Page 7 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

GENT

We’d eventually decided to get up and share a shower before hopping back in bed for some lazy snuggling.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover I enjoyed lounging around in bed with Winter.

Often, when I hooked up with someone, I wanted them gone fairly quickly so I could get back to my own life, whether that was work or sleep.

But being with Winter was different, and I wanted to do more than just fuck.

I wanted to know more about him, how his sister felt about having a brother who helped her with college and how he was going to manage juggling a full-time job with a part-time one in order to make it happen.

I drew light shapes on his back with my fingers while he dozed, and I was surprised when his sleepy voice emerged from where he lay on my chest.

“What do you like to do besides singing and playing guitar?” he asked.

“Mm. Good question. I like to cook a little. I also run. I like to do charity races and stuff like that. I also recently took a couple of photography classes. Sometimes I like to go hiking with a couple of the other guys from the band if we’re staying in a place with good places to see.

I thought taking pictures would be a good way of reminding me to slow down and take in the view.

I really like it so far. I’m not all that great at it, but I enjoy the process and I like learning more about it. ”

“I could take you on a hike on Rockley Mountain if you have enough cold weather gear,” he offered.

“It’s usually sunny enough to be manageable once you get moving and get your blood flowing.

I love to hike. It’s one of the things I was most excited about when I got the job in Aster Valley.

This place used to be a ski resort, so there are a ton of trails and log roads, things like that. ”

Winter’s hair smelled like my shampoo, and his skin was soft from the shower. I couldn’t keep my hands off him. “I’d like that, but we’d have to go somewhere private in case I suddenly needed to get you naked again.”

He chuckled. “I take back what I said about the sun making it warm enough.”

I pressed a kiss to his head. “What about you? What do you like to do when you’re not playing with kids putty?”

“I haven’t had much time for hobbies. I worked several jobs all through college and graduate school, but one of my patients from when I worked in Denver is a professional gamer.

He asked me about helping design an ergonomic gaming controller that would lessen repetitive stress injuries from gaming. ”

“That sounds interesting.”

He nodded. “I don’t know much about engineering, but he has a friend who does.

She basically consults with me as she brainstorms prototypes.

It got me thinking about other places to consider adapting standard methods to minimize repetitive stress injuries like that.

One of my patients owns an antique store that specializes in old clocks.

He winds all the clocks, and the twisting motion doesn’t agree with his arthritic hands.

I’m trying to come up with a device he can use to absorb that twisting motion.

It could be used for people who have all kinds of repetitive twisting motions like with screws, bottle caps, etc.

” Winter shrugged. “One day I might have enough extra time and money to take some engineering classes. It would be interesting to learn more about the physics of motion outside of the body.”

After I heard his stomach grumble, I urged him up and back to the kitchen so I could make us something for dinner. We both wore pairs of my flannel pajama bottoms, and Winter had pulled his fleece on over it while I’d grabbed a hoodie.

“I can do a chicken and rice thing,” I suggested from the kitchen. He stood in front of the fireplace holding his hands out to warm them by the flames. “Or pasta? Or a big salad?”

He moved over to join me in the kitchen. “I’d love chicken and rice. Can I help?”

We moved through the small space together, prepping dinner and opening a bottle of wine. When we finally sat down at the small table, I held up my glass for a toast. “Happy belated New Year. To new beginnings and exciting futures. I hope this year brings you nothing but happiness and prosperity.”

Winter grinned back at me as he lifted his glass. “To your swift healing so you can get back to putting beautiful music into the world. And may you have safe and fun travels down under.”

We talked each other’s ears off as we ate.

Being with Winter was easy. He was an unusual combination of relaxed and energetic.

He told me about seeing me play for the first time when he was in college, and it led us into a conversation about my own time in school back in Houston and how I’d ended up in LA.

“Do you love it there?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I love the convenience of being near the recording studio. And I love the view from my terrace. But I don’t have many friends outside the band and crew because I don’t ever stay in town long enough to make any.

