Ryan is going with Salvation on their first gig since he joined them. That must be exciting, right? See what's going on in this week's chapter of In Pieces. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what they're up to! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
In Pieces #29 (8.2)
The reason for Ben’s words became apparent as they
approached the overly large bridge that bisected Lake Pontchartrain. Ryan
groaned. Oh no, not again. Why hadn’t he
bothered to find out where Thibodaux was? At least he would have been better prepared
for this.
He swallowed hard, determined not to be the baby he’d been
the last time. Bad enough Ben had witnessed his panic. He didn’t want to add
insult to injury by embarrassing Ben in front of Aiden and Abby, although he
wasn’t sure he could pull that off since he felt close to freaking out again at
the sight of the bridge.
But his worries turned out to be groundless. Ben was
amazing. He forestalled any attack of nerves on Ryan’s part by distracting Ryan
with gentle kisses and soft words. Ben kept Ryan’s attention so focused on him
that he had no time to worry about the bridge or the lake or anything but the
man who touched him so tenderly. Before he knew it, they were on the other side
of the lake, crisis averted, and hopefully Aiden and Abby none the wiser.
If either Abby or Aiden had noticed anything of what was
going on in the back seat, they kept it to themselves. One of them had turned
up the radio—a soft jazz station—in lieu of conversation, for which Ryan was
grateful.
Ryan laid his head against Ben’s chest, inhaling his scent
and his warmth, burrowing into him. Ben’s arm encompassed him, comfortable and familiar, and oh so good. It
wasn’t until they’d passed through Metairie, and were driving out into more
rural areas that Ryan realized, with a guilty start, what he was doing to Ben’s
costume.
He attempted to sit up, but Ben held him firmly. “What’s the
matter?” Ben asked.
“Your clothes. I’m messing them all up, and you need to
perform tonight,” Ryan said softly. How could he be so selfish? Ben was going
to work, and for that matter, so was he. They weren’t teenagers anymore, and
they weren’t on a date. He needed to learn better self-control where Ben was
concerned.
“So I’m a little rumpled.” Ben laughed. “It’s going to be
fine. These kids won’t even notice. Trust me. C’mon, baby, just relax.” Ben
coaxed Ryan into his former comfortable position. He could feel Ben’s heartbeat,
strong beneath him. He closed his eyes and let himself accept the security
Ben’s embrace afforded. How times had changed. Once he’d been the one who offered
Ben his strength and held him in the darkness of the night. Now Ben was his
haven. His home. His heart.
If only he could stay there forever, safe with Ben, and
forget about the rest of the world. How amazing would that be?
All too soon it seemed they arrived at their destination.
From what Ryan could see of it in the fading light, the house where the party
was to be held was a stereotypical Southern mansion-style, with large columns
in the front and a wide veranda. The kind where genteelly dressed ladies and
gentlemen sipped at mint juleps and fanned themselves in the moist Southern
heat. The drive wound around the house, toward the back, probably used as an entrance
for trades people and other non-guests. Sure enough, the equipment van was
already there, the back doors open, but no sign of Deacon or Keanu. Aiden
parked Cameron’s car behind the van, and they all got out.
“I bet this place has a ballroom and everything,” Ryan
speculated. Hell, even the back of the house looked elegant. He thought
Cameron’s house was nice, but it was nothing like this. Then again, didn’t Ben
say it was his second home, not first?
“They do, but we won’t be going inside,” Aiden said.
Ryan must have looked startled at that. “It’s an outdoor
concert,” Ben explained.
“Friends and relatives of the birthday boy?” Ryan asked.
“About fifty kids his age, I think,” Ben said. “I’m not
sure. Marge handles the details, then she tells us where to go. Ours not to
reason why.” He winked at Ryan.
to be continued
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