Jock Next Bed (BL)-Chapter 249: Party time (4)

Sky blinked at the sudden topic change. "Uh... why?"

"Would you like to...?" Chris tried to make his voice light, casual. "You know? Show off a bit?"

Sky’s eyes widened in alarm. "You... want me to play... the piano... here?" He looked around at the crowd of CEOs and politicians and literal government officials. "This place with all these people?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Why?!"

"Because you’re talented? You’ve even written songs. I think it would be fun. Also..." Chris hesitated. "I want to show everyone another reason I think you’re perfect."

Sky chewed his lip, clearly torn between being flattered and being terrified.

"Come on," Chris said, deploying the puppy eyes he knew Sky couldn’t resist.

"No. These guys have definitely heard better musical pieces in their lives and that lady over there plays so well..."

"Nothing is better than yours."

Sky snorted. "You’ve never heard me play a piano before and I’m more of a guitar guy..."

Chris was not letting go. "Please, baby..."

Sky looked like he was cringing. "This is... stupid."

"For me?" Chris widened his eyes further, batting his lashes.

"No."

"Pleaseeee—"

"Is that even allowed? They are all probably having important conversations and my going there would just be a distraction..." Sky was trying to make him see reason, but Chris could see he was already weakening, could see the moment his resolve started to crack.

He liked knowing this. That he had the power to make Sky do his bidding. Damn. He didn’t know if it was wrong to even like that so much.

"Anything is allowed here," Chris said, trying not to sound too smug about his impending victory. "It’s my parents’ party. In their house. Pretty sure we can use their piano. And that dude needs a break. Also, if anyone is having a serious conversation, maybe it’s time for a break. This is a party, not a board meeting."

Sky groaned, closing his eyes. "I hate you."

"Liar."

Chris could see the smile tugging at Sky’s lips, could see that he was going to agree. "Don’t worry. I’ll be right there with you the whole time." Chris assured him.

After a long pause, more puppy eyes, and what Chris was pretty sure was Sky muttering something about "stupid faces," Sky finally groaned in defeat.

Chris had to restrain himself from doing a victory dance. The expression on his face must have been insufferably smug because Sky laughed despite himself.

"You’re just..." Sky could not even find the right words.

"And you’re perfect," Chris said, taking Sky’s hand and leading him toward the piano.

As they approached, Chris caught Wilson’s eye across the room. His best friend looked confused at first, then intrigued when he saw where they were heading. Chris mouthed "piano" and gestured to Sky. Wilson’s face lit up with delight and he gave an enthusiastic thumbs up that would have made Chris laugh if he couldn’t feel how nervous Sky was. Wilson would always support whatever ideas he had whether it was lame. And if it blew up, they laughed their asses off together and move on. He loved that guy.

The piano was positioned so that whoever played would be visible from most angles of the ballroom.

Sky stared at it like it might bite him while Chris spoke to the pianist who engaged in a conversation with him while still playing. She looked back and smiled at Sky before she nodded and slowly ended her piece then got up. The silence from the piano caught a few person’s attention.

"Second thoughts?" Chris asked Sky quietly.

"So many thoughts. All of them second."

"You don’t have to if you really don’t want to—"

"Shut up! You want me to." Sky cut in.

Chris let out a laugh and nodded innocently.

Sky took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "I’ll just do it. For you. Because apparently I’ve lost all my self-preservation instincts since my stupid heart decided it wanted you."

Okay... so, that sounded fucking romantic.

Chris grinned and sat down on the seat first, patting the space beside him. Sky raised an eyebrow.

"You’re going to sit with me? You don’t even play. Wait... or do you? One of the rich things you hid from all of us? I mean... don’t rich people usually have their kids learn how to do this? Besides if this is in your apartment then you should be able to..."

Sky was rambling.

"Breathe." Chris said softly, looking at him with a warm smile.

Sky was finally able to shut up and took in a deep breath.

Chris pat the space beside him again. "Moral support," Chris said simply. "Also, I want the best seat in the house."

Sky sat down beside him, and Chris could feel the nervous energy radiating off him. He reached over discreetly and placed his hand on Sky’s thigh under the cover of the piano, squeezing gently.

"You’ve got this," he murmured. "I’m so proud of you already. I am so lucky. Shit. I’m jealous of myself even."

Sky let out a laugh. It was something he really could not control. It eased him up a bit and he took another deep breath, his hands hovering over the keys. Then he placed his fingers on the ivory, the touch delicate and reverent.

The first notes were soft, tentative. A gentle melody that immediately caught the attention of the people nearby.

Conversations began to quiet, heads turning toward the piano to look at ’Chris’s boyfriend.’

God. He was going to die.

But his fingers moved with more confidence, and the music swelled.

It was beautiful. Achingly, impossibly beautiful. Chris didn’t recognize the piece. Something classical, probably, though Sky had mentioned once that he liked to improvise, to blend different structures with his own melodies. Whatever it was, it was mesmerizing.

Sky’s whole body seemed to melt into the music, his posture relaxing, his face smoothing into an expression of deep concentration. His fingers danced across the keys with practiced grace, coaxing out sounds that seemed to fill the entire room, echoing off the high ceilings and crystal chandeliers.

The entire room had gone silent now. Everyone was watching, listening. Even the servers had stopped moving so their strides do not break concentration, trays held still as they paid attention to the unexpected performance.

Chris watched Sky’s profile. The elegant line of his jaw, the way his eyes half-closed in focus, the slight part of his lips as he breathed with the rhythm of the music. It was not often Chris got to see Sky like this. Completely in his element. Being so passionate about something, so utterly absorbed.

Beautiful. Sky was so fucking beautiful.

Chris had known he was in love with Sky for a while now. Had said the words, had meant them with his whole heart. But watching Sky play, watching him create something so exquisite, so moving, Chris felt the depth of that love hit him all over again. It nearly knocked the breath from his lungs.

If he hadn’t already known he was completely, irrevocably in love with this boy, this would have been the moment. This exact moment, watching Sky’s elegant fingers move across the keys, watching his face soft with concentration, watching him share this gift with a room full of strangers just because Chris had asked.

The music built to a crescendo before softening again into something tender and aching. Sky’s whole body swayed slightly with the emotion of it, and Chris found himself swaying too, mesmerized.

Then, gradually, the notes slowed. The melody simplified, becoming gentler, quieter, like a lullaby. Sky’s touch on the keys grew impossibly delicate until finally he played the last few notes. So soft they seemed to hang in the air.

Perfect and... final.