Read Online Love on Stage by Neil Plakcy - Free Book Online

having dressed up.
    He walked up on them, and Miles turned and extended his hand. “Thanks, Gavin. I think this is going to be a great partnership.”
    Gavin liked the feel of Miles’s hand in his. His grip was strong, his fingers long, his nails clean and well-manicured.
    “What can I get you to drink?” Miles asked.
    “I’ll take a Cosmo,” Gavin said. As long as Miles was buying, he’d go upscale from his usual beer.
    They leaned against the bar, and Miles said, “I’ve been listening to ‘Apple Cider Time.’ Which one of the sisters is your grandmother?”
    “Frances,” Gavin said. “The lead.”
    “The mezzo,” Miles said. “Mezzo-soprano. That means her voice range is between the high notes of the soprano and the lower notes of the contralto. Her range is probably from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above.”
    Gavin was processing the music terminology as the bartender brought his Cosmo and a margarita rocks for Miles. They clinked their glasses together.
    “Aunt Ida sings the high notes, so that makes her the soprano, right?”
    “Exactly.”
    “And Aunt Myrtle is the contra-alto.”
    “It’s all one word. Contralto. Now you, you’re a baritone. That’s the most common type of male voice. You said you have two cousins who are going to sing too?”
    This wasn’t the way Gavin had expected the evening to play out. He had been hoping to get to know Miles more, but Miles was all business. He’d even pulled out a pocket notebook and begun taking notes.
    “My cousin Erica just graduated from music school, and she’s starting a master’s in opera in the fall. She says she’s a colorful soprano.”
    “Coloratura,” Miles said. “You’ve got to get these terms down, Gavin, if you’re going to sing professionally. Coloratura means she can do lots of tricks with her voice in the high register, trills and runs and so on.”
    Gavin nodded. “Yeah, she does that kind of thing when we sing together. Her senior performance was Tytania in the opera of A Midsummer Night’s Dream , and she killed it.”
    “And your other cousin?”
    “Archie is a bass, I know that. He sang with an a cappella group in college. It’s kind of funny, because he has pale skin and red hair, but he has this dark, almost wolfish tone to his voice. He does a lot of beat box stuff too.”
    He gave Miles the name of Archie’s college group and then answered a lot of questions about how the family sang together. “Grandma Frances wavers sometimes,” Gavin said. “It’s almost like she knows what she wants to sing, but her voice can’t keep up.”
    “That’s going to be tough with her singing lead,” Miles said. “In the recordings, the other two are always following her.”
    “Yeah, that’s what Erica said. She says I’m going to have to carry the melody.”
    “Sounds like we have a lot of work to do.” Miles picked up his glass and drained the last of his margarita. “Thanks for meeting me, Gavin. This is all useful information.” He stood up to leave. “Keep practicing those exercises, and we’ll be in touch once the dust settles on the contract.”
    “Wait.” Gavin stood up, close to Miles, and looked in his eyes. “I can’t do it,” he said, surprised at his own words. “I can’t spend so much time with you at Starlit Lake and not know what it’s like to kiss you.” He leaned forward and kissed Miles on the lips.
    There was an electric tingle as their lips met, and Gavin inhaled, sharing breath with Miles. Gavin was scared that Miles would pull back, the way he had when Gavin tried to suck on his fingers, but after only a brief hesitation, Miles was kissing him back, their lips pressing together. Gavin pulled Miles close, and Miles put his hands on Gavin’s back.
    Gavin opened his lips a bit more and met Miles’s tongue, and his body trembled. This felt so right, being in this man’s arms, kissing him. It was all he wanted, he realized. Just to be with Miles, to hold him and kiss