Love on Stage (16 page)

“Give him a break,” Gavin said as he got into the SUV. “Eau Claire’s not exactly a hotbed of gay life. He was just enthusiastic to meet someone new.”

“More than meet,” Miles huffed. He jammed the SUV in reverse and backed out of the parking lot.

Gavin thought Miles’s jealousy was cute, and yet he was self-aware enough to know that he had been part of the problem.

Neither of them spoke again until they got back to Starlit Lake, where all the spaces along the half-moon drive behind the house were taken. “Where did all these cars come from?” Miles asked as he parked on the grass. “And why are they all either Toyotas or Lexuses?”

“My dad’s the Toyota dealer, remember?” Gavin said. “It’s like a family heresy to drive anything else. The big Lexus belongs to him. The Prius with the organic farming bumper stickers? That’s Erica’s parents. Not sure about the others.”

When they walked around to the front of the house, they found a crowd gathered on the porch—Erica, the three grannies, and all three dads. Viking rushed up to Gavin and jumped on him, putting his paws on Gavin’s groin and nuzzling his chest.

“How are you, boy,” Gavin said, scratching behind his ears. “How’s my favorite sibling?”

“Gavin,” his mother said.

“Well, it’s true,” Gavin said. “I like Viking a whole lot more than Gretchen.”

“Enough,” his father said. “We were wondering where you two were.” He stood up from his rocking chair to hug his son and be introduced to Miles. “Heard a lot about you, young man. You’re the one who’s going to make my mama and my aunties stars again.”

“They’ve always been stars,” Miles said. “They just need a little shining up before they go on stage again.” Viking nuzzled against Miles, and Miles reached down to pet him. The dog immediately collapsed on the ground, ready for a belly rub.

“What about us?” Erica said. “Aren’t Gavin, Archie, and I stars too?”

Miles squatted down to rub Viking’s tummy, and Gavin was pleased to see that Miles was a dog lover too.

“All our grandchildren are stars,” Aunt Ida said. “Course, some of them shine brighter than others.”

“Let’s not get into that,” Grandma Frances said.

Aunt Barbara opened the screen door. “Is everybody here yet? Dinner’s on the table.”

“We’re still waiting for Archie,” Aunt Myrtle said.

“The boy will eat when he gets here,” Archie’s dad, Wally, said. “I’m not letting my supper get cold because Wisconsin Savings keeps him working late.”

Gavin helped Grandma Frances stand up and then walked into the dining room holding her arm. Everyone else filed in and sat down, and the three moms began serving dinner. Archie arrived a few minutes later and slid into the last remaining chair.

As usual, the grandkids were clustered around a card table attached to one end of the big oak dining table, along with Miles. Viking lay beside Gavin, waiting for some tasty tidbits to fall his way.

They passed big platters of turkey, stuffing, and roasted vegetables around.

“This turkey is delicious,” Miles said.

“Slaughtered him myself this morning,” Erica’s father said. “Can’t get any fresher than that.”

Miles shot a pained look at Gavin, as if he’d never realized that someone had to raise and kill every animal he ate.

“Uncle Scott and Aunt Jenny have an organic farm,” Gavin said to Miles. “They have to know where everything on the table comes from.”

“Don’t go throwing words around you don’t understand,” Uncle Scott said. “Organic is one of those terms everybody uses without really knowing what it means.”

That set the tone for the meal. Uncle Scott blathered about hormones and pesticides, his dad talked about car sales, and Archie’s dad argued with both of them, just to be ornery, Gavin thought. It was a typical meal for the extended Brand family.

When they were all done, Aunt Jenny announced, “The girls cooked, so the boys clean up.” She stood up. “We’ll all be outside when you finish.”

“And when she says boys, she means everyone of the male persuasion,” his dad said, nodding down the table.

“You know what I always say,” Uncle Wally said, and Erica, Gavin, and Archie chimed in with him. “Cash, ass, or grass, nobody rides for free.”

“You boys,” Aunt Ida said, pretending to be scandalized.

All the women stood and went outside, and Archie began loading plates up his arm.

“Archie used to be a waiter,” Gavin said to Miles. “He likes to show off.”

“Those who can, do,” Archie said. “Those who can’t just sit around having their pictures taken.”

Viking woofed.

“See, even your dog is ready for his close-up,” Archie said.

