Here is Riley's story and why he let Jasper wake up alone the morning after.

Thank you so much M-alice Slashlover for pre-reading and Sue273 for betaing. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.


Chapter 2

Riley POV

Music is pumping through my body making me feel like the bass is going to take over my heartbeat. I need to be alone, but there are people everywhere, making it hard for me to breathe. I usually enjoy hanging out at bars with my friends and go with the flow, but tonight I just can't seem to shake this feeling of uneasiness.

Pushing my way through the crowd, I find the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Feeling I can breathe again, I walk over to the sink and turn on the cold water. Some time alone. Maybe that's what I need. Living with my band in our apartment and then being on the road with them all summer, I haven't had a second to myself for a long time. On the other hand, it could be that I'm just tired. A two-month long summer tour is very exhausting.

Washing my face with cold water, I look into the mirror. The eyes looking back at me, I know they're mine, but they're different somehow. They remind me of marbles, my dark, brown pupils surrounded by white. They seem even bigger when I'm wearing eyeliner, like tonight.

I stare into my eyes, but it's as if they're far away. All I see is sky. Blue sky. Blue eyes in a beautiful face. He had the most expressive eyes I've ever seen. The way he looked down at me, full of amazement, eyes hooded with want, keeps coming back to me.

Determined that this is going to be the last time I think of him, I wonder why he hasn't called me. Doesn't he want to see me again? Am I getting a taste of my own medicine? I feel I should have done more to get to see him again. Not just put a note where I was so sure he would find it. Being on the road the whole summer with my band, with a couple of gigs every week, we haven't been home for two months, but maybe I could have found the time to go back to his house if I really had wanted it. Maybe he still would have been there. It would have been worth it, I just know it.

– O –

I'm used to waking up in a strange man's bed, all cottonmouth and wanting to get home as quickly as possible. Not necessarily because I regret what I did the night before, but because I want to move on. Waking up in Jasper's bed was very comfortable. His arms were around me, as I snuggled up against him, feeling his warm skin against mine. Breathing in his scent, I just wanted to lie here all day and not care about anything else.

The night before had been amazing. First, the kick off on our summer tour, then a big crowd came to listen to us play, and finally yet importantly, I met Jasper and had an amazing and intense night with him.

The band was so excited to be finally on their way. After our sound check, we had a few hours to spare before our gig, so we just hung out and listened to a couple of the other bands. One of them we had never heard of before and it turned out they were great. I especially liked the guitarist. It was a warm day and all the dancing made me thirsty. I looked around for a bar, finally spotting the long counter. Behind it stood a man talking to what appeared to be a child.

Walking up to him, I thought he looked kind of interesting with his black dyed hair in an unruly cut, a washed out Sonic Youth t-shirt and muscular arms. However, it was his face in particular that drew me in. He was beautiful.

I watched him gesturing animatedly to what turned out to be a very small woman. I heard him praising the guitarist with words I could have used myself and that piqued my interest even more. Not only was he good looking but also he recognized a great guitarist.

I could tell right away that he was attracted to me when his eyes slowly roamed over my face and chest. It was an easy decision to make that I was going do my very best to get him to go home with me that night.

The gig went smoothly and walking around afterwards, I heard music that caught my ear. It turned out to be a band that was perfect to come down from my high after playing. Dancing around for a bit, I couldn't believe my luck when I saw him there shirtless in his tight black jeans. He had his eyes closed, so I sneaked up behind him and pressed myself up against him.

The thought of the night before made my morning wood throb in my briefs. I let my hand wander over his smooth chest, but before I got any further a loud buzzing came from my cell phone, and I jumped up to take the call before it woke Jasper up. His dog was at my feet instantly and I brought him out with me to take the call.

"Hello," I whispered into the phone before I shut the door behind me.

"Where the hell are you, man?" James yelled into my ear. Oh, shit, we had a long drive ahead of us today and we had to leave as early as possible.

"Sorry, dude, I'm on my way. I'm just going to call a cab and I'll be there in half an hour." Looking down at my bare feet in the grass, I realized I was nearly naked outside in only my briefs. This was really a beautiful garden and as I looked around, I met the eyes of an old woman staring at me from the kitchen window in the main house.

