Page 83 of No Rhyme or Riesling
Chapter 29
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JOHN
JOHN FORGOT all about being nervous as he watched Adam sing. He forgot about the crowds, about his stiff, uncomfortable dress shirt. All of it.
While Adam's clear, enchanting voice rang out across the space, nothing else in the world mattered.
He came back to reality when the crowd cheered as Everett and Morgan finished their first dance, but then he drifted away again when the band jumped right into the next song, inviting everyone else out to the floor.
John idly sipped his wine, staring across the room, utterly mesmerized. There were moments when it felt like Adam was singing just for him. Like they were the only two people in the room, the boy's voice carrying across the space between them and diving right down into John's soul.
Ward came over and sat down beside him. The man had volunteered himself to oversee the wine for the evening, though he was technically a guest. John had caught glimpses of Ward as he'd gone about the room, bringing out more bottles as needed and answering questions as he went. Not once did John feel theneed to take over. To step in and make sure the man had all the bases covered.
Maybe letting go a little bit wasn't so bad.
“Geez, that voice is amazing,” Ward murmured.
John couldn't help grinning. “Yeah, it is.”
“I think I envy you.”
John blinked. He turned to look at Ward properly. “Why's that?”
Ward looked down at his own wine glass, idly swirling the clear fluid around, staring at it as though it might have the answers to the universe. “The reason I've been such a distracted mess lately is that I was trying to get up the courage to go on a date.” Ward paused. “With a guy.”
“Oh.” John's eyes went wide, both from Ward's admission and from realizing he was actually curious. “And?”
Ward winced. “I couldn't do it. Beau got me set up with this dating app thing, which is completely not my style, but I chatted with a couple guys. Even tried setting up a casual date with one of them, but then I kept finding excuses to cancel.”
John shrugged. “If it's not right, it's not right.”
“But that's just the thing,” Ward said, sounding like he was frustrated right down to his bones. “I think it is. I think about that boy who sat in my lap and remember how fuckingperfectit felt. But…”
“But?”
Ward sighed. “I don't know if it needs to be therightboy, or if, deep down, I don't think I can follow through on being intimate with another man. But I still can't get Charlie out of my head.” Ward muttered a curse. “He was in my lap for five minutes, and it's got me all messed up.” Ward turned to look at him. “But I promise I'm gonna put it all aside. No more distraction at work. I'm all in, I swear.”
John clapped him on the shoulder. “I know you are.” He paused. “I never thanked you for handling everything so well while I was out, taking care of Adam.”
Ward looked mildly astonished for a moment, then smiled. “Thank you for having faith in me to do so.”
John nodded, and they clinked their glasses together before turning to focus on the music. But after a moment, John found himself opening his mouth to say, “When it's right, you'll know. Trust me.” He breathed a laugh. “When Adam came out, all those years ago, it was like a light bulb going on inside my head,” he began, knowing it was safe to talk about this since Adam himself had told Ward about being trans, so he wasn't outing the boy. “Before that, he'd always just been Evelyn, the hot mess of a girl-next-door who sang like an angel. But as soon as he told me he wasn't Evelyn, but Adam? Shit. All bets were off. It made me see him in a whole new light. Like it hit me that this person was my best friend, despite the age difference, and now that he was coming into his true self as a boy instead of a girl, it was like my soul realized that my best friend could also one day be my partner.”
Ward got a thoughtful smile on his face. After a moment, he said, “I'm happy for you guys.”
“Thanks–”
Before John could say anything more, the current song came to an end, and Adam spoke to the crowd. “This next song is by special request from all the boys,” Adam announced. “In honor of Morgan turning Everett gay.”
John glanced at Everett and Morgan on the dance floor, seeing the couple laugh, Everett with embarrassment and Morgan with amusement.
Then the band played Jupither's rendition of “I Kissed a Boy.”
John threw his head back and laughed.
The band kept playing, and people came and went on the dance floor. At one point, Adam caught John's eye and subtly beckoned him over. John finished off his glass of syrah and got up, slowly crossing the room.
