Symphony in Blue

by M. J. Duncan

  Regan pouted. “That’s it? Really?”

  Gwen rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. “Okay, fine. She’s the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met. Better?”

  “Absolutely. God, you’re so fucking cute.” Regan looped her arm through Gwen’s and tugged her toward the wide path that wrapped along the side of the garage that led beneath a canopy of tree branches lit by little twinkling white lights. “You are not, however, stealing my position as president of the Dana Ryan fan club.”

  Dana huffed a laugh. “You're ridiculous.”

  “Well, duh. But still, the point remains that I didn’t put up with your mopey ass these last couple years to just hand over my title to the first pretty girl who catches your attention.” Regan gave Gwen’s arm a light squeeze. “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Gwen assured her with a little laugh.

  “When was I mopey?” Dana challenged, and then shook her head as she thought better of it. Which, Gwen thought, was the smartest decision she could have made given the mischievous smirk quirking Regan’s lips. “You know what, never mind.”

  “Smart move.” Regan winked at Gwen and let go of her arm as they cleared the back corner of the garage. She led the way onto the expansive stone patio that stretched along the entire length of the house and spilled down a small flight of stairs to an absolutely gorgeous pool that had two waterslides and what looked like a grotto tucked beneath a handful of prehistoric-sized boulders. The patio itself was dotted with a dozen round tables covered in white tablecloths, and two bartenders stood behind the counter of an impressive bar that had been set up against the back side of the garage. “I gotta go take care of the whole wine situation, so you two can just go ahead and grab a drink or something and make yourselves at home. Brooke’s upstairs finishing getting ready, but she should be down any minute. Inside the house is pretty much a war zone right now so I recommend just hanging out out here, but if you'd like to go inside you're more than welcome to. The family room and den are still fairly safe from the chaos.” She nodded at Dana. “Right. I'll be back as soon as I get this shitshow back on track.”

  “It’s a shame she’s so reserved,” Dana quipped once they were alone. “If only we could get her to come out of her shell a bit.”

  Gwen laughed. “Exactly.”

  “Would you like a drink?” Dana waved a hand toward the bar.

  “Sure.” Gwen bit her lip as she looked at the temporary bar. “A glass of red?”

  “A woman after my own heart,” Dana teased, her smile warm and playful as she nodded. “Coming right up.”

  “I'll come with you.”

  “Cool.” Dana shoved her hands in her pockets as they approached the bar, and glanced at Gwen. “Merlot? Cab? Pinot noir? What do you like?”

  “A glass of merlot would be great, thanks,” Gwen told the bartender.

  “And for you?” He asked Dana as he tugged the cork that had been placed as a stopper in an already opened bottle of merlot.

  “Yeah, why not?” Dana shrugged. “I'll go with that, too.”

  “You got it.” He stood the cork end-up on the counter and set two glasses beside it. When he was done pouring, he handed them their glasses with a polite smile. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” Gwen and Dana said in unison as they took their drinks.

  “Do you want to sit down somewhere?” Dana asked as they wandered toward the tables. “We can grab a table out here, or we can go inside. There’s a pool table in the den if you’d like, or we can—”

  “Out here’s fine,” Gwen interrupted her with a smile.

  “Okay. So,” Dana began as she led the way across the patio, “can I ask you something about what you said when we pulled up?”

  “Of course.”

  “What took you down to San Diego?”

  “Oh. Well, I played with the LA Symphony while I was doing some more graduate work at SC, and not long after after I finished school I won the principal cellist position with the San Diego Symphony. I played with them from 2007 until 2011.”

  “And, not to sound completely stupid or anything, but I’m guessing that being the principal cellist is a good thing?” Dana asked as she pulled a chair out for Gwen at a table that overlooked the pool and was far enough out of the way that they should be safe from whatever chaos erupted around them when the dinner party truly got going.

  “Yes.” Gwen smiled as she sat down, crossed her right leg over her left, and leaned back in her chair. She spun her wine glass on the table as she watched Dana sit beside her, close enough that she could have dragged the toe of her shoe along Dana’s calf if she had any less self-control, and laughed when Dana shot her an expectant look.

