***

When Gavin had been a kid, he wasn’t uncomfortable with public displays of affection. It was an argument he and Braden often had. When they were in high school, as much as he’d been honored Braden asked him to the dance, he’d been uncomfortable the whole time.

He tried not to show it. Hated that it was true. At the time he thought maybe being with Braden would show him it was okay to be who he was.

Even after they graduated and moved away, he found himself automatically flinching away when Braden would try to touch him in public. It wasn’t something that made Gavin proud, but it was true.

There hadn’t been a bone in his body that made him want to pull away from Mason just now.

Sure, that had to do with being older now, and probably because of everything he’d lost along the way. Why the hell should he deny himself the chance at a normal relationship on top of it? But part of him wondered if he just didn’t like Mason’s hands on him as well.

“I’ll see what I can figure out,” Gavin finally responded to what Mason had said. When the man first brought it up, he hadn’t taken it seriously. Especially since it hadn’t been mentioned since.

It was a responsibility Gavin wanted, though. He would love to bring live music to the bar, as long as it was the right kind of music.

“Are you going to play, too?” Wes asked.

“I didn’t know you played,” Cooper added.

“Yep. He can pick any instrument up and play it,” Braden said. “He’s giving Jess piano lessons.”

From there that led the conversation to Braden and Wes’s little girl and how their family was doing, which was fine by Gavin. He wasn’t sure how he felt about playing at the bar—in front of Mason and everyone they knew. He hadn’t done anything like that for years.

“You didn’t answer,” Mason whispered in his ear. Damn the man.

“They changed the subject.”

“And you’re looking for excuses. Seize the day, remember? If you’re trying to figure out what you want in life, you need to grab the bull by the fucking horns and do so.” He popped Gavin with a towel and then walked away.

Gavin stood there, watching him go. It seemed Mason Alexander had a habit of saying exactly what Gavin needed to hear.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mason hit ignore on his cell. It made him a jackass. The knowledge hadn’t escaped him, but he wasn’t in the mood to go home right now.

He knew that’s what his mother wanted—for him to come home. To pretend like nothing had changed. Maybe she even hoped that they could go back to the way things were—him working for them, being with Isaac, and never knowing that he had a mom out there who had given him away and didn’t even know who his father was.

It probably shouldn’t be—not at his age—but it was a tough pill to swallow.

“Where are you taking me today?” Naked, he walked back over to Gavin’s bed and fell into it. Once they’d closed the bar last night, he hadn’t been able to think of a reason not to go home with Gavin, so he had.

Not that he’d tried to think of a reason.

“I didn’t know I was taking you anywhere.” Gavin buried his head in the pillow.

“I can’t believe you’re not a morning person. You’re a teacher. Doesn’t that mean you’re used to getting up early and pushing lazy kids into being productive at an early hour?”

At that, Gavin peeked over the arm that covered his face and said, “It’s a lie. Teachers fake it. I don’t have to fake it anymore.”

His words were a joke, but Mason heard the sadness in them. “You’re up, Teach. I took you to jump out of a fucking plane. Where are you taking me? I thought we were supposed to be experiencing life. And you have a lot to live up to, just so you know. I’m not sure anything can top skydiving.”

“Music,” Gavin groaned.

“What’s that, Mumbles? I didn’t hear you.” Mason swatted his ass and then stood.

At that, Gavin sat up. “I said music. And did you forget we didn’t go to bed until after three this morning?”

“Then get me off sooner next time, if you want to go to bed. Now you’ve hooked me with the music talk. Where are we going?”

A slow smile spread across Gavin’s face, and then he pushed out of bed. Apparently he hooked more than just Mason.

“It’s possibly the band geek in me talking, because it’s definitely not skydiving, but there’s this show…the Boulder Music Festival. It’s this weekend—music all day, all weekend. I’ve always wanted to go.” Gavin paused a second before nodding. “Get dressed, boss. That’s where I’m taking you today.”