Blue-Eyed Soul (6 page)

Still, Aleks was keeping him at arm's length. They'd spent most of dinner the other night talking about very general things, nothing personal, and Remey had taken off shortly afterward. It had been pretty clear Aleks felt like he'd done his duty and that was that. Remey wasn't satisfied, which was why he was bundled up to his ears on a chilly Wednesday afternoon, sitting in on the marching band practice.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Remey climbed the steps up into the bleachers, smiling as he listened to the band warming up on the field. He'd never been in marching band himself, but it was familiar anyway. Choosing a seat in the fifth row, he fiddled with his keys as he sat down, hissing a little as the chill seeped right through his clothes. It was going to take some getting used to, for sure. He'd never lived anywhere this cold.

Scanning the field, he spotted Aleks, towering over most of the kids, his head bent as he talked with one of them, a wisp of a girl who barely came up past his elbow. Remey was too far away to hear them, but he could see the smile she gave Aleks after he waved her back onto the field. Leaning back on his elbows, Remey squirmed as a few faces turned his way.
Oh, boy.
He had hoped there'd be more of a crowd, so he'd blend in, but it was done now and he could see the kids whispering to each other, gesturing in his direction. Remey winced a little. Aleks was not going to be happy when he realized they were distracted and less happy when he realized why.

He watched as Aleks jogged out onto the field, guiding groups into different positions on the field. Finally, he appeared satisfied. "Okay, everybody know what they're doing?" he shouted, glancing around.

Remey bit back a giggle because apparently not. The group of girls in the center--the color guard based on the flags they carried--were gathered in a little circle with their phones out as they giggled together.

It was like a ripple effect and it wasn't until one of the other students pointed at the bleachers, at Remey, that Remey realized what was going on. Aleks realized it at the same time, turning to pin Remey with a look.
Oops.
He hadn't meant to disturb.

Damn it.
Remey gave Aleks a sheepish shrug, hoping he wasn't mad. That was all Remey needed, tweets from the students guiding the paparazzi to the school like a freaking beacon lit path. He'd actually managed to sneak past them for once.

"Girls, put those phones away! No tweeting during practice." Aleks jogged back to the sidelines and up onto the small riser, where the kids could see him and he could see their choreography. "Pay attention, guys. We have a game on Friday!" Aleks cast a look over his shoulder, meeting Remey's gaze briefly. "No distractions!"

Remey winced, hunching his shoulders under his pea coat and hoodie. He wondered if maybe this had been a bad idea since Aleks seemed more annoyed by his presence than anything else. Then again, Aleks always seemed faintly annoyed by Remey being around, so it wasn't anything new. If he was ever not going to be annoyed by it, Remey was going to have to be around Aleks as often as possible. Plus, it was kind of funny to watch him huff and grumble.

After a moment, the band settled down, and Remey watched intently as Aleks directed them. He was good at his job. The kids were watching him for their cues and all the whispering, giggling and pointing had stopped. When they started playing, Remey tilted his head to one side, trying to place the song. It took him a minute, but once the flutes came in, he recognized it and covered his mouth with one hand to keep from laughing aloud.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised Aleks was the sort of teacher who'd re-arrange a Katy Perry song for marching band. It was something new and different, and it was guaranteed to keep the kids interested and invested. Definite point in Aleks's favor, Remey mused, grinning as he watched the band fan out into formation on the football field. They're pretty good, Remey thought, for a high school band. He could hear a bum note here and there, and some of them lost step with their band mates occasionally, but still, they were good, and Remey felt sure by the time practice was over, there wouldn't be any bad notes or missteps. Aleks would make sure of it.

When the song was over, he barely resisted the urge to clap, instead slipping out his phone and answering an e-mail from his mom, while Aleks gave the kids instructions from his platform. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already had.

Aleks waved his hand to get them to stop, shaking his head. "It was good, but drum line, you have to remember we changed your positions. You guys should be way down here at the front at the end of the second chorus, remember?"

Remey glanced up and laughed when the guys sheepishly raced into position.