I whistled for the dog and he came around the corner, followed me inside and went to his dog bed at once. Wrestling with my cargo pants, I frantically looked around for a pen and some paper. I didn't want to leave Jasper without giving him the opportunity to contact me again. Scribbling down my cell number, I added:

Jasper,

Here is my phone number. I'm leaving for a summer tour with my band right now, but please call me. I would very much like to see you again!

Riley

Scratching my head, I had no idea where to put the note. His table was full of mess after his hunt for condoms in the drawer last night. Knowing it had to be left somewhere I was sure he would find it, my eyes fell on his guitar case. He said last night that his guitar was his dearest possession. There my note would be safe.

Jasper was obviously a heavy sleeper, or he could just be exhausted from last night, because he hadn't moved at all since I woke up. Leaning down to his face, I kissed his forehead softly and he let out a small sigh as I straightened up and then closed the door after me.

– O –

I had grown up in a small town and, not liking football, it wasn't easy for me in my early teens. All of my friends seemed to have that single interest for a while. Add being gay and telling my few friends when I was fourteen to that mix and I soon had only one friend left.

Bree and I were inseparable the next few years. We both loved music and when I bought myself a guitar, she bought herself a bass and we practised together every day. When we turned sixteen and could drive, we soon found friends in the next small town with similar interests. Bree and I formed a band and soon we had Victoria on drums and James on vocal and rhythm guitar. Although James was terrible at playing guitar, he has gotten at lot better over the years, but the guitar was mainly for him to have something to hold on to, it's the vocals he's good at.

As soon as we finished high school, the four of us moved to the city, where we already knew many people and there had been a big music environment for a long time. It was such a freedom for me to be able to wear my more interesting clothes and, at the time, my mohawk but rarely get comments or hostile looks from strangers. Here you had to work hard if you wanted to stand out. Another big advantage for me was all the other gay men I met. It was like an endless supply and the first year I was with someone new as often as I could, but after a while, I calmed down a bit and I chose more carefully. This summer, I still could have been with someone new as often as I wanted, but I haven't felt like it for some reason.

The first thing we did when the four of us moved here was occupy an apartment in an abandoned building down by the water. Private companies wanted to make big money in the area and built fancy apartments for the rich a few years back. There are still a few of the old buildings left uninhabited. We felt this was wrong as long as there were many low-income families with children living in welfare shelters. The apartment we live in still has water and electricity and we actually manage to save money living like this. We don't know how long we'll be able to live here before they throw us out, though.

Over the two years we've been here, we've established many important contacts and a great support team and there's always a big crowd when we play concerts around here.

The four of us all volunteer or work for small wages at the culture center that has been established here in this condoned area a few years back and is run by social workers, volunteers and state funding. James works in the daycare center where parents can leave their kids while they make use of what's offered here or are themselves volunteering. Victoria is the health freak of our group and she has exercise classes for the elderly, but also works as an instructor at a fitness center.

Bree helps kids with their homework as well as running courses for immigrants in English and helping them fill out paperwork correctly. She mainly studies at the university though and that's where she met Diego. He comes from a rich family and could live wherever he wanted, but he's chosen to move in with us to live with Bree. He was with us in our old van all summer and helped us with our equipment at every gig. Diego has become a very important part of our group. He has long dreads and smokes hash from time to time. He's a vegetarian and most of the time he makes our dinner and holds courses in making vegetarian food at the culture center. His courses have become very popular, so now he actually is paid to hold them, but he gives the money to our band account, where we all contribute to the best of our ability.

I work at a music store where we specialize in Indy music, but every evening I volunteer in the basement at the center. There we have rooms where bands can practice and for those who don't have their own equipment, they can borrow what we have here. It's not the best that can be bought, but I take good care of it. What I spend most of my time doing is working in the studio helping bands produce their records, which makes the center a great deal of money because that part is not free.

That is where we made our EP this winter, which helped us this spring when we sent it out to bars and venues to get gigs for the summer. We have sold a few of them here at the center, at the music shop where I work and at our concerts, but we mainly made it to distribute. We're not interested in record companies with their rich people who want to be richer and tell us what to do, how to look and what to play. We want to do what we love, and that's playing our own music to those who wants to listen.

O –

After drying my hands on a paper towel, I take a deep breath and open the bathroom door. The noise hits me like a wall of sound. I feel a bit better now and I think I want to stay a little longer as it's still early in the evening. Pushing my way through the crowd, saying a hello here and nodding there, I get in line at the bar. Getting my beer, I go searching for Bree and Diego. Of course, I find them sitting with Bree in Diego's lap.