And I miss the seasons we had growing up in north Texas.

I love snow. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here for a visit. ”

Winter nodded. “Same. I’ve never wanted to leave Colorado. I love it here. I went to Florida once to see my grandparents, and I hated the heat and relentless sunshine. Not sure I’d like LA.”

I chuckled. “It’s definitely relentless sunshine. But I thought Colorado had mostly sunny days, too.”

“We do, but it’s different somehow. The sky is deep blue, and there’s usually a nice breeze in the mountains. In Florida it seemed hazy and still.”

After a while, we moved over to sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Winter moved over to press his body against mine. “I know I only have you for tonight, so I want to make the most of it.”

I pulled him onto my lap. “It’s so quiet in Aster Valley. I feel like we’re the only two people on the planet right now.”

Winter wrapped himself around me and stared into the fire.

“It’s not like this everywhere. I live in a…

denser area, and my neighbors are assholes.

Sometimes when they’re raising hell at all hours, I daydream about having an isolated cabin like this in the woods.

” He chuckled and reached for my hand to play with my fingers.

“What about you? Is it quiet where you live? Houses on big lots far apart from each other?”

I nodded. “I live in the Hills and have a nice view of the city. Big walls and gates around my property for security. I’m glad the house sits high enough to be able to see over them. Even if I lived in a place like this, I’d probably have to have fences and a gate.”

Our fingers danced softly with each other while the golden light from the fire flickered around the room.

The music on my speaker had stopped a long time ago, and I enjoyed the quiet of his company.

It didn’t take long, though, for our hands to wander.

I couldn’t stop wanting him. It was like a hunger that didn’t end no matter how much of him I was able to nibble on.

We fucked on and off all night long. Frantic frotting in front of the fire. Sensual blow jobs in the kitchen while scrounging for a midnight snack. A long, slow fuck in the shower in the middle of the night. By the time we finally fell asleep in a heap of tangled limbs, I was half-dead.

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. The sun was blasting through the window where I hadn’t thought to close the blind the night before. I’d expected to feel… sated. Happy. Relaxed. Happily well fucked and ready to tackle some work today.

But something was off.

I got up and looked around, noticing all of the signs of our time together.

Winter had left the therapy putty tub on the kitchen counter, but that was the only actual item he’d left behind.

After putting some coffee on, I wandered back into the bedroom and stared at the pillow squashed up next to mine.

We’d slept in each other’s space all night.

Our bodies had fit together like two halves of a clam shell.

My body felt oddly untethered today. I kept wandering around in circles until the coffee was ready and even then, I wasn’t quite sure where to put my hands.

It wasn’t until I wandered back into the bedroom that I saw the piece of paper on the floor by the bedside table.

Gent,

Would it be presumptuous of me to offer to bring pizza over tonight after work?

We have a therapy appointment scheduled regardless, so please let me know if I’m crossing a line.

I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I’d really like a repeat of last night if you’re up for it. If so, hydrate and stay limber ;-)

Winter

I beamed like a rookie opera singer hitting a high note on the first attempt. Another night with Winter. Yes, please.

Knowing he would be coming over at the end of the day somehow gave me the energy to get to work. I relished the distraction from imagining him naked again, wondering what positions we would try and how many times I could make him come.

As I jotted down notes for a new song, I was surprised by how easy the words came. I hadn’t written new music in almost a year because of the hectic schedule recording and touring. It was nice sinking back into the rhythm of following my thoughts in a jumbled collection of scribbles and riffs.

I wrote a song about my mother, about the time she’d gone against my dad’s wishes and bought me the guitar I’d wanted for my birthday. When Dad had frowned at the expense, Mom had winked and told me I could grow up to be just like Bob Dylan.

“Seeded Dreams” was almost complete by the time the knock came on the door that evening. I’d spent more time fiddling with the melody than I should have, and Winter noticed right away.