He sat back down on the sofa and stared at the check again. The idea was good, but it didn’t help his present problem. Maybe he could use some of the money to get his new career on track. He would still have to stay away from Eli until he could prove to Mr. Coleman that he was worthy. No. Eli wouldn’t understand. Dimitri sighed. He didn’t know what in the hell he was going to do. But he had to make a decision soon.
* * * *
Eli dialed Dimitri’s number. It rang a couple of times and then it went to voice mail. He wasn’t surprised. It had been doing the same thing for the last month or so. Damn him. Coward. Dimitri could have at least told him good-bye to his face. Well, he wasn’t going out that way. If he wanted to be a bastard, so be it. He was tired of sitting around in his apartment, moping about some man. He was young, rich, fairly good-looking, and it was a Saturday afternoon. He reached for his cell phone again, surfed through his contact list and dialed a number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Randall. It’s Eli. What are you doing?”
“Nothing much,” Randall said. “Why?”
“Would you like to go to a festival with me this evening?” He wouldn’t be surprised if Randall hung the phone up in his ear since he hadn’t hung out with him in a long time.
“What type of festival?”
“A music festival. There’s one in Lafreniere Park featuring a lot of good bands. There’ll be some classical performances too.”
“Sure,” Randall answered. “What time?”
“Can you be ready in an hour?”
Randall chuckled. “That depends on if I can get my hair to cooperate.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour then. And wear something comfortable. We’ll probably have to sit on the ground or something.”
“Will do. See you in an hour,” Randall replied. “Just honk and I’ll come out.” He hung up.
“Yes,” Eli said excitedly. He’d made a date with Randall. Eli hurried out of the music room and ran up the stairs to find something to wear. After finding the perfect outfit, Eli took a shower, dressed, and then dashed out of the apartment. He hopped into his car and drove over to pick up his date for the evening. There were a lot of cars parked outside of Randall’s Garden District home when he drove up.
Eli blew his horn and Randall came out of the house a couple minutes later dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt with Sebastian from the anime Black Butler sprawled across his chest.
Eli smirked. Randall could be Sebastian’s double with the long black hair, slim build and piercing, blue eyes. Why hadn’t he noticed Randall’s androgynous look before?
Randall slipped into the passenger’s seat and strapped the seat belt across his shoulders. “I’m glad you called. Some of my mother’s friends just arrived, and they’re gabbing and trying to fix me up with their daughters.”
Eli chuckled and drove off. Randall’s mother, like his, was always involved in some charity function or another. His father was the CEO
of a major engineering firm, and like him, Randall was also an only child. “Cute shirt.”
“I just got it in the mail yesterday,” Randall boasted. “You can’t find any great anime stuff in New Orleans. It’s all Saints, jazz, and Mardi Gras. Downer.”
“You’re a trip,” Eli teased as he drove. He liked anime too. He’d seen a couple of the Black Butler episodes but never got back to the series. Maybe he’d invite Randall over to his place next weekend and they’d make popcorn and watch a lot of anime.
“What possessed you to call me out of the blue? Your other friends busy?”
“What other friends?” Eli asked. He hadn’t heard from any of those losers in weeks.
“Justin and Henry,” Randall answered.
Eli noticed that Randall didn’t mention Trey. Randall never liked Trey for some reason. Maybe Eli should have listened to Randall.
“Oh, those friends. I haven’t seen them since we graduated and besides, none of them are interested in music.”
“Oh,” Randall said.
“Anyway, you were the first one I thought of though.”
“I was?” Randall asked, surprised.
“Sure. You’re my music buddy and I’ve always wanted to spend some time with you away from Mr. Dubisson’s like we used to do when we were younger.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Eli said, peeping over at Randall when he stopped for a red light.
Randall’s eyes twinkled. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”
“And you just noticed. I got contacts,” Randall said. “What do you think?”
Eli studied Randall’s eyes and got the strangest sensation in his balls. They tightened and pulled. He gulped. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to be alone with Randall after all. “They’re nice.” Too nice.
“I always thought you had beautiful eyes and the best damn hair. If I let mine grow that long I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
“My mother has a fit every time I threaten to cut it,” Randall told him. “I think she was a little disappointed that I wasn’t a girl.” The light turned green and Eli drove toward the park. Cars lined the avenue and the neutral grounds. He drove into one of the parking lots and he and Randall got out. The band on stage filled the air with music. By the time they made it to the bandstand area, people were dancing around the stage and on the grassy area, while others barbecued and picnicked.
“Wow,” Randall said. “Look at all the people.” He took Eli’s hand and dragged him close to the stage. Of course they had to hop over a lot of squatters and picnickers to do it. “It’s Brussels,” Randall shouted excitedly.
“Brussels?” Eli asked.
“Man, where have you been? Brussels is one of the hottest indie bands in California.”
“Obviously under a rock,” Eli said, finding Randall’s excitement cute. He’d just turned eighteen two weeks ago, but Randall still had that little boy charm and enthusiasm.
“Let’s dance,” Randall said.
Eli looked at him