"Hey, Ry! Where the fuck have you been? We thought you'd gone home without telling us!" Bree shouts loud enough for me to hear her.

I feel a hand on my back and massive red hair is peering at me over my shoulder. "Are you all right? You look a bit pale. Maybe you haven't eaten enough today?" Victoria thinks that all problems can be solved with healthy food and exercise.

Behind her, James is holding her by her waist. I look down at his firm grip on her and shake my head. I don't want to talk to them about my feelings of loneliness. We're here to grab a few beers, mingle and relax. I'm the fifth wheel in our group as the four others are couples. I usually don't think about that, as I have preferred to keep my options open to hook up with whomever I want for the night. The others often tease me about it and calling me a man- whore, and maybe I used to be one.

This summer, I've missed someone to share my motel room with as the others pair up and call it a day. My thoughts have often drifted back to Jasper and our intense night. Lately it's him I think about in the shower when I take care of my morning wood and spill down the drain to him. His lips around my dick, when he sat between my legs and looked up at me with his clear blue eyes. And the look on his face, when I told him that I wanted to do what he wanted to do.

He obviously knew what he was doing, and when he said he wanted to be inside of me, I gladly let him, even though I'm usually the one to top.

I always think it tells a lot about someone's personality how they behave during sex. He was so attuned to the signals I sent him. I knew from our short time together that he was a sensitive and caring person, in addition to beautiful and sexy as hell. He was attractive to me, inside and out.

"I'm just tired. I think I'll go home soon," I shout to them. Victoria squeezes my shoulder and as I kiss her cheek, I recognize a few people in a group sitting at the table behind James. It's Sam, Jacob and a few others. I haven't talked to them since the festival and I want to thank them again for the opportunity. That concert gave us a lot of positive publicity.

I nod my head in their direction and the others turn to see them. As we walk over to them, I link my arm with Victoria's and lean my head on her shoulder. Jacob gets up when he sees us and shakes my hand.

"Hey, you're back! You're finally home from your summer tour. I heard it was a success," he says loudly with a big smile. These guys are about ten years older than we are and have been in the music business for a long time in this town. They know everybody you need to know here.

I put on my biggest smile for them and am about to give him the long tale as I look at the others sitting with him but my words become stuck in my throat.

It's Jasper!

Jasper is sitting here at the table with them and he's staring at me.

His hair is a bit longer and lighter from the summer sun and his skin has a golden glow to it. He's even more beautiful than I can remember. He looks so healthy, as if he spent the whole summer outside with his dog at the beach and not like me driving around the country in our old van, sleeping late and playing all night in bars.

Staring back at him with my mouth open, Victoria's hand is back at my shoulder and before I turn to face her, I see him frowning. I don't like him frowning at me. I want to see him smiling at me.

"Are you all right?" she asks me. Nodding slowly, I turn to Jasper again and swallow. I can do this. He's right here, I can find out why he didn't call me and maybe I can get him to go home with me tonight. This is not the right place to talk to him though. I don't want all these people to hear what I want to talk to him about and we need to be somewhere quieter. If he even wants to talk to me, that is.

I see him finishing his beer and yelling to Jacob and the rest of them that he's calling it a night. Jacob looks down at his watch and raises his eyebrows to him mouthing "What?"

"I have my first day at work tomorrow. You know that I was just meeting you guys for a beer," he tells him. This is my only opportunity and I have to grab it. Turning to my friends, I tell them that I don't feel so well after all and I'm just going to go home and get some sleep. We hug each other before I quickly follow Jasper outside.

He stands right outside the door putting his arm into his jacket and lifting the hood of his black sweater from underneath. When he's finished getting dressed, he turns to me and looks right at me. At once, I feel nervous and a bit intimidated. My hands start pulling at my hair and the confident me that wants to take him home with me tonight is gone.

"So," I start to say, but there is only one thing I really need to know. "Why didn't you call me?"

His eyebrows do that frowning thing again. I want to smooth it away.

"How do you expect me to call when I don't know your phone number?" he asks, still with the frown.

My confidence is slowly coming back to me with his words. "But I left you a note. Didn't you read it?"

"No. How can I read a note when it's not there?" He puts his hands in his jacket pockets. A knot in my stomach I hadn't realized was even there until now disappears at his words. Taking a small step against him, I feel a smile forming on my lips and I begin to chuckle.

