Composing a Family

by Sean Michael

  “You could, but they’ll eventually show up anyway, and ulcers suck. Hey, do you meditate at all?”

  “I play. That’s the ultimate meditation.” There was nothing more relaxing than playing to play.

  Tenor looked at him for a moment, then blinked. “Oh! Right. Play music. What instrument do you play to relax?”

  “Piano. I can play a number of instruments, but that’s my stock in trade.” His heartbeat.

  “Will you play for me? Not now—now you’re supposed to be getting sleepy again. But soon?”

  “Of course.” He smiled over, nodded. “Trust me, you’ll get used to the sounds of music all the time.”

  “There are worse things to have to get used to,” Tenor noted, chuckling softly. “Seriously, I want to hear you. Anything that makes you that happy has to be good.”

  “Yes.” He hoped so. His entire career was based on it.

  Tenor finished his chocolate chip cookie and started on the oatmeal raisin one. For a big guy, he ate fairly daintily, nibbling at the cookie instead of taking big bites.

  Maybe it was because Tenor had to make them. Something.

  “You like the cookies?” Tenor asked like the man knew where his mind had been wandering.

  “I do. There’s something neat about having homemade ones. These are great.”

  “That’s because a machine can’t put love into cookies.” Tenor said it so matter-of-factly, he couldn’t quite tell if it was a joke or not.

  He got it, though. Music was passion, life. Cookies were love, home.

  Tenor took a few more drinks of his cocoa, looking like he was going to doze right off on his couch.

  “Bed.” He tugged Tenor up. He’d shared a bed with a lot of musicians and dancers and actors. Not for sex, but for a place to rest, sometimes comfort. “Come on.”

  “Hmm?” Tenor got up, though, and followed him.

  The bed was warm and the blankets were heavy. He pushed Tenor in, then slipped between the sheets. So sleepy.

  “You want me to sleep with you?” Tenor asked.

  “Shh. Sleepy. I won’t touch you. Just tired.” He wasn’t a perv.

  Tenor chuckled as he climbed in under the covers. “I won’t mind if you touch me.”

  He snuggled into the bedsheets, sighing softly.

  Tenor lay on his side, eyelashes dark smudges against his cheeks.

  “Nice bed, huh?” He blinked slowly.

  “Very comfortable. The company is pretty good too.” Tenor offered him a lazy smile.

  He chuckled. He didn’t know about that, but this was easy and comfortable.

  “Are you going to get pissed off if I wind up spooning you in my sleep?”

  “No. I can tell you’re a snuggler. You’re very tactile.”

  Tenor chuckled. “Guilty as charged.”

  “Okay, then. Sleep, Tenor. My head hurts.”

  “You want me to get you some aspirin or something?” Tenor asked, eyes closed, words just the barest bit slurred.

  “Shh.” He turned the lights off.

  “’kay…” Tenor’s voice faded into a snuffle.

  Daniel melted and let himself rest. Hard.

  Chapter Five

  Ten half woke and found himself wrapped around a warm body. His morning wood was pressed firmly against a hot ass.

  The sun was shining in, the room warm, unfamiliar.

  He blinked a few times, loathe to move from his warm and cozy spot.

  Daniel. His boss. Okay, whoa.

  He began to inch backward, trying not to rock the mattress and wake Daniel up. He wanted to not be rubbing his hard-on on his boss’s ass when said boss woke up.

  Although, that butt was… imminently rubbable.

  Biting back his groan, he made himself keep inching backward. Daniel hadn’t made any overtures toward him—the invitation to sleep in the man’s bed had simply been because they were both upstairs and half-asleep and it had been the easiest thing to do. He finally got himself rolled onto his back and put an arm over his face to cut out the light coming from the window.

  “Mmm. It’s late.” Daniel stretched, back popping audibly.

  “Early still. It can’t be more than seven.” Of course, Daniel wasn’t just an early bird, he was usually up before the early birds.

