Hard Wood by A R Steele

Author:A R Steele [Steele, A R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Gabriel’s legs shook as he scooped up his clothes and climbed off the stage. The exit was more graceful than the one he’d made the night before, even if it still lacked smoothness. He had been pretty surprised to see Ace sitting at the back of the room with Trenton. Ace had given up pretty much his entire night, including his tips, in order to help Gabriel in various ways. Silently, Gabriel vowed to repay him somehow.

Gabriel assumed Ace would stay as he met with Trenton again. Having Ace there would be like a buffer to protect him from Trenton’s bluntness. He just hoped Ace had approved of his performance.

But as soon as Gabriel was close enough to hear, Ace got up and excused himself. “I’ll let you two talk it out,” he said. “Good job, man.”

He touched Gabriel’s arm, the feeling of his fingers lingering for several seconds after they were gone. Why had he left? Did he know that Trenton hadn’t liked the performance? Or was it simply that he wanted them to have this discussion alone?

Gabriel refused to read into it too much. Sliding into the seat next to Trenton, Gabriel folded his hands in his lap. He tried to give him a smile, but his lips trembled and he gave up. He was too nervous to be polite. He desperately needed to know what Trenton had thought.

“So…” he started, trailing off when he realized he didn’t know what to say.

Trenton looked at him with an inscrutable expression. “Yeah,” he said.

He drummed his fingers on the table, the sound making Gabriel jump. The DJ announced that Cooper was taking the stage. Gabriel glanced up to see the guy wowing the crowd from the first few chords of the song. He winced, knowing that he hadn’t done that. But he had done well by the end, hadn’t he? He thought he had, but there was no way for him to know.

Trenton wasn’t going to make it easy for Gabriel, it seemed. He wasn’t offering anything. Gabriel was going to have to flat-out ask. “What did you think?” he said, his heart pounding. “Can I have the job?”

Now that the question was out, Trenton still wasn’t answering. The owner was silent for a moment, gazing up at Cooper on the stage. Finally he yawned, and Gabriel saw the fatigue that had made him want to go home early. “I’ll think about it,” he said. “I’ll make that decision in the morning.”

Well, shit. Gabriel had hoped for a better answer. At least a more conclusive one. This was almost worse than Trenton saying no. He was clearly on the fence, which meant Gabriel had close to a day to worry about it. Plus, somehow it would hurt more if he got the “no” tomorrow.

He kept his expression as neutral as possible. “All right,” he said. “Thank you for your time. Sleep well.”

Trenton glared at him, and he wondered if he had sucked up too much. He attempted another smile, which didn’t go too well.

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