Page 25 of As I Am
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was raining as Carson pulled up in front of the restaurant that Ky worked at. He wished he could call Ky and offer to meet him somewhere else so he wouldn't have to carry his bag in the rain.
He'd thought a lot about Ky over the couple days they were apart. In fact, his mind seldom thought of anything else. Somehow, Ky had worked his way under Carson's skin. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Their lives were day and night different, and he wasn't sure he could ever relate to the things that Ky must have gone through in the past.
He wasn't sure why Ky ended up homeless, but he wondered if it was because he was gay and someone had kicked him out. It was a story he'd heard way too often. In fact, his bassist was a sweet girl he'd met through a friend, and she'd been kicked out when she was seventeen because she liked girls. She was lucky enough to have been older, and to have friends she could live with, but it could have easily been her on the streets beside Ky, trying to survive.
The fact that Ky had sold himself really didn't bother Carson. While he hated that Ky did, it was what had brought them together. Still, he did need to worry about if Ky was clean and make sure they had safe sex all the time. Not that he ever didn't have safe sex, but with Ky, there was a bit of an extra reason to worry.
It still didn't change the way Carson felt for Ky. His feelings for him were getting stronger with every minute they spent together. He found himself missing Ky at the oddest times. He was actually excited to be bringing him home to meet his parents. He hoped they liked Ky as much as he did.
He hadn't brought a guy home since high school. There hadn't been anyone important enough to meet his parents. Ky was important enough, even if Ky didn't know it yet. Carson was taking it slow, but he hoped that being together for three weeks might give Ky a chance to drop his guard and hopefully grow to feel something for Carson too. It was too soon to really say what would happen between them. All Carson knew was he wanted to explore it and see if it could go somewhere.
So distracted by his thoughts, he didn't even see Ky coming to the truck until he knocked on the passenger window. He quickly hit the unlock button and reached over to open the door. "Sorry, was spacing off."
"It's okay. I just walked out. I got distracted talking to Trevor and didn't see you pull up." Ky set a backpack down on the floor of the truck before climbing in.
"Everything okay with him? Did you lose your job?" Carson resisted the urge to lean over and give him a kiss.
"No, actually I sort of got a new job when I get back. Remember his boyfriend, Prince? He was opening that new bakery. Well, it looks like he's going to need more help than he thought. Things have gone really well for him so far. If his business stays heavy like it is the next few weeks, then I'm going to go work for him full time."
"That's fantastic. Do you know anything about baking?"
"Not a thing." Ky grinned. "But I'm willing to learn. I've always liked Prince. I've known him for years. It will be fun working for him."
"I'm so happy for you. That's a relief. I was feeling guilty that you might lose your job because of me."
"You're more than paying me to make up for it if I had." Ky shrugged.
Carson had tried not to think about the money, but it was part of the deal. A part of him wished Ky was coming with him because he wanted to, not because he was paying him. "True, I'm still glad things worked out."
"Me too. I'm really excited to work there. I'll work the early shift so I'll be off work by two. That gives me the afternoons off. I love that I'll have a set schedule and everything." Ky latched his seatbelt into place.
"Almost makes me feel guilty for taking you away." Carson reached over and gave Ky's knee a gentle squeeze. "Almost. I'm really excited that you're going with me. I usually dread the weeks I spend on the road. This time, I'm looking forward to it. Knowing you'll be by my side makes a world of difference."
"I'm glad. I'm nervous, but excited to see what you do. I feel bad I don't know more about your music." Ky covered Carson's hand with his own.
"You'll probably be sick of it by the time you get back home. I'm hoping to get a couple new songs written while we're on the road. Maybe you can help with that." Carson pulled out onto the road.
"I wouldn't even begin to know how."
"I'll show you. It's not hard. Just write a story to music. I try to avoid being like some of the other singers out there right now. They just throw a bunch of junk down on paper and scream it out over and over again. I like to look back at some of the older bands who used to tell a story. Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, and others like that. They told a tale to music. You felt the music. I have some nonsense songs too, but I really like to try and focus on taking the listener on a journey. Make them feel like they are part of the song."
"That makes sense. I mean, anyone can scream out something, but to make it personal and mean something is different. If you think about it, all the really famous songs have a story to them." Ky smiled. "I think I'd enjoy helping do something like that."
"Good. I've got a little bit of packing yet to do once we get to my parents' house, but once we get back home to California, we can play around and see what we can come up with. I play the guitar and piano, so we can put the words to music if we come up with anything." He was excited to have Ky help. It would be a fresh mind. One who probably saw the world through different eyes than he and his band members did. He gestured to the bag. "Is that all you're bringing?"
Ky blushed and softly said, "it's all I have."
"Oh." Carson should have thought about that. Struggling the way Ky did, he might not have a lot. "You won't need too much anyway. Like I said, we don't leave the hotel much other than for the concert." He wondered how he could take Ky out shopping. It was something he didn't do often because he couldn't just walk into the mall on his own, but it might be worth a trip with security to get Ky some new things. The question was, would Ky let him?
"I don't have anything fancy. Up until a few months ago, I lived on the streets. It's just been the last while that I've even had a roof over my head." Ky stared out the window as he spoke as if afraid to look at Carson.
"You had no family to take you in?" Carson asked.
"Nobody. They tried to put me in foster care, but that didn't work. I ran away before long." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I lived in Idaho, but was scared they'd catch me, so I came down here soon after. I've been here since."
"How did you manage to get off the streets?" Carson weaved through traffic to get on the freeway.