"Well, fat lot of good it does now." Aleks laughed. "Just keep the new positions in mind next time. You're down here now." Then Aleks glanced back up at the bleachers and Remey. "Let's take a quick break, get something to drink and be ready to go again in ten."

He stepped off the riser and strode for the stands, and Remey straightened, butterflies breaking out in his stomach.
Oh boy.
Once he was nearly there, Remey gave him a bright smile. "Hey!" he chirped, aware he sounded entirely too cheerful. "It looks great." Remey gestured to the field.

Aleks pressed his lips together, arms crossing over his chest as he stood one row down from Remey so they were about eye level. "What are you doing here?"

Remey maintained his smile, adjusting his scarf a bit. "I needed the fresh air?"

Aleks arched a brow.

Remey laughed. "Alright, fine. You didn't answer my message and your e-mail left something to be desired, so I thought I'd come see you in person." He tried for his best endearing smile. "So... hi!"

Aleks gave him a long-suffering look, and Remey shrugged, smiling up at him. He wasn't going to let himself be intimidated by the fact Aleks was about a foot taller than him and acted like Remey was some annoying gnat he longed to swat away. Remey wanted them to get along at the very least, if not be friends... or more.

"Hi, yourself," Aleks said after a few beats of silence, and Remey's smile widened. "You didn't have to come all the way out here in the cold just to say hello, you know."

Remey bit his lip and glanced down, fiddling with the trailing ends of his scarf before he looked up and met Aleks's eyes again. "Well, I know I didn't
have
to. But I wanted to. Besides, I'm having fun. They sound pretty good. I might've been more interested in joining marching band in high school if our band director had done pop music." He considered mentioning he'd simply wanted to see Aleks again, but he didn't think it would get him anywhere,

Aleks lifted a brow. "Do you actually play a band instrument?"

Remey shook his head. "No, but I could've learned. I've always wanted to learn the saxophone, actually. But I thought band was boring, so I stuck with orchestra, which was possibly even dorkier than marching band. Do you play any instruments?" It was obvious Aleks knew and loved music, that it was important to him, and Remey wondered if maybe Aleks had tried to have a musical career of his own, if maybe it hadn't worked out and that was another reason he'd come back to Haven after living in New York for so long.

Aleks glanced down at the field, as if gauging whether or not he could take a few minutes to talk. Remey hoped so. The kids were all gathered around a table on the sideline, where the very nice couple who owned the café near his house had hot chocolate urns set up to keep everybody warm.

Aleks must have decided he had a few because he shifted up a step and sat next to Remey.

"I do, actually. I play piano."

Remey beamed at him. "Really? I play piano. It's my favorite next to the guitar."

Aleks nodded. "I dabble a little with sax and trumpet, but I'm not very good. Only good enough to occasionally back up singers at the club if I needed to, pretty much."

Interest perked in Remey. "So you've been on stage before? I never would have guessed. You seem like you hate the spotlight or something. Did you ever think about pursuing a--"

"No." Aleks's voice was curt, and Remey stilled instantly.

"Oh. Sorry." He'd put his foot in it again. How did that keep happening? Normally, he was good talking to people. He did enough damn interviews.

Aleks looked guilty and shook his head. "No, it's fine. You didn't know." He shrugged. "It's kind of a touchy subject, that's all. I don't play much of anything anymore, though, so it's mostly moot."

Remey was dying to know why, but he was sure asking would only prompt Aleks to back away from him again, literally and figuratively. "I've been thinking about getting a piano for the house. I have a keyboard, but it's not the same." He slid a glance over to Aleks. "Maybe you could tell me where I should look."

Aleks shrugged. "Carl's your best bet. He's got a couple in stock, and if you're looking for something different, he could probably special-order it for you. Why don't you have a piano, if you play?"

"I never got around to getting one for the place I have in L.A. In truth, I never got around to getting a lot of things, mostly because I wasn't there enough to have any use for it." Remey paused, then glanced over at Aleks, trying to judge his mood. He wanted to ask Aleks to go someplace with him, even if it was just to the little café across from the town square Remey had already fallen in love with, but Remey figured he probably had to pick Willow up as soon as practice was over. He'd never dated anyone who had kids before... not that he was dating Aleks. But, oh, he wanted to be.

