Page 64 of Counterpoint
As they walked through the Met’s Great Hall, Adrian had that quickening of breath he got whenever he visited a museum. This one topped his list. The Met had art and history—and he was here holding the hand of Dominic Bradley, with his flushed cheeks and a smile Adrian wanted to kiss forever.
This moment, right here, was giddy and full. The seed of deep love. Tantalizing. But calm and sweet. It took everything Adrian had not to get his hopes up yet.
They’d seen each other every weekend since that first one, and a few weeknights, too. More and more, Adrian learned about Dominic, and his childhood in New Jersey. He’d gotten a degree in history with a minor in music from Montclair State University, which explained his familiarity with New York City.
In return, Adrian shared pieces of his own life, beyond the tangled mess of his return to New York. Pieces of his childhood in Brooklyn. His parents’ reaction to his interest in more than just women. His running with his neighborhood crew until college in Buffalo. How hard it’d been to move to a place where he’d needed to learn to drive and own a car. And hadn’t that blown Dominic’s mind, that Adrian hadn’t bothered to get his license until well after he turned eighteen.
Being at the university had also been less diverse in many ways.
Adrian glanced around as they stood in line to get entrance tickets. Not so true here. Many different skin tones. So many languages. Sure, some were tourists, but not everyone. It felt more like home than anywhere else had. And people had the gall to say New Yorkers lived in a bubble?
“Are you staying?” The question came unbidden to Adrian’s lips. “Here in New York? For good?”
There was a hint of confusion in Dominic’s face as he replied, “Yeah. I bought a house here. I mean, I’m gonna travel some.” He got that faraway look again. “Sometimes the band—” He shrugged, and the brilliant smile returned. “Thisis my home. I love it here.”
That was one of the other things Dominic never touched on—how aguitaristfor this band he was in could afford to buy a place in Brooklyn. But Adrian let the thought slide away. Dominic would tell him in time, would open those doors to whatever it was he wasn’t sharing. After all, Adrian had said that was fine, that some secrets could be kept.
He would live with that. Or it would grate on him too much eventually—and they’d go their separate ways. Though right now it pained him horribly to consider it, there was still that option.
He needed a partner who trusted him, and suspected Dominic needed that, as well. That took time, but at some point, it also meant Dominic opening the doors to the secrets about his career, the one he loved so much.
Dominic gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m not going anywhere for a while.”
Adrian brought the back of Dominic’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Good. I like having you here.”
And he fucking loved that smile and the light in those eyes.
When they reached the front of the line, they showed their New York IDs, but paid a little more than the recommended donation amount for the entrance fee anyway, since they could both afford it. Dominic handed over his card before Adrian could. When he started to complain, Dominic held up his hands. “Hey, this is me dragging you to see old instruments. I’ll pay. I know this isn’t really your thing.”
“Well, I do get to see you obsess all over something you love. I’d be happy to pay for that privilege. Plus, there’s the rest of the museum, and plenty of things I’d love to see again, too.” There were tons of galleries Adrian had loved as a child, and no trip was ever complete without a stop to see the Egyptian temple in the Sackler Wing.
“Whatever you say.” Dominic winked, then took his card back from the cashier and got their stickers for admission. They paused long enough to put the stickers on, then headed to the tour sign to wait for the guide.
“I’ve never done one of these tours,” Adrian said. “Not since I was a kid. And those were mandatory pains in the ass.”
“I loved going to museums as a kid, especially the ones here in the city.” Dominic almost looked heartbroken at Adrian’s words. “Field trips were thebest.”
“Oh, I loved them, too, but I wanted to explore and go to my favorite exhibits, not be dragged around for educational purposes. I suppose I’ve never been very good at being a follower.”
Dominic’s lips twitched, but he said nothing.
“What?” He nudged Dominic. “Out with it.”
Dominic looked up at the vaulted ceilings, his mouth still curved into that quirky smile. “Well, on the one hand, you can be passionately domineering, challenging, and you often forge ahead...”
There was definitely another part to that. “But on the other hand?”
Dominic dropped his gaze from the ceiling to stare at Adrian. “You work as a computer programmer for a bank.”
Touché. And for some reason, one of the very first questions Dominic had ever asked Adrian tumbled through his mind again. Did helikehis job?Well enoughhad been his answer. That was still true...and Dominic had pegged it for exactly what it was: a passive and safe position. “It’s computer engineer, and technically, it’s a financial services institution.”
Dominic’s lips lost their upward curve, and he looked down.
No, no, that wouldn’t do. Not for the truth. He raised Dominic’s hand again and pressed his lips to it once more. “But you’re right. In some things I’m fine with following. And it is a bank, and I do program.”
The smile didn’t return, but Dominic did meet his gaze. “You’re so passionate about everything else. Your house, your books. I think you’re passionate about your programming, too. It’s just that when you do talk about your job, other than the people you enjoy and the challenges you overcome...”
“It’s not with the same intensity?”
