Read (Blue Notes 2)The Melody Thief for Free Online Page B

dinner the night before. Still, he would have been happy to eat more of Antonio’s food, as awful as it had been, if only to have another shot at the man.
    After giving up on his dinner, Cary decided to give practicing a try. He had barely managed to tighten the bow when his wrist started to ache. For an hour, he did exercises for his bow arm, then finally gave up and put the instrument away.
     
     
    “ T HIS is Aiden Lind. I can’t talk right now. Leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you. ”
    “Hey, Aiden. It’s Cary. You in town anytime soon?” He didn’t want to sound desperate, but he was pretty sure he would go stir crazy without being able to practice. At least with Aiden in town, he’d have some company for his misery. “Georges said David’s in town, and I remember you saying you had a gig at La Scala for the opening in December. So I thought maybe—”
    The phone beeped, cutting him off.
    “Shit.” Cary sat back down on the couch, wishing Aiden had moved to Milan, as he had once threatened to do.
    Aiden had been Cary’s best friend ever since David Somers, the music director of the Chicago Symphony, had introduced them five years before. Back then, Cary was pretty sure David had hoped Aiden and Cary might become more than friends and that Aiden might help Cary find some stability in his life. But between Aiden’s traveling for his operatic career and Cary’s lack of interest in a long-term relationship, the two men had instead settled into a comfortable friendship.
    Cary glanced up at the clock. Thirty minutes had passed since he’d last checked it.
    Fuck.
    On a normal Monday, he’d have spent the entire day practicing, taking breaks to lift weights and do a few hundred sit-ups. If he didn’t have a rehearsal the next morning, he’d head for the bars. Even now, he felt it: the overwhelming urge to leave the confines of the apartment, have a few more drinks, and find a partner to satisfy his need. Get fucked, maybe. Or maybe just get off. It didn’t really matter. Either one would do.
    He needed to get out and blow off steam. He didn’t have the energy for via Padova and the bar scene tonight, but he knew a park only a few subway stops away that would do just as well. After downing another drink, his fourth that day, he stopped fighting the urge. He didn’t even bother to change his clothes—Antonio’s clothes, really. He just shoved a few condoms into his pocket, threw on his jacket, grabbed his keys and some cash, and he was out the door.
    It was far colder than three nights before, but the frigid air did nothing to dampen Cary’s anticipation. The subway was bright and relatively clean, in stark contrast to the dimly lit and slightly seedy park. It always struck Cary as ironic that the park abutted a tiny church. By day, children played as their parents looked on. At night, hustlers did a brisk business.
    The last time he’d come here, he fucked a pretty kid behind a large tree. Tonight, he just wanted to get fucked. His body thrummed with need: the raw, demanding kind that could only be satisfied by having a hard dick in his ass. No lube—he needed to feel the burn. He was half-hard already, just in anticipation.
    He thought of Antonio and just as quickly pushed the image away. He didn’t need a perfect man, just someone to satisfy him. And it was a hell of a lot easier like that, wasn’t it?
    “Can I help you, signore?” The kid was young, but not too young. Twenty-three, he guessed. Tall, attractive, with wavy dark hair, he wore a T-shirt at least a size too small, his jacket open so Cary could see the outline of the kid’s nipples through the fabric.
    When Cary didn’t answer, the newcomer licked his lips suggestively and indicated the small maintenance shed a few yards away, then sauntered over to it. Cary followed as he watched the too-tight jeans and the tempting ass they outlined.
    Oh yeah, this was what he needed. Forget the uptight lawyer with the perfect life, his