I wanted that.They were good together, and I didn’t want to see Brandon and Danny fall apart.But, “Be careful with you, too.”
“I will.”Danny kissed me again, and nudged me into my own chair.“Popcorn string.Come on.”
We finished hanging the Christmas ornaments, made hot chocolate, and watched more movies.It all felt right, except for that underlying layer of uncertainty about Brandon.I’d never seen him act like this before.Confident and direct was one thing, but aggressive and borderline hostile, to the people I knew he loved, was like he’d been replaced with his double from an alternate universe.
Did he have a goatee he was shaving off every morning to hide his evil self?
When Brandon got home, his mood was lighter and more playful.The sex was rough and fast—not that I was complaining—but the shift in attitude was disconcerting.
When the three of us went to bed, Brandon stayed.There was no creeping out of the room an hour later to go compose.
But I was intently aware that he spent most of the night tossing and turning.
Twenty-Two
Danny
I’d beento fantasy conventions before, and I’d been to professional events where vendors wooed high-end clients.
RinCon was a chaotic blend of both.When the doors to the convention center opened, gamers, cosplayers, and other fans swarmed in to get a glimpse of their favorite companies' latest and greatest.Outside this room, executives were making deals behind closed doors that would rock the gaming world a year from now, or two.
The entire event was its own unique form of creation through entropy, and I loved it.
The volume in the room grew several decibels within a matter of minutes.Some booths had a barker drawing people in, others had their demos playing for the world to hear, and of course, the chatter.Brandon could probably do an amazing mix with samples of these sounds.
The AcesPlayed booth already had a line of people waiting for a chance at the demo.We had more than our share of detractors as well—people stopping to sneer at thedisgustinggame content, before stepping to the Rinslet booth next to ours, to play a game that let them shoot anything that moved.
Everyone from AcesPlayed was here somewhere in the building, either in meetings, answering questions, or taking their turn at security.
I was working with Link.Our job was basically to keep the peace.With his broad shoulders, square jaw, and resting bitch face, he was exactly the kind of big, burly bear I would’ve hooked up in a heartbeat in those years between Reese and Brandon.He just had to look at someone with his brow furrowed, and they’d step back.
He was also one of the nicest guys on the Development team.“No shit.Seether?”
“True story.We managed to make the docket for Ozzfest when they played in Denver.Not as us.The Used needed last-minute guitar and drums, and we were available.”I didn’t mind sharing stories about Plaid Peanut Butter way back when, though this was one of Reese’s favorites, and she told it much better than I did.
“My D string broke five minutes into the set, and it wasn’t like we had any crew or backup.My choice would’ve been to step off stage and restring, and kill the entire performance.They stopped the music; my mind was racing and I was looking back at Reese for a sign.Bert’s ad-libbing with the audience, and giving me questioning looks in between.Shaun walked out onto stage, waved to the crowds when they went nuts, and handed me his guitar.Told medon’t break this one.”
“You call them by their first names.”Link grinned.“Like you know them.”
“We were introduced.It’d be weird to say Mr.Morgan, wouldn’t it?Especially after I had my hands all over the guy’s instrument.”
Link snorted a laugh.“I guess so.”
"Hey.”Chris stopped in front of us.“Dr.Jekyll is looking for you.”
He must mean Brandon, and I assumed the nickname meant Brandon was in a good mood so far this morning, but I wasn’t thrilled about hearing someone else call him that.“Who?”
Chris rolled his eyes.“Brandon.He’s in the main ballroom.I’ll take your place.”
“Thanks.”I headed off to findDr.Jekyll.
He and Dustin were still tweaking the audio for the Aces presentation this afternoon, but they thought they finally had it fixed.
“Do me a favor, go sit in the middle of the room,” Brandon said.“Make sure you can hear and understand Dustin, and then move someplace else.”
Seemed simple enough.I spent the next hour or so doing exactly that, while Dustin and Brandon tested and tweaked the sound system.When Dustin pronounced itdone, Brandon looked pleased.
“You’re the best.Thank you.”Brandon gave me a quick kiss before we parted ways.