EntangledTrio, page 15
He got up and padded over to the armchair to riffle through the box of mail he’d picked up at Merritt’s office. Toward the middle of the pile he found a small white envelope with his mother’s thin, spidery scrawl on it in blue ballpoint ink. “I’ve got it right here. Haven’t had a chance to read it yet.”
“I don’t know what it says. It was sealed when I found it, and I didn’t open it. But if you want to talk about it once you’ve read it, I’m here.”
“Okay.” He went over to the bed and sat back down again. “I should let you go.”
“I’m glad you called. I was worried.” She sniffled. “Next time you leave the country for weeks at a time, would you give me a call first? You’re all I’ve got now, you know.”
As if he wasn’t about to cry already. “I will, I promise.”
“All right, then. Take care.”
David sat there for several minutes staring at the envelope before he finally opened it. There were three handwritten pages inside, black ink on yellow legal-sized paper. He took a deep breath and let his eyes drift shut for a moment, then opened them again and began to read.
Chapter Twelve
April evenings in New York still carried a bit of a chill. Aleks zipped up his jacket and strolled out the Met’s stage door, then around to the front of the building. Lincoln Center Plaza bustled with people tonight, leaving performances at the brightly lit Alice Tully Hall and New York State Theater. He paused by one of the Met’s tall marquees to watch the crowd and drink in some fresh air. Five minutes, then he’d head back inside.
He’d just turned to do so when his glance landed on a solitary jeans-and-leather-jacketed figure cutting purposefully across the plaza a few feet away. He’d know those strong shoulders and that wavy brown hair anywhere. “David? Is that you?”
David halted and wheeled around, breaking out in a surprised smile. “Well, you’re the last person I expected to see. What’re you doing here?”
“It’s Colette’s dress rehearsal for Rosenkavalier. She opens tomorrow night.”
“Oh I forgot about that. So she didn’t cancel, huh? I seem to recall her being on the fence about it.”
“She was, but I persuaded her.” They moved closer, until they stood right in front of each other. Close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss. Aleks’ gaze lingered on David’s lips a moment too long for comfort before he finally looked away. “How was Argentina?”
“Busy.” Was it Aleks’ imagination, or was that a resigned sigh?
“Not fun?”
“I didn’t have much time for that, with eight performances on the schedule.”
“Too bad. I’ve never been there myself, but I hear it’s an exciting city.”
“I prefer New York. Or Paris.” David smiled again, but it didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, his eyes had a rather glazed, tired look about them, even a bit pink around the edges. As if he’d been crying. “Maybe I’ll see you there when I come back for Trovatore this fall. Say hello to Colette for me.”
He’d walked out of their lives once. Aleks wasn’t about to let them make the same mistake twice—either of them. “They’re about to start the final act. Why don’t you come in and watch? Afterward you can go backstage and say hello to her yourself.”
David hesitated a second or two before turning back. “Are you sure she’d want me to?”
“Why on earth wouldn’t she?”
“Because…every day I was gone, I picked up my phone to call you. All I wanted was to tell you how sorry I was, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t dial the number. After about a month, I figured the two of you were still so pissed at me, you probably didn’t care if you never heard from me again.”
Dear, sweet, tenderhearted man. No wonder he and Colette had fallen so quickly and deeply under his spell. “David, I was never angry with you. And whatever anger Colette felt faded a long time ago. But she will definitely be piqued with both of us if I let this opportunity pass by. So come along. I refuse to take no for an answer.”
This time when David smiled, it not only reached his eyes but lit up his entire face. Ah thank God. Aleks hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until it rushed out of his lungs. Relief had never looked—or felt—so good.
* * * * *
The last act ran about eight minutes over, and Colette felt each of them keenly. Octavian was one of the longest roles in her repertoire. She was onstage for the entire running time of the three-and-a-half-hour opera, except for a few minutes in the middle of Act One and the beginning of Act Two. By final curtain, she was drenched in sweat and so wrung out she felt as if she’d just walked the world’s longest tightrope. She lurched back to her dressing room, yanking off her powdered wig as she went. Good thing she’d never learned any Wagnerian roles, or no doubt she’d be dead by now.