  “That’s it?”

  “You only asked if it was a good thing,” Gwen pointed out with a grin. “Instrument sections are ranked by chair position, and principal is the title given to the first chair of every section with the exception of the first violins. It basically meant that I was the most skilled cellist on their roster, and since salary is determined by rank…” She shrugged.

  “Okay. That makes sense. So the best player of whatever instrument is always the principal whatever.”

  “Almost.” Gwen sipped at her wine, not at all surprised, given her surroundings, that it was perhaps the best she had ever had. She hummed appreciatively as she set the goblet back onto the table, and licked her lips as she watched the way the setting sun cast a rose-colored shadow through her glass onto the white tablecloth. “For the first violinists, their first chair is actually called the concertmaster, and they’re second only to the conductor in the hierarchy of the orchestra. Kind of like a team captain, I’d imagine.”

  “There’s more than one section of violins?”

  Gwen nodded and held up two fingers. “Two sections of violins.”

  “Is it always the first chair of the first violins who get to be concertmaster?”

  “In an orchestra, yes.”

  “Well that doesn't seem fair.” Dana frowned and took a sip of her wine. “Why isn’t it ever anyone else?”

  “It's always been that way, for starters,” Gwen explained with a little laugh. “Logistically speaking, the first violins are seated in a position on stage where they can be seen by the rest of the orchestra, so it makes sense that it goes to them. There’s also the argument that they tend to stand out the most when you’re listening to an orchestra play because of their pitch and the fact that they tend to be given the most dramatic portions of most pieces, and as the de facto face of an orchestra they deserve the recognition.” Dana scoffed under her breath and Gwen smiled. “Exactly. But, in smaller groups or ensembles, who leads is usually passed around depending on who’s playing.”

  “So, if you were the principal cellist in San Diego, why did you come back to LA? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking…”

  “No, I don’t mind.” Gwen ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. “LA Phil pays more, to be honest, even as second chair, which I am now, but beyond that, the Phil is also widely considered to be one of the most forward-thinking ensembles in the world. I guess, to put it simply”—she pursed her lips thoughtfully as she tried to come up with a good analogy—“it’s like comparing a talented but not exceptional swimmer to an Olympic medalist.”

  “Okay, that makes sense.” Dana grinned and nodded. “Nice sports metaphor, by the way.”

  “Thanks. Anyway—” Gwen looked past Dana to the doors of the house as a loud wolf whistle split the air, and she rolled her eyes at the lecherous smirk Luke gave her as he and Jay made their way out onto the patio. She laughed softly when she noticed that Luke was dressed identically to Dana in a pair of gray slacks and a blue shirt, and she was more than a little relieved that Jay’s black-on-black look was not a match to her own outfit. That would have been just too weird, even for them.

  “Who?” Dana turned to look and laughed. “God, he and Regan really are two peas in a pod, aren’t they?”

  Gwen nodded and prayed that
Luke, at least, would avoid commenting on her breasts, given that he had picked out the dress. She picked up her glass of wine and took a fortifying drink as Jay wandered toward the bar and Luke started making his way toward them.

  “Lookin’ good, Dana!” Luke grinned and applauded in Dana’s direction as he dropped into the empty chair to Gwen’s right. “I mean, not as good as me, but still…”

  “Thanks. I guess.” Dana grinned and shook her head. “How’re you doing, Luke?”

  “Can’t complain.” He shrugged. “How about you?”

  Dana looked at Gwen and smiled. “I’m doing pretty good.”

  Gwen blushed and cleared her throat as she asked, “How was Viv’s birthday party?”

  “It was a total rager.” He laughed. “Nah, it was good. The kids freakin’ loved the bouncy house, and the rest of us just kinda hung out. She loved our present though, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law threatened to kill me with it, so it was a pretty fun afternoon.”

  “You gave her that recorder you were talking about, didn’t you?” Gwen chuckled.

