Love on Stage by Neil Plakcy

Author:Neil Plakcy [Plakcy, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBT, Contemporary
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2014-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Nobody Rides for Free

Archie went to the bank Friday, but Miles worked with the grannies all morning, focusing on ways they could overcome their individual difficulties. Gavin and Erica swam in the lake, and then after lunch, they spent a couple of hours with Miles in his makeshift studio, focusing on phrasing and breath control.

Around three thirty, Miles said, “I’m going to take off for that Zumba class.” He looked at Gavin. “You still want to come with me? It’s going to be tough.”

“Ha,” Gavin said. “I laugh at Zumba. Bring it on.”

Erica laughed, and Miles said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You want to come, Erica?”

“Not in this life,” she said. “But you boys have fun.”

“All right, Gavin,” Miles said. “Get your stuff and meet me out back in fifteen minutes.”

Gavin went upstairs to pick out the perfect workout clothes. He’d done a couple of Zumba classes in Miami. It was a fast-paced, dance-based exercise routine, more suitable for Latinos like his roommate Manny, who could swivel his hips like nobody’s business. But he was determined to show Miles that he could work out as hard as anybody, because he kept feeling he had to prove that he had what it took to be successful.

He knew he’d need maximum flexibility—while still taking the opportunity to show off his body. He settled for a scooped-neck white muscle T that clung to his chest and bright red nylon shorts that were slit almost all the way up to the waist. Miles was waiting by his car, wearing loose drawstring shorts and another rock concert T-shirt, though this one was too big and camouflaged his awesome chest. Had Miles been fat at one point, he wondered. And then he’d bulked up his chest? Maybe that’s why so many of his clothes were either loose or tight.

“What kind of class is this?” Gavin asked as he opened the door to Miles’s SUV. “Step? Toning?” He knew he was showing off but couldn’t help it.

“Basic Zumba, I think,” Miles said. “You know where the VFW Hall is in Eau Claire?”

“Yeah, it’s not far from my father’s dealership.” Gavin pulled one long, tanned leg up close to him, then rested it on the dashboard.

Somewhere on the highway, Miles asked, “You lived up here all your life?”

“In Eau Claire,” Gavin said. “We only used to come up to Starlit Lake during the summer.” He turned to Miles. “How about you? Always in Miami?”

“Uh-huh. When I was a kid, my parents bought a little ranch for my grandparents, back in Guatemala. My mom and I went down there for a couple of weeks most summers.”

“Is your family there musical?”

Miles nodded. “Kind of like yours, except everybody joins in, either singing or playing an instrument or dancing. And the music is very diverse—way more than Anglos think. Sure, we have salsa and merengue, but Guatemala was one of the first regions in the new world to be exposed to European classical music.”

Gavin sat back and listened as Miles talked about the different kinds of music he had played as a kid.

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