  “That’s late for me. It was nice, though. Visiting with you. Playing.”

  “Yeah. Totally. I think we should do it again.” A lot. Especially before the triplets came.

  “Yeah. Yeah, that would be fun.” Daniel sat up, long hair like a wild black mane.

  Ten resisted the urge to reach out and run his fingers through it, push it back over Daniel’s head.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a coffee bar up here.”

  “Coffee in bed? That sounds decadent—how can I say no?”

  “I know. That’s why I had this installed. It makes mornings nicer.”

  “Does it do fancy shit or just straight-up coffee?” He liked his coffee doctored.

  “It does everything. There’s a refrigerated cream container in the cabinet that’s attached.”

  “Oh man, that’s awesome. Hazelnut Latte?” He loved a hazelnut latte.

  “No problem.” Daniel grabbed two mugs and started futzing around, the scent of coffee filling the air.

  “I could get used to this.” It really was decadent. Maybe he’d be willing to turn 5:00 a.m. into his regular waking hour for coffee in bed. Nah. Not a regular thing.

  Unless the babies had him up at five…

  He put a couple pillows behind his back and reclined against them.

  Daniel brought him a lovely coffee that smelled like heaven.

  “Oh, thank you.” He buried his nose in the coffee and breathed in deeply. “Yum.”

  “You’re welcome.” Daniel made his own cup, then sat on the edge of the bed.

  “You’ve got a great setup here.” He looked around the bedroom, taking note of the space. “Are you interested in having the babies up here when you first bring them home from the hospital?” He’d bet it would help Daniel bond with them and Ten could have an intercom in his room and come up when he heard the babies wake. Hell, the cream fridge could totally double for premade bottles for nighttime feedings.

  “Do I need to? I mean, I suppose I should…”

  “It’s totally up to you, but the babies are going to need to be fed every couple of hours or so at the beginning, and it would be easier not to have to keep coming downstairs to the nursery. Might make bonding easier, too.”

  “Okay. I’ll deal with it.” Daniel stood up and headed to the window, forehead against the glass. “Let me make a note to arrange for the babies to sleep up here and clear my schedule for the next ten days to prepare for London.”

  An electronic warning beep sounded. “Shit, I’ve got dinner with Elle on Saturday…”

  .Daniel had his whole life organized electronically which was rather impressive, but Ten’s focus was on the content of the baby arrangements. “I can get everything set up for you to have the babies up here, you know? It’s kind of my job.”

  “Yeah. You and Matt can confab.”

  Matt’s voice came over some intercom. “You are not cancelling your supper, Danny. You will not disappoint that little girl.”

  “I have…”

  “Daniel Brian Thorpe!”

  “Fine.”

  “Breakfast is ready.”

  “I’ll send Tenor down.”

  “You need breakfast too,” Tenor noted. “Unless I’m going down to get it and bring it back up to you?” He wanted to ask about London but didn’t for now.

  “No. No, of course not. I’m not that much of a diva.”

  Tenor chuckled, but he thought that maybe Daniel had his moments when he was that much of a
diva. He didn’t mean it in a nasty way, either, just that Daniel was special and that included sometimes being demanding.

  Daniel glanced over at him, and the man pinked a little. “I’m going to tame my hair and all, then I’ll be down.”

  “Sure. It’s lovely, by the way. Your hair, I mean. I’d only ever seen it neatly contained.” Wild like it was made him want to run his hands through it and grab it, maybe tug on it to expose the long, delicate line of Daniel’s neck. He mentally shook himself and grabbed his coffee cup as he got out of bed.

  “Thank you. I think about cutting it off, but I’ll wait a little longer. I’m not too old for it, not yet.”

  “There’s an age when you’re too old to have long hair?” This was news to him. But then he was a working-class joe.

  “I think so. When it gets thinner, stringy. You know…”

  “Hey, maybe it won’t. Your girls are going to be angels, no grey or thinning hair from them!”