Roadside Romeos

In the kitchen, the dads organized an assembly line. Uncle Scott, muscular from years of tossing hay bales and swinging axes, scrubbed the pots and pans. Gavin’s dad rinsed the plates and glasses, and Uncle Wally, who was an engineer and very particular about organization, stacked the dishwasher. Viking kept getting underfoot, hoping to pick up a snack from someone’s unfinished plate.

“What was that your uncle said?” Miles whispered to Gavin as they went back to the dining room for another load.

“He was a hitchhiker in the seventies,” Gavin said. “That’s what he says the drivers used to say. You either paid for gas, supplied the grass, or…you know.”

“You mean your uncle…”

“Oh, no, he never put out. At least he says he didn’t. He always carried dope.”

Miles shook his head. “Life in the heartland.”

After they finished bringing in all the dishes, Archie was assigned to scrub the cook top, Gavin to wipe up the floor, and Miles to scour the sink. When the kitchen was spotless, the men went outside to join the women.

“Let’s hear some singing,” his father said. “You all have been practicing, haven’t you?”

Aunt Ida’s son Uncle Jim wasn’t there with his guitar, but Miles had a harmonica he used to give them a starting note, and the three Sweethearts sat on their rockers, their grandkids at their feet, and began to sing a cappella.

When they finished, his dad was the first to applaud, joined by the rest of the family. “That was awfully sweet,” he said. “You are going to blow them away at that concert.”

“Or sweetly awful,” Miles muttered to Gavin when they were milling around later. “Your father doesn’t have much of an ear for music, does he?”

“He’s never been musical,” Gavin said. “But he’s also the kind of guy who has a good word for everyone. He sponsors a Little League team that hardly ever wins a game, but he’s always there cheering them on and buying them pizza. I’m not surprised that guy Joey knows who he is. He shakes so many hands it’s surprising his hasn’t fallen off yet.”

“So you must take after your mother?” Miles said, smiling.

“I can be nice to people,” Gavin protested.

“Let’s narrow that down from ‘people’ to ‘cute guys,’ and I’ll believe you.”

Gavin looked at him. What had crawled up his ass? Was he still pissed that Gavin had been friendly to the waiter? But he wasn’t going to argue. “Come on. Let’s go hang out at the lake.”

“Nah, I’m going to do some work and then hit the hay.” Miles laughed. “Now I see where that expression came from.”

Gavin discovered that Uncle Scott and Aunt Jenny had gone home already, as had Uncle Wally and Aunt Barbara. His parents and Viking were the only ones staying at the lake for the weekend. He hung out by the lake with them, Erica, and Archie. When his parents decided to turn in, Erica said she was tired too. Archie went up to his room to call Mary Anne, who had been unable to come up that weekend because of some work commitment, and Gavin was left at loose ends.

He took Viking for a walk along the lakefront, enjoying the chance to spend some quality time with the dog. But eventually Viking turned and pulled back toward the house, and when Gavin let him off the leash at the front door, he scampered up the stairs in search of his parents.

Gavin went to Miles’s room-slash-studio. “I’m bored,” he said. “You want to go for a ride?”

Miles looked up from his keyboard. “Is that a euphemism?”

“No, it’s a question,” Gavin said. “I get antsy when there are so many members of my family in one place.”

Miles laughed. “That’s fine. You can show me the places you used to go to make out when you were a teenager.”

They climbed into Miles’s SUV, and he backed out of his parking space on the gravel, then turned into the driveway. “Where am I going?” Miles asked.

“Head toward Eau Claire. There’s this place around the far end of the lake.”

There was no traffic on the country road that late, and Miles turned on his high beams. “A whole lot of nowhere out here,” he said.

“This is all the Gunderson farm,” Gavin said. “Turn right up there at the stop sign.” He directed Miles onto a dirt road. “Just up there. Park under that pine tree.”

Miles pulled up and turned the car off. Then he leaned over and kissed Gavin hard, his tongue snaking out of his mouth and into Gavin’s. Gavin wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer, feeling his dick surge.

They kissed and hugged for a couple of minutes, and then Miles impaled himself on the gear shift. “This isn’t going to work,” he said, his voice thick with lust.

“Backseat,” Gavin said. He jumped out of the car and took a quick look around. In the light of the crescent moon, he couldn’t see anyone else around, so he toed off his shoes and dropped his pants and his boxer briefs.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked into the car.

