Excerpt: Music Left To Write

“I’m not going in there.”
Bryon looked at Julian and smiled. “Really? I thought you’d want to go in.”
Julian shook his head. “Bad idea.”
“Practice has been over for like half an hour,” Bryon shrugged. “Guys are coming out. I mean coming out of the locker room. I don’t think anyone’s naked anymore. But suit yourself. Stay out here.” Bryon gave Julian one last amused smile before disappearing into the boys locker room.
Julian blew a breath of air out through his teeth. He could already hear Johnny asking why he had to wait outside, that teasing laugh. He could already see Geoffrey’s wicked half grin that made his stomach do summersaults. Why did he choose to be around these people? Going in would be worse. He was sure of it.
“What’s taking you two so long?” Bryon was saying when Julian pushed through the door. The sight of the last few muscle men pulling on their shirts and zipping up their gym bags was accompanied by the heavy scent of sweat, body odor, and bad body spray. Julian thought he might start salivating and gagging at the same time. It wasn’t hard for him to find his friends three rows of lockers down. Johnny’s voice was booming back.
“Hey I’m almost ready. Geoffrey’s the one taking his time.”
Geoffrey smiled at Julian when he rounded the corner. He was definitely taking his time. Johnny was pulling his shirt over his head, leaving only his sneakers to be tied before he was ready to go. Geoffrey was in his boxers, toweling his hair. “I’m just not in a hurry today. Sorry.”
“The girls are hungry,” Bryon said. “They want to grab dinner before we head over to Elena’s house.”
“I’m starving,” Johnny said. The bench he sat on creaked under his bearlike mass. Football players were always starving.
Julian watched the line backer tie his shoes to avoid looking at Geoffrey. “Elena said if you guys weren’t ready in five minutes she and Robyn were leaving without you.”
“Elena isn’t the queen if the universe,” Geoffrey pointed out with a smirk. “She can wait.”
“Good luck telling her that,” Bryon said.
Johnny laughed.
Julian smiled and hazarded a look in Geoffrey’s direction. “I try not to argue with hungry females.”
Geoffrey laughed. “It’s great that she lets the band practice at her house but seriously, she doesn’t always get to call the shots.” He liked to rant about Elena and would happily admit that he really just liked talking about her because she was a hot piece of siñorita. And he took off as usual about how she was bossy and bitchy and how she had more sticks up her ass than he had freckles. Not likely really, he had a lot of freckles. You wouldn’t notice just how many on a first glance, but if you looked closer you would see that his skin was really made up of millions of tiny freckles so that his complexion was no one color. It was very interesting to look at. He had freckles on his lips. Freckles on his cheeks, freckles on his biceps, his triceps, freckles all over his hands. Freckles on his chest. Freckles on his defined stomach. He even had freckles all along the curves of his gorgeous hip muscles, that delicious little ‘V’ that disappeared into his boxer, leaving the imagination to fill in the rest. Julian imagined there were freckles there too.
“Julian,” Geoffrey said his name, and he had that wicked half smile. He tapped his freckled nose with a freckled finger. “I’m up here.”
Julian cursed his pale unfreckled skin. He knew he was turning red. Johnny was laughing, “There are showers in the back if you need a cold one, Julian.” Bryon scoffed, “You guys are such assholes.” And Geoffrey was just smiling at him.
Julian shook his head. “I’ll be outside,” he said, turning to leave.
“Hey wait,” Geoffrey said. “It’s okay. You can ogle me if you want. I do resemble a Greek god.” He flexed his arms.
“You look more like a giraffe really.”
“Shut up Johnny.” Geoffrey threw his towel at Johnny. “Seriously though. I get that you’re attracted to me. It doesn’t bother me.”
Why the hell had he come in here? For some reason Julian though he might leave with some dignity if he said, “I’m not attracted to you.”
But Geoffrey laughed at that. “Like hell you aren’t. Do you believe that Johnny? Julian says he’s not attracted to me.”
“Well why would he be attracted to such an asshole?” Bryon put in.
Julian just rolled his eyes and started to walk away. He was completely taken off guard when Geoffrey covered the distance between them and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “You don’t have to go,” he said. “I told you I didn’t mind.”
Julian took a deep breath. “Please let go of me.” He pulled at Geoffrey’s arms put the redhead did remotely resemble a Greek god and his arms did not yield.
“Why?” Geoffrey laughed. “Does this bother you?”
Julian closed his eyes. “Yes. It does.”
Geoffrey dropped a hand to Julian’s stomach. “Why does it bother you if you aren’t attracted to me?”
“Just let me go.”
“Just admit it Julian.” Geoffrey bent his head down and he kissed Julian’s neck, the bastard had the nerve to kiss his neck. “Admit it and I’ll let you go.”
Bryon and Johnny added some sort of commentary but Julian wasn’t paying attention to them. “I hate you Geoffrey.”
Geoffrey took hold of his hand and turned him around. He placed Julian’s hand on his sculpted chest and pressed him back against the nearest locker. “You hate me but…” And he was moving closer. His usual scent was mixed with shampoo and Old Spice. He pushed his hips against Julian’s and traced his fingers along Julian’s stomach just under the hem of his shirt. “Say it,” he breathed. Julian could taste his breath he was so close. Their noses touched.
Julian couldn’t breathe. He closed his eyes and he leaned forward to kiss Geoffrey. But Geoffrey leaned back pulling away from him, and when Julian opened his eyes it was to see that wicked half grin that made his stomach do summersaults. Geoffrey tousled his hair and said, “That’s what I thought,” with a wink.
Julian knew he was turning red again but this time it was with a silent rage that he knew would be amusing to Geoffrey. He swallowed hard and he slipped away down the rows of lockers and to the unsoiled air outside the locker room. As he pushed through the door he heard Bryon swearing and Johnny laughing.