The door cracked open, and Aleks poked his head in. “Still alive, my angel?”
“Barely. Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?”
He just grinned. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Please tell me that means we’re going to dinner. I deserve a reward.”
“Perhaps you’d like an appetizer first.” Then the door swung open, and in walked Aleks, followed by David, both sporting huge smiles.
Colette’s jaw fell open, her heart turning somersaults in her chest. “Oh my God! Where in the world did you come from?” she cried, leaping up and throwing her arms around him.
“I was returning a couple scores to the performing arts library—or rather, dumping them in the night drop. I’ve had them so long, the head librarian’s gunning for me. Anyway, I’d just turned around to head home when I ran into Aleks out on the plaza.”
“Home? You live near here?”
“A few blocks north. Talk about a coincidence, huh? Of all the nights I could’ve walked by…” His smile got wider, the glint in his eyes more appreciative. “Nice costume, by the way. You look good in silver jodhpurs.”
She couldn’t help grinning back. “Well, you know what they say about mezzos. All we ever play are young boys or old bags.”
“Or Delilah. Or Carmen.” His voice caressed the last word, his eyes crinkling.
A hot flush slowly prickled up the back of her neck and into her cheeks. Where in blazes had her dresser gotten to? This damn costume felt like a sweaty suit of armor, glued to her from neck to knee.
“Why don’t you come to dinner with us?” No sooner had she said it when Amelia finally bustled in, babbling apologies, and started to help her out of the offending garment. “Aleks and I would love to hear about your trip.”
David looked down at himself, frowning at his jeans. “I’m not really dressed…”
“You look fine,” Aleks interjected. “We’re not going anyplace elegant.”
“Give me half an hour to get out of this and take a shower, and I’ll be ready to go,” Colette added.
David’s gaze flicked from her to Aleks and back again. “Whatever you say.”
They cooled their heels in the green room while she got ready, then it was off in a taxi to Grand Sichuan in the East Village. David glanced wide-eyed around the noisy, well-lit restaurant with red-jacketed waiters scurrying to and fro and garish paintings of tigers and koi on the walls. “I never would’ve pegged you as fans of Chinese food.”
“One can only eat so much foie gras,” Aleks replied with a wink as the hostess showed them to a relatively quiet corner booth. “Besides, they make the best prawns with garlic sauce in the city.”
And hot and sour soup. And curry chicken. And spicy bean curd. All Colette’s favorites. Zesty, delicious dishes she never allowed herself before performance nights, but this was a special occasion. David was back. She sat enraptured, nibbling bites of chicken and sipping green tea as she listened to him describe the glorious Teatro Colón.
“It’s completely renovated, inside and out,” he said. “Took them four years. They’ve even got a few new technical gizmos that’d make the Met jealous.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she replied. “Too bad I’ll never sing there.”
“Why not? I’m sure Dieter could get you an engagement if you asked him.”
“Dieter hasn’t spoken to me since I told him I’m retiring at the end of this year.”
David did a double-take, his fork dangling from his fingers. “You’re kidding.”
“No, not at all. Performing in opera is terribly grueling, and you know I hate all the time spent abroad. I’ll finish this engagement, then I’ll be back here for Don Carlos in September. I’d originally turned it down, but where else will I ever get the chance to do the original French version? And Pappano’s conducting, after all. But once that’s done, so am I.”
“Well, I won’t say I’m not sorry. But if it has to happen, I’m glad we’ll get to appear together one last time. I’m singing the lead in Don Carlos—or I will be, once I sign the contract.”
“Oh wonderful.” She beamed. “I’m glad too.”
“So what are you going to do, move to the country and take up gardening?”