  “And the cutest set of drums that have a cymbal and everything,” he shared gleefully. “The noise coming out of that kid’s room when we left was pretty fucking epic.”

  Gwen shook her head as Dana laughed beside her. “She’s gonna get you back for that someday; you know that, right?”

  “Probably,” he agreed with a laugh. “But it’s totally worth it.”

  “What’s worth it?” Jay asked as he handed Luke a glass of red.

  “The drums.”

  Jay chuckled and nodded. “My sister’s face was pretty hilarious when Viv opened those.”

  “Hey, hey, hey bitches!” Regan called out as she sauntered up to their table. She waved a hand between Luke and Dana and grinned. “I like the twin thing you and Ryan have going on tonight. Very spiffy.”

  “Yeah, I totally wear it better though,” Luke mock whispered.

  “I think I can speak for all the lesbians here tonight when I say that you absolutely do not. Right, Gwen?”

  Gwen bit her lip and nodded. “She’s right. Sorry, Luke.”

  Luke gasped and gave her his best wounded look. “Mean!”

  “Come on. Like you expected her to say anything else?” Regan challenged, and Gwen cleared her throat softly as she looked down at her lap to hopefully hide the blush she could feel creeping over her cheeks.

  “No, not really,”

  “God,” Gwen muttered.

  Luke and Regan laughed. “Sorry,” they apologized together.

  “You two are seriously creepy together,” Jay muttered, shaking his head as he looped an arm over the back of Luke’s chair. “Please tell me we’re not going to have a repeat of the last time you two were drinking together.”

  “Alas, I’m afraid I must adult this evening,” Regan declared with a dramatic sigh. “But you all are more than welcome to hit it as hard as you want. We’ve got guest rooms if you need to crash here for the night. And, if you could save the skinny dipping until after everybody else has left, I’d appreciate it.” She shook her head. “That was a headache and a half of a day getting bitched at by HR after the last time,” she muttered.

  Gwen glanced at Dana to see if Regan was just pulling their legs but, judging by the pained look on Dana’s face, no, that really happened. “What kind of work function ends in skinny dipping?”

  “A fucking fun one,” Regan chuckled. “But yeah. You guys cool out here? I gotta go do the whole meet-and-greet-hostess thing.”

  “We’re good,” Dana spoke for the group.

  “Apps will be out in a few,” Regan promised. “I’ll try and pop over here again in a bit.”

  “No problem,” Luke assured her.

  Once it was just the four of them again, Luke turned to Dana. “Was she bullshitting us with the whole skinny dipping story?”

  Tired of feeling like she was caught in the middle of a verbal tennis match, Gwen shifted her chair next to Dana’s so she wasn’t having to turn her head to look at Luke and Jay, and she bit her lip as the scent of Dana’s perfume wafted over her.

  “I wasn’t here for that one, I was on a training trip with the team, but yeah,” Dana said, nodding.

  “What is this dinner party thing for, anyway?” Luke asked.

  “It’s more of a write-off-slash-company-morale-booster type thing.” Dana shrugged. Her eyes drifted toward the house, and she smiled as she lifted a hand in greeting. “Sorry, Regan’s assistant, Kiera, just got here. Anyway”—she relaxed in her chair and draped her right arm over the back of Gwen’s—“what were we talking about?”

  Luke’s left eyebrow twitched in surprise at Dana’s arm resting on the back of Gwen’s chair, but he thankfully didn’t say anything about it. “I don’t think we were really talking about anything,” he said. “How do you think your football team’s gonna do this year?”

  “SC?” Dana asked. When he nodded, she blew out a loud breath and shrugged. “After the way we finished last season, I’m hoping for a good year, but who knows.”

  “Do you ever go to the games?”

  “The ones at the Coliseum, yeah. I mean, assuming I’m not out of town with the team for a meet. First game of the season this year is at home—would you guys want to go?” The question was directed at all of them, but there was no mistaking the fact that her attention was focused completely on Gwen.

  “Yeah,” Luke and Jay answered enthusiastically.

