. I should go see a doctor at some point. Maybe I might need something for it.”
“When you see that man of yours, ask him to rub it for you.”
Vaughan liked the suggestion at first. But after he walked over to the ticket machine, fed it a couple twenty dollar bills and accepted the chit for the windshield, he thought against that idea. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, Frederick hadn’t said anything about the scars, and even when I brought them up he just glossed over them. I don’t want to push it.”
“Push it? Vaughan, the two of you will have to talk about them.”
“I know.” Vaughan reached into the car and stuck the voucher on the dash before closing the door. “But not right now. I just—I haven’t seen him in two weeks, and I’ve missed him.”
Kelliani sighed before wrapping her arm around his hips, and the two headed for the entrance. “Doesn’t hurt with that video, huh?”
“Doesn’t hurt at all.” Vaughan agreed. “Not in bad way at least.”
At the door, after scanning both their tags, the security guard asked them to wait and soon a woman in a suit approached. Apparently, Frederick had given instructions that Vaughan and Kelliani were to be taken care of. So here was this woman, VIP Host of Guest Operations, speaking to them about all the amenities the place had to offer. Vaughan made a face. He was certain boring him and Kelliani to tears wasn’t what Frederick had in mind. Finally, they were seated in the front row of the theatre in plush, leather seats. Kelliani kept leaning over to whisper who the other people in the VIP were.
Most of them Vaughan didn’t know. A few were other musicians, and others were politicians or celebrity chefs. The excitement around them seemed to pulse through Kelliani, for at one point, Vaughan had to reach over and rest a hand on her thigh to stop her tapping her foot incessantly.
After about twenty minutes, someone came around to offer them something to eat and a glass of wine. Vaughan passed on the wine but accepted some orange juice instead. Once they were both settled, he sent Frederick a text.
Hey baby. Got your vid when I was in the car. I’m going to have to teach you how to treat MY cock when I’m not around. But have fun tonight. I’ll see you after.
V.
Once it was sent, he picked up a half of his pastrami sandwich and bit into it.
“You two sexting again?”
Vaughan smirked. “Not yet.” He chewed. “I figured we’re both worked up enough to crack walnuts right now.”
Kelliani sipped her wine. “Lord have mercy. I had a question though.”
“Okay.”
“If you and Freddy work out—are you leaving?”
“Leaving? Why would you think we’d be leaving?”
“Well, I mean, eventually the two of you will be moving in together, right?” Kelliani said.
Someone on the stage began fiddling with a microphone.
“Right.” Vaughan leaned closer to reply.
“Where are you going to move to? Your apartment is obviously not what Frederick is used to. I mean sure, he was happy to be there when you guys were just ringing each other’s bells but when you get serious, you’re going to want more space. Nefertiti is going to get bigger and life—well, life goes on.”
“Kelliani, no matter who comes into my life you will always be with me.” Vaughan assured her. He set his sandwich down, wiped his hands then cradled her face. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know where I’d be right now. Probably lying in a ditch somewhere. Frederick understands how much you mean to me. Even if I do leave Cardova, it won’t be for some far away land.”
“But you are planning on leaving?”
“No. I have no plans right now. Frederick hasn’t even—well I haven’t even asked him to be my man yet. I’ll be here.”
Kelliani didn’t look convinced, but music began on stage and the lights in the theatre dimmed. Though he nibbled at his sandwich, he suddenly had no appetite for it. Just before Frederick took the stage, Vaughan leaned in and kissed Kelliani’s head. He’d meant what he said about them not leaving anytime soon. He wasn’t sure what he would be doing career-wise, but at least he knew he had love.
When Frederick finally took the stage, the auditorium roared. Vaughan smiled, and though he didn’t leave his seat, he applauded. Everyone looked to the stage and saw Frederick Tremblay, the musician, the violinist. He saw his lover, a man who’d sent him a video to make his blood boil in all the right ways. He saw the man he was hoping to go home with that night but knew with all his prior engagements that would probably not be possible.
Vaughan smiled Frederick’s eyes found him but wasn’t sure if he should blow the violinist a kiss. He wanted to, but what if Frederick didn’t want anyone knowing about them? With that thought firmly in place, he sat, keeping Frederick’s stare as long as he could, hoping Frederick could somehow see the need in him.
****
Frederick rose up on his tiptoes and eyed Vaughan sitting next to Kelliani. He nodded at the both of them appreciatively and bowed to the rest of the audience. Part of him wanted to salute his man in a different way, but Frederick figured every gossip rag was here at this concert. Knowing they’d caught a shot of him leaving the hotel with Vaughan three weeks ago, he was positive some paparazzi were here to try getting another scoop.
Once the audience settled down, Frederick did a couple of warm up plucks on his violin, and he pressed his chin on the rest. The piano started and a low drum, signaling to him to begin the first song of their performance, a Chopin classic, he’d jazzed up to delight the crowd. Apparently, people recognized the tune, and he immediately tapped his feet in rhythm to the beat. A couple of them clapped, which started a steady stream of claps that pleased Frederick as he continued with the song.
As he played on, Frederick walked around, nodding at the members of his band and when the tune took a faster turn, he kept up with everyone, moving his head and feet in unison. With the pace speeding up, Frederick felt his heart thumping in his chest. He took a deep breath while continuing to play and keep up, but after a few minutes, he sensed some exhaustion setting in and things beginning to get blurry around him.
Within a couple of minutes, the song ended and he took a slow bow before walking over to the drum platform to drink a bottle of water. Despite Deena’s prodding, he’d barely touched his breakfast, but he did have his trademark bowls of cereal right before stage time.
After downing the water without so much as a thought, Frederick felt better and figured he was just dehydrated. He hadn’t drunk a lot of fluids beforehand and the theatre was extremely hot, so perhaps he only needed to quench his thirst to carry on with the performance.
Seven songs in and only two to go. Then the encore, Frederi
ck thought to himself, wondering how he would be able to carry on. Every muscle in his body ached from the bike ride Deena told him not to take. His stomach was doing flips, and his brow was drenched with sweat. He’d already stripped down to only his t-shirt which read, “Mozart is my hero” and in truth, he would’ve liked to take off more if he could.
Fanning and drinking more water in between songs, Frederick walked to his piano player and told him they would only do one more and the encore; a shortened version of a Beethoven staple. The piano player flashed him a worried look and whispered to Frederick, asking if he was okay. He mentioned fine, only tired due to lack of sleep.
When the song began, he started playing his notes flawlessly as he watched his man and everyone else out in the audience enjoying him play.
I can’t stop. I can’t embarrass myself or him.
Never mind the fact his parents, who were in attendance, would be completely disgusted if he failed to finish the show. So Frederick raged on, opening his eyes, closing them, then opening again only to look at Vaughan. Then he stepped forward and fixated on Vaughan’s beautiful brown eyes, staring at him as if he were the prey he wanted to attack. Vaughan appeared to be mesmerized by Frederick’s work and that kept him upright despite the fact he felt like he was about to faint.
Right then, Deena’s words began to replay in his mind as did Doctor Prescott’s.
“You need solid food, Frederick. You need rest, you need sun! You look pale.”
Frederick didn’t need any of that. All he needed was to complete this concert and run into his man’s arms to tell him how much he missed him.
The love experts said absence makes the heart grow fonder, and being away from Vaughan proved that to be true. They’d only texted, sent back naughty messages a couple of times, but nonetheless Frederick was more than enamored with Vaughan. And unlike what Deena said, it wasn’t just his dick. Frederick cared deeply for this man, so much so, he figured he could call it love.
Love at the Right Tempo Page 17