"You didn't get my note! You said to me your guitar was your dearest possession so I put the note under its strings, in your guitar case. I thought it would be safe there."

"No. I woke up and you were gone. I never found a note in my guitar case, under its strings or anywhere in my cottage. Although I had my guitar at Esme's a lot this summer. I guess it could have got lost there. I had no way of contacting you. " He takes a small step in my direction.

"But you wanted to? To contact me, I mean?"

"Yeah, of course I wanted to see you again." He scratches his head and smiles his lopsided smile. "I've been looking for you all summer. I didn't know where you lived and lately I've thought that you must have been from out of town."

He had been looking for me all summer! He wanted to see me again! Maybe he wanted to come home with me tonight after all.

"So, you have been here all summer? In your cottage, I mean?"

"Yes, I spent a week volunteering at a renaissance fair, but other than that, I've helped Esme and Carlisle a lot with their garden. But you have been on a summer tour with your band, so it's not strange I haven't seen you around then," he tells me.

I smile at him. "Yeah, but now we're back. And we're going back to our regular work too."

"Great. Where do you work then?"

"I work at the record store during the day and evenings I volunteer at the culture center in the music department, where I'm in charge of co-coordinating the rehearsal rooms, but I mainly work in the studio," I tell him. He's hanging onto every word I say and seems interested.

"I don't know very much about the culture center," he says. "This is my hometown, but I have just moved back after my studies. There have been a lot of changes, even if many things are the same."

"Yeah, you told me you used to play in bands."

"Yes, I played in different bands while growing up here. You seem to know Sam and Jacob. I've played with them before."

"Then you might be interested in seeing the culture center? We've lived here for two years now and we've been volunteering there all this time. You should come and check it out. Maybe there's something for you to do there too? What exactly are you teaching?" He grabs my arm to stop me. I have so many questions for him. I want to know everything about him right now.

"Riley, I've got to get up early tomorrow, as I said. Your culture center sounds very interesting, but I'm just starting my job, and I have a lot of responsibility for the high school kids I'll be teaching. It's history by the way." He smiles at me. Oh, no, please don't let him turn me down. I want to know more about him.

He seems to sense my stress and squeezes my arm. "I'm not turning you down. I'm just trying to tell you that I have a job, and that is my first priority. I would love to come visit you at the center sometime when you're there though."

I let out the breath I've been holding and smile up at him. He comes closer and he leans down to whisper in my ear: "This time you're not getting away from me before I have your number on my cell and your address on a note in my wallet!"

– O –

One month later:

Esme POV

Glancing behind the curtain peering down at the busy street, I'm tapping the frame nervously until I feel his hand on my shoulder. At once, my hand stops tapping and I let out a sigh. Turning my head to my love, I see his face is full of wrinkles and his eyes so much paler than they used to be, but they're as dear to me as ever.

"Come and sit down and drink your coffee with me, sweetheart," he says to me softly. I follow him willingly to the table where I straighten the tablecloth before I sit.

"You know they will take really good care of it for you, right? This is what they do. They're professionals. You will just have to wait for a little bit longer, and then you'll be able to play again." He gives me a small smile, takes my hand with all the liver spots and thin, soft skin in his and strokes it with his thumb.

I love him as much as I always have and I would follow him to the end of the world if he wanted to go there. It doesn't matter to me that we had to sell the house we have spent all our grown up life together in. However, my piano I don't think I could live without.

"Why don't you do your warm up exercises for a bit, just to keep your fingers in shape?" He says to me as he takes a small bite of a cookie. He knows he shouldn't be eating those kinds of things with his diabetes, but I can't find it in my heart to lecture him on this now.

I walk as fast as I can to the door when finally the bell chimes. Two big, young men come panting inside with my piano followed by a small girl. I know this is Jane, the supervisor from the moving agency we hired.

I hold my hand close to my heart, watching them do their work, when my love embraces me and places a kiss softly in my hair. "It'll be alright, you'll see," he whispers as I lean my head on his chest.

They finally finish up without even a single complaint from me about the mud they dragged through our whole apartment. Feeling a tap at my shoulder, I'm surprised they're still here. Jane holds a small piece of paper in her little hand.

"By the way, we found this note with a phone number on it in your old house under the piano. It might be important," she says winking at me.


A/N: Thank you so much for reading!