Miles got out. “When I was a teenager, I didn’t have a car. Forgive me if it takes me a minute to follow you.”

Gavin opened the back door and jumped in. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it with his shoes and the rest of his clothes into the front seat.

“Obviously not your first time in a car,” Miles said as he climbed in beside Gavin, naked himself.

They sat beside each other, kissing and rubbing each other. “This is just too awkward,” Miles said. “How about if I eat your ass?”

“I wouldn’t turn down an offer like that.” Gavin squirmed around so that he was resting his head against the door, with his ass up in the air. Miles demonstrated that he had a very skilled tongue. He slurped up and down Gavin’s perineum, then folded his tongue and began poking it into Gavin’s ass. At the same time, he was using his fingers to tease Gavin’s sweet spot and tickle his thighs.

Gavin groaned with pleasure. He was used to taking the more active role, and it was nice to have somebody focused on pleasing him. Clearly Miles had plenty of customer-service skills.

Gavin’s dick began to ache from the stimulation of his ass and his prostate. He reached down and wrapped a fist around his engorged dick, already lubed with plenty of precum. Miles was slurping and nibbling his ass, and Gavin increased his strokes until he couldn’t hold back anymore and he shot his load into the air.

“Crap!” he said. He reached out to grab as much as he could before it spilled on the upholstery. Fortunately what he didn’t catch went onto his own stomach.

Miles grinned at him. “So, was it good for you?”

“Good isn’t the word for it,” Gavin panted. “Now let me do you.”

Miles shook his head. “I’m fine. Besides, we should get back. You need your rest.”

Gavin wanted to complain, but honestly, he felt drained and he was happy enough to let Miles get into the front seat and turn the car on. He remained in the back seat, his eyes closed, daydreaming about Miles Goodwin. He could see himself going on dates with Miles, making conversation across a restaurant table, sitting beside him in the movies holding hands, exploring his body over and over. It was a very pleasant fantasy, only interrupted when Miles pulled up behind the house.

“I suggest you get dressed before you get out of the car,” he said. “You have a big family, and somebody could be up late.”

Gavin wanted to say that he didn’t care—let anybody who wanted to look know what he and Miles had been up to. But then he remembered his father’s warning. And he’d heard all kinds of stories, some of them from Miles himself, about how people in the music business could be venal, using talent just to further their own interests.

Miles wasn’t like that, though. He couldn’t be.

Gavin took a deep breath. His father and Erica had both checked out Miles’s bona fides, and they’d both been satisfied. But what if he was in love with Miles, and Miles was only interested in him for his voice, for what Gavin could do for his career? It would be an ironic switch for a guy who’d always been accepted at face value, based on his looks.

Miles tossed Gavin’s clothes to the backseat. “Come on, Romeo. Get dressed.”

As Gavin used his T-shirt to clean himself up, he said, “So if I’m Romeo, does that make you Juliet?”

Miles just laughed.

What You Want

Gavin dozed off to more pleasant fantasies about a life with Miles. He and Miles could move back to Eau Claire, where Miles would have his own recording studio. If Gavin’s singing career didn’t take off, he could work at the dealership with his father. There were worse fates in life. Sure, it wouldn’t be the fantasy life he’d dreamed of. But with Miles, he could see himself living in a nice house on a couple of acres. Dogs, for sure. And who knows…maybe kids. So many paths had opened up for gay guys in the last few years.

When he went downstairs the next morning, his father was sitting by himself at the kitchen table, a glass of orange juice and a piece of toast in front of him. “Who are you, and what have you done with my son? My Gavin is never up this early.”

“I’m becoming a grown-up, Dad, just like you always wanted. My shift at Java Joe’s starts at seven most days.” He filled the espresso maker’s reservoir with water and began preparing himself a cappuccino. “Can I make you some kind of a coffee?”

“You’re not planning to do that for the rest of your life, are you?”

“Focus, Dad. You answer my question first; then I’ll answer yours.”

“Yes, please,” his father said. “Surprise me.”

Gavin knew his father’s taste—his favorite ice cream flavor was vanilla, his favorite cake was pound cake, and his favorite fruit was the wholesome, ordinary apple…though occasionally he went wild and paired a bit of Wisconsin cheddar with his slice. As he searched the cabinet for vanilla extract, he said, “I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life. Maybe I’ll be a model. Maybe a singer. Maybe I’ll move back to Eau Claire and come work with you.”