"It couldn't have felt much like a home," Aleks commented, and Remey shook his head.

"No, not really. But it's part of the reason why I bought a house here... it feels so much more like home than L.A. ever did. I'm not a city boy at all." Remey tilted his head at Aleks, curious. "Do you really not play at all, ever? I mean... I know I couldn't stop playing, unless someone cut my hands off at the wrists. I get the impression you love music as much as I do and... well, I'd like to hear you play, if I could."

Aleks shook his head, glancing down at the field again. "I play sometimes. I don't have a lot of time for it. You get rusty, you know, and I don't enjoy playing as much when I'm making mistakes left and right." He cut Remey a sideways smile. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist and control freak, in case you haven't noticed."

Remey laughed and nodded. "Maybe a little. That's okay. I'm with you on the perfectionist thing. You kind of have to be in my industry, you know? Over and over and over recording the same line of a song until you get it exactly right, then doing the same thing with the next and the next. I never mind, though, because I want it to be perfect."

"Well, you apparently do a good job because the kids are nuts for you. I'm amazed I managed to get them through a whole run-through of the song with you sitting here watching."

Remey cringed in guilt. "I'm sorry, I should leave. I didn't think... Well, I mean, I did, but not about that. I figured I could kind of blend in, but there isn't anyone else here watching." Remey smiled sheepishly. "I guess I thought there'd be parents or something." He stood, shaking his head. "I'll get out of here, then..."

Aleks wasn't making it easy for him to leave, though, because when Remey glanced down at him, Aleks's gaze was locked on Remey's ass. And Aleks kind of shifted on the bleacher like... well, like his jeans were suddenly too tight. Remey couldn't help the way his ego puffed up.

Finally, Aleks glanced up to meet Remey's gaze. "No. Stay. The kids are excited, but they could use the practice, performing under pressure and all that, right? They do tend to get jittery and lose concentration on game days, so maybe having you here will give them a little practice." He glanced over toward the parking lot, then shrugged. "And it seems the paparazzi are on break or something cause they haven't swarmed the place." He stood up and put a hand on Remey's shoulder. "Stay. I didn't mean to suggest you had to leave."

Remey glanced at Aleks's hand resting lightly on his shoulder, then back up to meet Aleks's eyes. Having Aleks so close was seriously scrambling his thoughts, but he made himself focus, nodding after a long moment. "Okay. I'll hang out 'til you're done." Remey couldn't deny he was hoping Aleks wouldn't have to rush right off when practice was over. He wanted to talk to him more, to prove to Aleks he wasn't some Hollywood jackass.

Remey acknowledged he probably wouldn't be so bothered by Aleks not liking him if he didn't like Aleks so much. Sure, Aleks said it was the paparazzi that bothered him, but Remey wasn't entirely sure he was being honest, not with the way Aleks seemed so determined to keep him at arm's length, to only let him come so close. The attraction between them was definitely mutual, but Remey felt like there could be something more, even if the more was only friendship. He had a feeling if they ever sat down to talk, they'd find they had a lot in common.

"Good. I should get back down there and make them work some more." Aleks offered him a small smile, and Remey's heart thumped heavily in his chest. He felt like a teenager with a crush.

"Go on. I'll hang out up here and do my best intimidating impersonation."

Aleks laughed, and Remey felt his cheeks flush, heat spreading despite the cold.

"You? Intimidating? What funhouse mirror did you look in this morning?"

Remey smiled, sitting back down and tucking his hands into his pockets. "Hey, it was a thought. I guess I can only have one brilliant idea a day."

Aleks grinned as he backed down the steps. "What was your first one today?"

Remey grinned back, stomach flipping at the flirtatiousness in Aleks's tone and smile. "Coming to see you."

And
now
Remey wanted to kiss him. Like he wanted to take another breath.
Fuck.
Aleks looked like he felt the same way, kind of, but then seemed to realize where they were and shook his head with a smile before turning to jog down the rest of the steps.

Remey admitted he didn't pay any attention to the kids for the rest of practice. It was as if he could still feel Aleks's eyes on him.