Page 55 of Half Notes and Highlights
The guys arrived shortly after Ethan and Tyler were dressed and relaxing on the couch watching re-runs. Ethan was on edge, waiting to see Wolf’s reaction to seeing Tyler again, but he reallydidn’t have one. Harris and Marshall gave Tyler hugs and told him it was good to see him again, but Wolf just nodded once in greeting, and Tyler returned the gesture.
“Are these the paintings you did today?” Marshall asked, walking over to the two canvases.
“Yes!” Tyler exclaimed. “Aren’t they fantastic?” He picked up his painting to show it off. “I’ve never painted anything before. I had so much fun. And it really came out wonderful. I changed some of the colors, because I like color, and I think it works.” He placed the painting back on the credenza. “Ethan’s came out good too.”
Listening to Tyler put a crazy smile on Ethan’s face. The guy was always full of effervescence and playful remarks. He was so caught up in admiring his boyfriend, he didn’t realize Marshall and Harris were trashing his painting.
“That boat wouldn’t last ten minutes in the water,” Harris joked.
“Is that supposed to be a dolphin or the Loch Ness monster?” Marsh asked, laughing.
Wolf was standing in the background with his arms folded, watching, a big smile on his face. His gaze shifted to Ethan. “Nice job, Picasso.”
“It was really difficult,” Ethan replied. “The instructor was going so fast. I couldn’t keep up.”
“You just went rogue,” Tyler said. “But it’s art, so it can be whatever you want it to be.”
Wolf sputtered a laugh, and Tyler’s eyes shot to Wolf, suspiciously.
So did Ethan’s.
“Is my painting amusing you?” Tyler questioned, a brow raised.
“It’s not your painting,” Wolf replied, a questioning smile on his face. “What are you wearing?”
Tyler was wearing an adorable pair of leopard print spandex shorts, his combat boots, and a cropped graphic tee. The whimsical outfit fit Tyler’s personality perfectly, but Ethan knew exactly what Wolf meant when he said Tyler kept giving him ammo for commentary. He hung his head and waited, envisioning how this was going to play out.
“I’ll have you know,” Tyler began, a fist on his hip. “I took your fashion advice.”
“My advice?” Wolf pressed his hand to his chest. “I never told you to wear tiger print shorts. And I certainly never suggested you wear spandex.”
“First.” Tyler raised his index finger in the air, then pointed to his shorts. “These are leopard.”
“A cat’s a cat,” Wolf replied.
Tyler’s jaw fell open. “Do I have to buy you a picture book? One has stripes. The other has spots.” Tyler tapped his shorts for emphasis. “Spots.”
Shit. Tyler and Wolf had been in the same room for 10 minutes and were already bickering. Ethan blew air out his nostrils, waiting for the fallout. But Wolf didn’t respond.
“Second,” Tyler continued. “You were right.”
Ethan immediately lifted his head to hear more.
“My leather pants were way too hot for the West Coast, and maybe a little too fashion forward. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been wearing jeans.”
“Those aren’t jeans,” Wolf commented. “They’re barely shorts.”
“Leather’s too much. These are too little. There’s no pleasing you, is there?”
“OK. That’s enough talk about shorts, and cats, and paintings,” Ethan interrupted. “Let’s change the subject.”
“What else should we talk about?” Wolf asked, a taunting spark in his eyes.
Perfect timing on the part of room service halted conversation. For the moment. Thank God, because, although Wolf was being playful, there was a ton of attitude behind his statements, and Tyler was in total defensive mode.
“Saved by the bell,” Harris whispered to Ethan.
“Feel free to jump in anytime and play referee,” Ethan said.