  Gwen glanced over at Dana, who was watching her with a soft, hopeful expression, and nodded. “Sure.”

  “Okay, then.” Dana beamed. “Would you guys want to be on the field, or do you want me to see about getting some extra tickets?”

  “You can really get us on the field?” Luke asked.

  Dana laughed and nodded. “I know people.”

  “I knew you were my best friend for a reason,” Luke replied.

  “Hey!” Jay objected.

  “Aww, thanks!” Dana told him with a wink.

  “Hey!” Gwen echoed Jay’s protest.

  Luke laughed. “If she gets me onto the field for a game, she wins. Sorry guys.”

  “Good luck getting home from here,” Jay teased. “It’s a long walk back to Sherman Oaks.”

  “Love you too, handsome,” Luke sassed, leaning his head on Jay’s shoulder.

  Gwen chuckled and shook her head, unable to keep from smiling as she enjoyed the easy banter flying back and forth between them all. She didn’t add much to the conversation, more than content to just watch and listen as Dana and Luke got talking about sports, a feeling of pure happiness settling in her chest as she just enjoyed having all of her favorite people in the world getting along so well together.

  Dana’s breath against her cheek sent a pleasant shiver down her spine, and she smiled when Dana whispered in her ear, “You got kinda quiet. You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Gwen replied softly as she relaxed into Dana’s side, too content in the moment to worry about the appropriateness of the action. “I’m great.”

  Soft fingers stroked lightly over the curve of her shoulder as Dana shifted her chair a hair closer to make it easier for Gwen to fit against her side, and murmured, “Good.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  “What?! No fucking way!”

  Gwen blinked her eyes open to check that everything was okay as Regan’s exclamation made Dana startle against her. It was well past the witching hour—the dinner party had wrapped up a couple hours before—and they had found their way inside to the den not long after the last of the Waterman Films employees had called it a night. Jay and Brooke were curled up in a matching pair of leather club chairs near the fireplace with red and black tartan blankets over their legs, and Regan and Luke were sitting on the edge of their respective couch cushions that faced the absolutely massive television across from them, headsets in place and controllers gripped tightly in hand as they battled disturbingly realistic looking enemies in the war-torn ruins of some European country.
>
  “Shh, it's okay,” she murmured against the top of Dana’s head, her eyelids fluttering as exhaustion once again swept over her. They should have said their goodbyes long before either of them had reached this point, but they had been having so much fun hanging out with everybody that the idea of putting an end to it all had only crossed her mind when she had dropped onto the luxuriously overstuffed sofa in the den—and by then it was too late. Her body melted into the soft cushions that welcomed her like a warm hug, and she had found herself completely unable to move. She was not quite sure how Dana had ended up curled against her side, but she was too tired to try and move and, besides that, she would be lying if she said she didn’t like it.

  “S’tired,” Dana mumbled, her left arm tightening around Gwen’s waist as she rubbed her cheek against Gwen’s shoulder.

  Gwen hummed and nodded as she rested her cheek against the top of Dana’s head. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this warm and comfortable, and she was far too worn out to care that her neck and back were going to be paying the price the next day for falling asleep in this position.

  “Hey, Dana,” Regan called out.

  “What?” Dana groaned. “What time issit?”

  Gwen forced her eyes open as she felt Dana shift beside her. “Hmm?”

  Regan’s smile was as gentle and kind as Gwen had ever seen. “I didn’t realize it was so late. Why don’t you two just go upstairs and crash? I’m not letting you drive home since I seriously doubt you’d make it to the end of the driveway before you passed out again, and a bed is a hell of a lot more comfortable than a couch. You’ll have to share because I don’t think these guys should be driving now either”—she waved her controller at Luke, who nodded in agreement, and Jay, who let out a loud, rumbling snore that made Regan giggle—“so they’ll be in the other spare, but the clothes you left here last time you stayed over should be in the dresser in your room, and you can just grab Gwen something outta my closet for her to sleep in since we’re close to the same size.”