WIPpet Wednesday: Reunited

Welcome to Wednesday! My life just got much, much busier. With a new-ish project, some beta reading, and a paid editing job, I’m swamped. The summer is flying by, too. I hope I can finish everything I’ve started on schedule!

For today’s WIPpet, I’m posting probably the last snippet of Anthem. I’m not sure. It depends on how much of my other project I get done. I’m about 12k into it, so it’s going pretty well, and I’m looking forward to sharing it as soon as I can.

If you recall, Andre was about to head to Trevor’s church for a job. I sense you all thought last week that it might be an awkward reunion. You can decide if you were right after reading this one.

WIPmath: 2 + 9 = 11 + 1 bonus since it’s the last one = 12 paragraphs.

He was a bit too far away for Andre to see clearly, his face half hidden by a music stand. Singing and playing softly, he paused periodically to make notes on the sheet in front of him. His thick, wavy golden hair hung almost to his shoulders, which were hunched in concentration. Each time he stopped, he briefly put the tip of his pencil between his lips and closed his eyes, moving his hand over the keys, nodding, and making a mark.

Andre would happily have continued to watch his creative process, inching his way nearer, but the man stopped playing and glanced up. He slid off the piano bench and hopped down from the stage. When Andre had a closer look, his heart leaped into his throat, and he knew his eyes must be wide as saucers. He recognized the face despite only having seen it once before. Trey. It was hard to forget the mouth that had kissed him with such hunger. Blood pounded in Andre’s ears, and excitement zinged through him at the chance to talk to him again.

For a moment, Andre thought the young man was pleased to see him, too. Trey’s lips parted and his eyes opened wider, but then he narrowed them and a deep scowl crossed his face.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” he said, dashing Andre’s hopes for a happy reunion.

“I-I’m sorry,” Andre stammered. “I got turned around after a meeting in the church office.”

Trey, or whoever he was, appeared tired—not just physical exhaustion but something else, some kind of emotional strain, and Andre wondered if he was the cause. Concern must have shown on his face because panic flashed across the other man’s features briefly. He shrugged and his face relaxed into a half-smile.

“And you are?”

“Andre Cole.” Shaking off his disappointment, Andre extended his hand, and the man accepted it.

“Trevor Davidson.”

Andre’s mouth dropped open. Reality smacked him forcefully and anxiety welled up. Oh, God…oh, God…I had anonymous sex with the voice of my favorite podcast. “I know who you are.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Trevor sighed. “Look, can I do anything for you? If not, I’ll show you out.”

“Just showing me out is plenty.” It really, really wasn’t, but Andre wasn’t sure how to ask if Trevor remembered their encounter as well as he did.

Like what you read? Try out these other posts here. Add your own by posting a bit of your work in progress, connecting it with Fancy Math to the date, and linking up. Thanks to K. L. Schwengel for creating this space for us. Happy reading and writing!