Page 50 of Wish We Were There

It had to be Rogelio. Dean and the other man were talking, and Parker definitely didn’t want to interrupt. But Rogelio’s eyes flickered over Dean’s shoulder toward them—they landed briefly on Taylor, then Parker. Then he looked back at Dean quickly, his expression stoic.

He could introduce himself later, maybe. If he even wanted to talk to him. Right now, Parker only cared about Taylor, who would be going onstage any minute.

“Taylor,” he said, before the other man could step away from him. Taylor paused, turning to face Parker; his expression morphed into surprise, and a flush rose in his cheeks. Parker grabbed both his hands, holding them tightly. “I know you’re nervous, and nothing I say will really make that go away, but I just want you to know that I’m really excited to see you perform, and I know it’s going to be amazing. You’re one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and you’re an amazing musician. You’ve been doing this for years, you have it down to an art. Everyone out there is rooting for you. Everyone out there believes in you. And I believe in you, too.”

Taylor’s face reddened, and for a beat, Parker worried he had only embarrassed Taylor or made him more anxious—then Taylor’s lip quivered as he tried to respond, his mouth working silently, before he finally managed to speak.

“I, uh... I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” he stammered, barely able to meet Parker’s eyes with a sweetly flustered expression. “Thanks, Parker. That really means a lot to me. And it does help.”

Parker cupped Taylor’s face in his hands, closed the space between them, and kissed him. He could feel Taylor’s pulse fluttering rapidly where his fingers brushed against the other man’s neck, but Taylor kissed him back fiercely, desperately—his hands clutched tight to the front of Parker’s shirt. Even now, though they had been official for a few months, it still didn’t feel quite real that he could just kiss Taylor after so many years of longing. Taylor had to be onstage any minute, but he couldn’t bring himself to keep the kiss short and chaste, especially with how Taylor was clinging to him.

When they finally parted, Taylor’s eyes were bright. He looked silently at Parker for a long moment, a small smile on his face. Parker still held Taylor’s face in his hands, lightly brushing his thumb over the other man’s cheekbones. Even in the dim lighting backstage, he could see there was still a blush in his cheeks.

“Thank you,” Taylor finally said, his voice coming out just loud enough for Parker to hear. “I think I’ll be okay now.”

Parker smiled, stifling a laugh, then kissed him again, more gently this time on his forehead. “Good. Break a leg and all that. I think they’re waiting for you.”

Behind them, looking politely away, the other three band members had congregated along with a member of the stage crew. Taylor turned to look over his shoulder, and Parker let his hands finally fall away. They weren’t quite ready to go onstage, but it would be any moment now, judging from how the crew member kept peeking out toward the stage and checking his watch.

“Parker, I...” Taylor started, looking back at him. He looked somehow flustered and resolute all at once with determination brightening his eyes, but a heady flush still on his face. “I mean... Thank you. Really. You should give pep talks more often.”

Parker let himself laugh aloud this time, shaking his head. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now go on!”

Taylor nodded, still smiling, as he turned to join the rest of the band. Parker looked back over to see Rogelio still standing in the same spot, his hands shoved in his pockets. Despite the casual air that he was so obviously trying to project, the man looked small and alone, the crew giving him a wide berth as they bustled by.

A pang of sympathy rose in Parker’s chest. All things considered, Rogelio had been dealt a pretty shitty hand in all this too. Taylor had decided that the knowledge of his and Zach’s separation would stay between the band and their families—and Parker and Rogelio, of course. But it made Parker wonder if Rogelio had anyone to talk to about all this, or if respecting Taylor’s wishes meant he couldn’t tell anyone else about his boyfriend dying. How many people in Rogelio’s life even knew about Zach and what had happened?

He had been debating between introducing himself to Rogelio, or just politely ignoring the other man for the duration of the show, but the thought tipped him over the edge. He glanced briefly over at Taylor and the band, who were now talking amongst themselves, before steeling himself and striding over to Rogelio.

“Hey,” he said, stepping alongside him. “I’m Parker.”

He offered his hand. Rogelio looked at him uncertainly for a beat, his eyes flickering down to Parker’s outstretched hand. Then he reached over to shake it. “I’m Rogelio. You’re, uh, with Taylor, right?”

“Yeah,” Parker agreed; despite the strange circumstances of their meeting, hearing the other man acknowledge that he was with Taylor sent a sweet thrill through his chest. God, he hoped they weren’t so obviously, obnoxiously obsessed with each other as it felt sometimes. “Nice to meet you. Taylor told me about, uh... How he knows you. So I figured I’d come introduce myself.”

Rogelio nodded, but his expression was still guarded. He didn’t say anything, so Parker continued uncertainly, “I guess I wanted to say, uh, I’m sorry for your loss. Zach was... Well, he made a big impact on a lot of people, obviously. Zach and I were friends, too, so... I guess what I’m trying to say is that this all seems like a crappy situation and I’m, um, open to being friends if you ever want to talk.”

Rogelio’s expression had softened somewhat, though he still looked mostly skeptical. “Sure. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Parker replied, glancing away awkwardly. Maybe he was overstepping—clearly Rogelio didn’t want to be friends, and maybe he’d made an assumption about the other man not having anyone to talk to. He’d been trying to be nice, but...

Rogelio snorted. He was stifling a smirk, but met Parker’s eyes now as he shot him a confused look. “Sorry. It’s just you seem nicer than Dean made you out to be. Not sure why I’m surprised, though. He kind of hates everyone.”

Surprised, Parker could only stare at him for a moment. Then a relieved chuckle escaped him, and he managed to reply, “You know, I’ve always felt like Dean hated me for no reason. Glad I’m not the only one who noticed.”

“It’s just the way he is, to be honest,” Rogelio agreed, shaking his head. His gaze was fixed over at the band, where they were still huddled together—it looked like a member of the stage crew was giving them a final briefing, so none of them were paying attention to Parker and Rogelio. “Thanks for that. I appreciate it, really. It’s definitely a... weird situation to be in. Zach and I had only been seeing each other for a few months, but... I don’t know. I liked him a lot. I think things could have gotten serious with him, you know? So... It’s a strange place to be.”

“That makes sense,” Parker agreed. “He was a good guy. It sucks that everything worked out like this.”

“Do you think it’s weird that I’m here?” Rogelio asked abruptly. “Like, is it weird if I keep coming to shows here? I swear I’m not, like, trying to stalk Taylor or anything... I’m just local, and there aren’t a lot of venues like this. And it does kind of... make me feel closer to Zach, in a way, I guess. You would know better than Dean, I think. Would Taylor be upset if I come around sometimes?”

“Not at all,” Parker replied quickly. The question had taken him aback, but from everything Taylor had said about Rogelio, it was clear that the only feelings Taylor had toward him were positive, even compassionate. Even through his surprise, Parker was sure Rogelio’s presence wouldn’t bother Taylor at all. “In fact, I think it would make him happy to know he could help. So don’t feel like you have to stay away, okay?”

Rogelio’s brows furrowed, and he glanced away self-consciously, as if he didn’t quite believe Parker. “That’s, uh... That’s a relief. Thank you.”

Parker would have added more, but then the lights from the stage started to dim, and a cheer rose up from the crowd that was nearly deafening, even backstage.

“C’mon,” Parker said, grinning in anticipation. Rogelio followed him as they took up the spot where the band had been standing just a moment ago. From there they had a clear view of the stage: Dean settling into his seat behind the drum set, Angie and Kylie standing on opposite ends of the stage, Taylor partly between them at the keyboard, and at the front of the stage, the empty mic for Zach.

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