  Daniel chuckled softly. “Such optimism.”

  “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” He gave Daniel a half salute and headed down the stairs before he could embarrass himself by being caught staring.

  He had work to do. After breakfast. It must be later than he thought if Matt already had it made. Still, it had been a great evening the night before and was promising to be a great day.

  Chapter Six

  Daniel buried himself in the basement, working twenty-hour days. He had so much to accomplish before he was going to have the babies there.

  He hadn’t thought that he was going to have to have them sleeping upstairs, and while that didn’t bother him much, it proved that he was going to have to learn to sleep in the afternoons and early evenings when Tenor was at work watching the girls.

  For now, all he could do was work his ass off.

  His phone binged with a text. Elle.

  Can I come down?

  Sure.

  Dammit. It was Saturday. Already.

  Elle appeared, butch as hell, her eyes shining with intelligence. “Just me. I left my girls upstairs with the new nanny. He is hotter than hell.”

  “Is he?” Yeah, he knew, but it didn’t matter. He was never going to have a relationship. He knew that. He got hookups when he was travelling.

  He slid from behind the piano, going to kiss Elle’s cheek. “How’s it going?”

  She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “It’s good. Britt is almost hysterical with wanting to see her Uncle Danny. She was devastated when you had to cancel last time. I made her wait upstairs so you can brace yourself for the onslaught.” Elle laughed, but it wasn’t unkind.

  “Aww. I’ve just been busy. You know how that is. I leave for London Friday.”

  “How long ’til those babies of yours show up? You’re going to be plenty busy then.”

  “They’re safe to deliver in nine weeks, so that’s what we’re hoping. We have a doctor appointment on Thursday.”

  “The day before you leave for London, eh? Are you excited, honey?”

  “Of course.” No, right now he was just scared.

  “Liar.”

  “Yeah.” He looked at her, suddenly close to breaking down. “What if I can’t do this?”

  “Oh, please. That’s a cop-out and you know it. I see how you are with Britt. She doesn’t adore you because you give her loads of candy.”

  He didn’t give her candy at all. Which was probably Elle’s point. “You know that’s Matt.”

  “Uh-huh.” She grabbed him in a hug and held on. “You aren’t alone, Danny. I swear. You’ve got people that love you.”

  “And apparently a hot nanny.”

  She snorted. “No apparently about it and don’t tell me you didn’t notice. But yeah. You’ve got a nanny, too, to do all the heavy lifting.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe I have a weird idea about what a nanny does.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “Now I have to know what you think it is a nanny does.”

  “I mean… I don’t know. Matt was a part of everything. Tenor will be working a job, nine to six.”

  “Well, in Matt’s case, your folks were gone—he was all you had. And are you sure Tenor’s just going to be working nine to six? I mean, I’ve seen the work he’s had done on the house—this is a guy who is into making this place right for those babies of yours. He seems pretty committed.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know. I mean, I just don’t… Did you get the tour already?”

  “Yep. I especially liked the bassinets in your room. They made me go awwww. Did you know he’s got a kid monitor in there—I think it connects to his room.”

  “I know, but I’ll have them all night. I figure I’ll work when they’re sleeping and then sleep when they’re with Tenor.”

  “Honey, there’s three of them—he’s going to help you out at night.” She sounded so sure.

  “I can do it. I’m not a slacker. I’m just… worried.”

  She looped her arm in his and started him toward the stairs. “I think you should talk to him about it. About what he’s expecting in the first few months. Communication is important.”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to seem like an idiot.” He took a deep breath, getting ready to see his Britt.

  They came up the stairs and Britt came running as soon as she noticed him. “Uncle Danny!”

  “Oh, my sweet godgirl.” He swung Britt around, his heart just swelling. This was the best thing ever.

  She squealed, arms holding tight around his neck.

  Tenor’s deep chuckles sounded, along with Matt’s softer laughter.

  “Uncle Danny! Uncle Danny! Oh, I missed you and missed you. Can I spend the night? Can I sit with you at supper? Are we having noodles?”

