Page 88 of Bulletproof
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Three months later.
Still caught somewhere between sleep and reality, Travis felt a tugging on his arm.
“Listen, Trav! Listen!” Derek’s muffled voice broke through the fog of Travis’ consciousness.
Before he even opened his eyes,a smile spread across his face at the excitement behind his lover’s words. “What am I listening to?” he asked, half in and half out of sleep.
“Your song!”
Travis’ head popped up. As he listened to the lyrics he’d penned, he slowly sat up. It was the first song he sold, performed by one of the nation’s top country music artists. His words, over the radio, even though hewasn’t singing them, filled Travis with a deep sense of accomplishment.
“Great fucking lyrics, man.” Derek wrapped his arms around Travis, popped a kiss onto the side of his face, and handed him a cup of coffee. “Congrats, baby.”
Travis took a huge gulp of the steaming coffee, still concentrating on the words to the song, imagining how others related to them and how eachperson found their own meaning in the painful tale of loneliness and acceptance that resonated behind the story the song told. One thing about country music, their fans were diehard and loyal, and they loved a sad song that showcased redemption. And Travis had plenty in his catalog to keep them appeased. When the song ended, the DJ announced, “That was the debut of Dawson Everett’s newest singleRun Over by My Life, destined to skyrocket to the top of the Country Music Charts. I predict it’ll hit number one by the end of the week.”
Pride didn’t come easy for Travis, but right now his body overflowed with it.
Derek beamed at Travis, a wide smile brightening his face as if he was the singer of the song. “I knew it. You have so much talent, Travis.”
Travis blushed, unused to receiving such high compliments from people who really mattered to him. “I just write what’s in my head.” He shook off his bashfulness and nudged his lover with his shoulder. “What’d you do? Listen to the country music station all morning?”
“No, silly. But I would have, just to hear it. The singer announced on his fan page that it was going to debut this morningat 9:00 a.m. Don’t you follow your own work?”
Travis shrugged. “I did my part by writing the lyrics for him. That was all I had to do.”
“How can you be so cavalier? This is a big deal.” A knowing smile spread across Derek’s face. “On a big day! Happy Birthday!”
Travis hadn’t celebrated his birthday in almost ten years, except when he turned 21, because thatmeant he could finally drink legally. Derek had coerced the date out of him, and he knew the man had something special planned.
Derek clicked a remote control and the music switched toEmotionlessby Red Sun Rising, loud enough to shake the bed. Travis jumped in surprise and covered his ears. “What the fuck is that? And where is it coming from?” He just realized that the music wasin the bedroom. He’d only closed on the house a month ago and hadn’t done many upgrades. The proceeds from the song, and whatever cash he had on hand, went toward the hefty down payment. He had still needed to take out a mortgage, but he swore he’d use his next check to pay the balance of the note.
The house didn’t come with music piped into his bedroom. He didn’t possess a soundsystem that could produce music that would break the Richter scale. This wasn’t just loud, this was Derek MacAlister loud. He turned to his lover with a mischievous grin. “What did you do?”
“Happy Birthday!”
Travis jumped from the bed and looked around the room. “Where are they?”
“Downstairs.” Derek pointed to the speakers embedded into the ceiling.
“How? When? When did you do this?”
“When we were out last night with the guys. Why do you think we kept you at the club so late? I had a crew in here installing everything. You have music in the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen and the living room. And you got music outside.”
Touched by the planning involved in giving him the perfect gift, and happy beyond words,Travis didn’t know what to say. The measly “Thank you” didn’t convey his gratitude. He took Derek’s face in his hands and ravished his lover’s mouth with an insatiable kiss.
Derek pulled away. “Don’t start something now. I know you want to see your new speakers.”
“Damn right I do. Where are they?”
“In the living room. That’s why I rushed you upstairs lastnight when we got home.” Derek’s eyes raked over Travis with a hungry hue. “It wasn’t just to ravish your fucking body, though it provided an excellent excuse.”
Travis took Derek’s hand and pulled him off the bed before they ended up tumbling in the sheets. He couldn’t believe he wanted to see the sound system more than he wanted to make love to this man. He raced downstairs, draggingDerek behind him. He imagined he resembled one of those kids on TV, running down the stairs on Christmas morning, impatient to see their gifts, which is exactly how he felt.
As Travis descended the stairs, the banister vibrated under his hand, and the beat of the music pounded in his ears. The entire first floor shook as if they were at an arena during a live concert. Travis racedacross the room and faced the massive Klipsch speakers, letting the sound bounce off his chest with a brilliant reverberation. He stared at the monstrous speakers, too awestruck to do anything except absorb the music.
“Do you like them? Are they big enough?” Derek yelled above the loud music.
