Let the drama begin! Onstage, that is. Both my kids will be in the cast of their school’s production of Elf Jr., the Musical. My older one will be playing Buddy (the Elf of the title, if you haven’t seen the movie or the stage show). My younger one will be in the ensemble, and this is her first show, so it’s pretty exciting! I already have the main song stuck in my head.
On to the WIPpet. Last time, Nate ran into an old boyfriend. You can see in this snippet what became of that encounter, although it’s not looking like it will end well.
WIPmath: 9/28 = 28 sentences + 2 bonus because I can’t math today.
Nate was almost too blissed-out to notice when Rocco’s phone rang. Through his sleepy haze, Nate felt motion next to him. He rolled over and admired the curve of Rocco’s butt as the sheet slipped to reveal it when he reached over to the night stand.
“This is Rocco.” Pause. “Yes, that would be fine.” Pause. “I’m with a client right now, but I can set it up after my meeting.” His eyes flicked to Nate. “No, that’s not possible.” He covered the phone with his hand and whispered, “Be right back.”
He rose from the bed and stalked into the bathroom. For a moment, it was quiet, and then he heard Rocco’s muffled voice. He sounded angry, and Nate caught a few words like “let’s not do this now” and “we’ll discuss it later” and “it’s not a good time.”
Rocco opened the bathroom door and stepped out. “I’ll call you back shortly.” He ended the call and set the phone back on the nightstand then lay back down on the bed. “Sorry about that.” He ran his hand over Nate’s chest and kissed him.
Nate shrugged, but his gut twisted. Del’s words haunted him, his advice on which men to avoid. He was nothing more than a “client” for now, someone Rocco could write off to his wife—whether or not she was really soon to be his ex—as a lunch meeting. How many other “clients” had Rocco had before, hotel bills he claimed were just drinks at the bar to entertain a business associate? Nate thought back to their first encounter, how easy it was to find Rocco and how he’d been eager to go with Nate even though he claimed he couldn’t be caught with an old boyfriend’s phone number. They’d been meeting up regularly for close to a month with no indication from Rocco where it was going. Nate thought back to his acquaintance who had claimed a two-year affair with Rocco. He wondered how many others there had been.
It was a sobering thought, one which brought on a new rush of worries he dismissed. “It’s fine,” he said, even though he really wanted to ask Rocco a few pointed questions.
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Oooh, I’m intrigued. It’s like real people, dealing with real issues. I love it.
Heh, yeah, that was the idea. This is the second in a series (the first is the one with the church song that’s not at all about Jesus). Rocco’s not as much of an ass as he sounds like here.
Oh, Nate. Sounds like Rocco is stringing you along and has a history of this. You can do better. You *deserve* better. Can’t wait to read all of this.
Rocco is…very confused right now, even though he’s not acting like it. Deep down, they both know this isn’t going anywhere.
Nate’s so deep. He’s fascinating. I really like him, and the way his thoughts spiral, but then he does a kind of mental shrug and gets them in check again.
Nate has reasons here for shrugging off his misgivings, but that was the part I skipped over because of spoilers. Sort of? I’m not sure…this one is hard to excerpt because for most of the story, Nate doesn’t really know (or doesn’t want to know) what’s going on with him, but readers should be able to piece it together.
Oh, and well done to the kids! Buddy, huh? 🙂 That’s awesome!
LOL! Well, Buddy is Older Child’s natural personality. He’s a very loving, sensitive kid, but he’s also one of the most chipper and optimistic people I’ve ever met. Sunny disposition dialed up to about 10, though I think my son is a bit less innocent than Buddy.
Hooray for the show! And the kids.
Nate, I’ve been where you are. It’s fun during, but after, those twisting-gut feelings can really get in the way of the afterglow, especially when you want more than it looks like you’re ever going to get…
I hope Rocco’s confusion ends, and that he and Nate can eventually part with memories of the good and mutual understanding about why they’re leaving…
But let’s have lots of conflict and confusion first, please! =)
Thank you! The kids are excited, although older child is a bit anxious because he saw how many rehearsals he has to attend.
Nate’s about to ditch Rocco, but that doesn’t mean an end to the conflict. 😉