She laughed. “Nothing that drastic, I’m afraid. I plan to simply stay home and teach. I already have one very promising pupil.”
“That’s great. But is it really what you want?”
“It is. Tonight when I walked through the backstage area before rehearsal started, all I could think was, ‘I won’t miss this’. The chaos, the confusion. The stress of a new production. Who needs it? Maybe I’ll consider recitals and concert work later on, but for now I’m perfectly happy to return to private life as plain old Madame Petrovsky.”
“There’s nothing plain or old about you, my angel,” Aleks murmured.
“No, there certainly isn’t,” David agreed.
Now she blushed again. “Well, thank you. But you both know what I mean. I want to enjoy the important things in life, instead of being a slave to my schedule.”
“I know what you mean about the important things,” David mused. “The last few weeks have been a real eye-opener for me in that regard.”
When he didn’t immediately elaborate, Aleks prompted, “You’re not going to leave us hanging there, are you?”
“You don’t want to hear it. It’s just a lot of navel-gazing and hand-wringing.”
“Oh please,” Colette scoffed. “We’re all artists here, which means we’re used to diva behavior. So go ahead, wring your hands. We’re ready to listen.”
He scooped up his bowl of tea and drained it, staring down at the table. “My dad passed away while I was in Argentina. I didn’t find out about it until I got back.”
Oh God. That explained the telltale sadness in his eyes, the tiny lines tugging at his mouth that she assumed were due to exhaustion, but now took on an even deeper significance. She should’ve picked up on these clues before, but she’d been so glad to see him, they’d flown right over her head.
“David, we’re so sorry,” she murmured, reaching for his right hand at the same time Aleks reached for his left. “That must have been difficult.”
“Thanks. And yeah, it has been. Especially since…” He stopped to take a breath. “He left me a letter. He said a lot of things in it. Things I wish he’d told me while he was still alive. L-Like…like he was proud of me.” His voice cracked. Dear, sweet God. She had no idea he’d been going through such turmoil. She clasped his hand tighter. “He said he wanted to tell me plenty of times, but I’d gotten so far above him, he didn’t know how. But he was still my dad, you know? Why couldn’t he just talk to me?”
“My parents have also had a difficult time dealing with my success,” Aleks put in. “They’re simple people. They’ve lived on the same street their entire lives. They don’t understand my life at all. It baffles them, and to a certain extent, it threatens them too.”
“Maybe that’s it. Dad was a truck mechanic. He worked on big rigs. I know he was disappointed when I dropped auto shop class so I could double up on voice lessons. And then when I got the scholarship to Juilliard, he blew his stack. The thought of me making music my career confused and infuriated the hell out of him. He just couldn’t accept that I wasn’t like him, and I never would be.”
“But he was proud of you,” Colette reminded him softly. “You always thought he wasn’t.”
“Which means everything I ever did to get his attention, to try to prove myself to him, was all bullshit. This big career I kept trying to convince myself I wanted…it’s nothing. It means nothing.”
“That’s not true,” Aleks said.
“Not true at all,” Colette concurred. “You’re a great talent, David. You deserve every success.”
“Well, if I could turn the clock back to February and relive the last two months, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Walking out on you two was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.” He swallowed hard, squeezing their hands tight. “I loved you both. I still do. Can you ever forgive me for putting you through all that hell?”
The very words she’d hoped to hear from the moment she’d first set eyes on him tonight. Hoped to hear, but never actually thought she would. A wave of pure joy left her suddenly lightheaded, her pulse beating an erratic tattoo.
“Sweet boy,” she murmured at last, glancing at Aleks, who nodded in agreement, “we already have.”
Aleks paid the bill, then they hailed a cab. Colette sat between them on the ride back to her hotel, the three of them clasping hands in a valiant attempt to hold their rampant desires in check. If she’d had her way, she’d tear all their clothes off and start fucking them right here in the backseat, cab driver be damned.