  “Ask your Grandpa Matt.”

  “Actually, Ten is making supper for us tonight, so you’ll have to ask him,” Matt said. “And yes, you can spend the night and you can sit with your Uncle Danny.”

  “Oh, thank you!” She ran over and threw her arms around Matt. “I’ll grab my backpack!”

  Daniel wandered over and kissed Tish. “Hey, lady. How are you?”

  “Looking forward to having a night alone with my lady, actually. Thanks for taking her.”

  “You’re welcome. You know I love having her here.”

  “Not as much as she loves being here. So, how’s the new guy?” She nodded her head in Tenor’s direction.

  “He’s very nice. He’s experienced, kind, and he likes to cook.”

  “Hence him making us supper instead of you guys warming something up. It’s about time we met him. You knew you needed Elle’s approval, right?” Her eyes twinkled at him.

  “She thinks he’s hot. You ought to be careful.”

  “If there was any man I’d be worried she was going to leave me over, it would be you—you guys are like yin and yang.”

  He hugged Tish, shook his head. “You know I’m going to steal her away one day.”

  They both laughed. He’d been the one to set the girls up, and they were true soulmates. Perfect for each other.

  “What’s so funny, Uncle Danny?”

  Elle and Tenor and Matt all looked at him too.

  “Your momma was telling me a wicked joke about your mom.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “What does wicked mean?” Britt asked him.

  “It means she was teasing. Have you seen your new room here?”

  “I have a new room?” Her eyes lit up, her excitement clear.

  “You do. Mr. Tenor has been redoing the whole second floor.”

  “Show me! Show me!”

  Tenor laughed and held out a hand to her. She looked at Elle first, who nodded, then took his hand.

  Daniel watched her go before turni
ng to the ladies. “You two want a glass of wine while we chat about the baby shower? Or did you just go ahead and make plans?”

  “Oh, we have to have wine. That’s half the point of having a planning meeting!” Tish went to the cupboard where the wineglasses were kept, taking down four, then turning back to him. “Is Tenor going to join us?”

  “Yes.” Right? Tenor ought to.

  “Good deal. I might have to grill the man who’s going to be looking out for my godnieces.” Elle gave him a look. “They are going to be my godnieces, right?”

  “There is no one else but you two that I’d want. Ever.”

  “I know. Just had to make sure.”

  Tish rolled her eyes and brought the wineglasses over to the table. “So what are we drinking, o’ guru of wine.”

  “I have a nice Merlot. Velvety, rich, a little heady. I’m thinking sparkling apple juice for our girl.”

  “She’ll love that.” Tish grabbed the plastic sparkly pink wineglass bought especially for her and added it to the selection on the table.

  “Excellent.” He served up, first Britt’s, then everyone else. By the time he was done, Britt and Tenor were back, Tenor smiling.

  “Uncle Danny! The whole thing is different. There are baby beds.”

  “I’m going to have babies, remember? Three baby girls?”

  “You approve of my decorating?” Tenor asked.

  “I like the rainbows and the pink.”

  Tenor grinned. “I had a hunch. Are you looking forward to meeting Daniel’s babies?”

  “No. Babies are loud. When they get bigger, I’ll babysit them.”

  Tenor chuckled. “Good thing I like loud things then, eh?”

  “Is this your boyfriend, Uncle Danny?”

  “No, baby. This is my friend, Tenor. He’s coming to help with the new babies.” Was it his imagination, or had Tenor pinked a little at that?

  “Everyone wants to see the new babies.” She rolled her eyes as only a six-year-old could.

  “Everyone does. I can’t wait for you to meet them. I’ll need your help a lot, I think. I don’t know how to be a dad to little girls.”

  “I could help?” She came and sat near him as the adults settled around the table.

  “You sure can. You’ll have to make sure I’m a good daddy.” He held her gaze, her dark eyes sparkling and excited.