Page 8 of Michael's Awakening
Chapter Four
Michael
I applauded as the red-haired boy finished his song and stood up from the piano bench, taking a short bow.
Why the fuck am I here?
“He was good, don’t you think? Not as good as my Alan, you’ll see.”
I turned my head to look at Richard, the reason I was there. He was a colleague of mine who I didn’t hate as much as all the others. We had worked together on a big drug case a few months back and had become good acquaintances.
He was a friendly man in his mid-forties, and he also had a son who was performing that night. We hadn’t discussed it much, but I assumed he didn’t have many friends. His wife had left him for another man and only came around when it involved their son. I felt bad for the guy.
When he had asked me to accompany him to a music recital, to say I was thrilled was a major overstatement. I tolerated people because I had to for my job. However, I tried to limit my social interactions to just the necessary meetings with clients, business talk with colleagues, and my frequent one night stands.
Not much talking ever occurred with the latter, which was exactly what I preferred.
“I’m sure your son will be excellent.” I smiled, if you could call it that, at him and then moved my stare back to the stage, where a few stagehands were setting up the scene for the next performance.
A few minutes later, the lights dimmed in the audience as a bright light shown on a single chair in the center of the stage. Footsteps sounded as the next performer left the confines of the backstage to have their moment of glory.
That’s when I first laid eyes on him.
My breath caught in my throat as the most beautiful man I had ever seen emerged from the shadows and took a seat in the chair, directly in the spotlight. He was dressed very professionally, with a not-so-subtle hint of style. A well-fitted black suit covered his lean upper body, complimented with matching pants, and a flashy purple tie. His blond hair was styled in an array of soft spikes around the crown of his head, with his bangs swooped to the left side, framing his flawless face. The man’s eyes were lined with black eyeliner and he had a purple eye shadow on his lids that matched the color of his tie.
I secretly thanked Richard in my head for insisting that I meet him there so early to get front row seats.
From my seat, I could see the man perfectly. Glancing down briefly at my pamphlet, I skimmed down the list of names until I found what I was looking for. His name was Gabriel–which I thought fit him immaculately– and he was going to be playing Bach’sCello Suite Number One in G Major, which consisted of both thePreludeand theAllemandeas well.
Holy fuck.
Setting a cello between his legs, he adjusted the endpin at the bottom to position it in accordance to his height and then readied his bow. I caught a quick glimpse of his arm faintly shaking as his chest rose in a manner that suggested he was taking deep, calming breaths. In an instant, the nerves were gone and in their place was an aura of confidence. Taking one last deep breath, Gabriel began playing.
The music that drifted from him caused my mouth to slightly open in astonishment. The way his right arm moved the bow flawlessly across the strings seemed effortless. My eyes lifted from his beautiful hands and moved to his face. His eyes were fixated on the strings, watching his left hand as it moved swiftly along the spine of the cello in a way that almost seemed inhuman. As the music transitioned to minor notes, Gabriel closed his eyes and swayed his head to the sweet melody he was creating with such heartfelt passion that I could feel myself being put under his spell.
He was the definition of perfection.
My thoughts were confusing and so out of character for me. Never in my life had any man ever possessed such a hold on me. And definitely not a man that I had never even spoken to. His namesake suited him. I was nowhere near a religious man, but I remembered the name from one of my many philosophical books. The angel Gabriel was God’s Messenger who was the bringer of news and who possessed a captivating light, and who was said to have exuded a soft, nurturing strength.
And the Gabriel that was placed before me possessed that light and delicate divine gift, it was unmistakable.
But, it was evident that I could never have him, for the dark was no place for an angel, and my demons would taint his beauty. He was so far out of my reach that only in dreams would I ever be able to touch his light.
Too soon, his song finished and he stood from his chair. I didn’t hear the applause or the cheers of the audience, although I knew they were yelling for him. All sound around me temporarily muted as I watched a small smile form on his angelic face. Grabbing his instrument, he bowed. The feelings this man awoke within me scared me. A possessive need to have Gabriel overwhelmed my senses as I saw him turn and start to leave.
Please don’t walk away.
But he did. An ache twisted in my chest once he had disappeared from my sight.
I wrote it off in my head as the most intense lust I had ever experienced. That could be the only logical explanation. Maybe it was a sign that it had been too long since I last fucked. Work had been kicking my ass lately, taking up all of my time and I hadn’t been able to seek out that quick release that helped keep me sane.
Mostly sane, anyway. There were some things that even a quick screw couldn’t fix.
“Wow, that kid was good. I got goosebumps,” Richard spoke in a loud whisper, which pretty much defeated the purpose of whispering in the first place. “But Alan is up next and I think he can totally show that kid up.”
“I’m sure he will.”I highly doubt it.
Alan came out next playing the piano, but I don’t recall much from his performance. In comparison to Gabriel, everything else just seemed mediocre at best. Thankfully, Richard’s son was the last performer so the show ended quickly. I needed to get out of there. Pulling Richard aside, I thanked him for inviting me.