Somehow they made it up to her suite unmolested, their plush surroundings barely registering on their mad dash to the bedroom. David had already yanked off his jacket and started on his shirt when Colette put out a hand to stop him.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to undress,” she purred.
“Oh.” He dropped his hands instantly, a smile spreading across his lips. “Sorry, Ma’am.”
“That’s better.” She turned to Aleks, who’d finished unbuttoning the front of his white silk dress shirt and moved on to his cuffs. “What do you think? Fuck the poor boy and put him out of his misery? Or spank him first, then fuck him?”
“Oh definitely spank him first, my angel. Then we can both fuck him.”
As if her nipples weren’t already hard as diamonds and her clit throbbing. But none of that mattered, not when she had David right here, ready to do anything to please her. “Very well then. Go ahead and strip,” she ordered.
He had everything off in an eye-blink, and then she gestured for him to turn around so she could inspect him from head to toe. His rising cock showed how much he enjoyed being the object of attention. His skin was darker than she recalled, tanned a lovely honey-gold all over, except for a wide milky strip across his crotch and upper thighs.
“I love tan lines, but this is a bit uneven.” She pointed. “Why in front, but not in back?”
“I did some sunbathing on my balcony in Buenos Aires. I didn’t have swim trunks, so I improvised with a hand towel.”
“That’s what I call resourceful. Turn.” She waved him around to look at the back of him. Miles and miles of gorgeous smooth skin with nary a mark in sight. Like a blank canvas waiting for the first kiss of paint. Or in this case, the palm of her hand.
Which she ran over his buttocks, cupping and squeezing, kneading the soft, warm flesh. Then she trailed her nails over his skin, pleased at the thin pink welts they raised, and his barely suppressed shivers. Still as responsive as ever. She motioned for him to crawl up onto the bed on his hands and knees, and present his ass to her.
Pinching next, then tapping with her fingertips, which soon led to firm, full-handed slaps. Oh he let out such lovely grunts and groans, the sounds of pure pleasure. She paused long enough to reach up and slide her fingers into his hair, gripping a rough handful near the scalp before easing his head back. He went along without resistance, already completely submissive. “Looks as if you’ve missed this. Haven’t you, sweet boy?”
“Y-Yes Ma’am. God yes!”
“That’s what I like to hear. And who do you belong to?”
“You, Ma’am. You and Aleks.”
Who was sitting in a nearby chair, now fully naked, avid interest and bemusement writ large in his expression. “Good to hear I’m not forgotten,” he remarked pointedly.
She shot him a sharp look. “Of course you’re not. In fact, why don’t you come over here and help me warm up this lovely ass you’re going to be fucking in a few minutes.”
She took his left side, Aleks the right, bestowing hard, stinging smacks that soon left her fingers smarting and gave David a rosy, nearly identical glow on both cheeks. His breath had quickened by the time they stopped, his cock hanging thick and heavy between his thighs. She reached underneath and gave him an experimental tug, letting go when he emitted a loud, almost pained gasp. So close for only a few little slaps.
“Sounds like someone’s been a good boy. No other playmates while we were apart, mon cheri?”
“N-No Ma’am.”
“So you’ve saved yourself for us. How sweet.” And how incredibly touching. Her eyes actually stung a bit. Though she’d relished the notion of stretching out the teasing portion of their evening a bit longer, she could tell David had already reached his limit. No matter. There would be plenty of opportunities for lingering later. Time to bring this interlude to a mutually satisfying conclusion.
She padded over to the bedside table and fished out a pair of foil-wrapped packets, tossing them to David and Aleks. “Suit up, gentlemen. The grand finale awaits.”
Fingers trembling, she stripped off her sweater and slacks, bra and panties, before climbing onto the bed. Both men watched in rapt fascination, then suddenly realized there was something they’d forgotten. They tore open their condom wrappers to attend to it. After, when David twisted around to face Aleks and pull him down for a long, deep kiss, Colette felt such a surge of heat pour through her, she was certain there must be steam trickling from her ears.
