Page 39 of Playing By Ear

Jamie’s voice hoarsened on the last chorus of Brian Fallon’s “Among Other Foolish Things.” When it was over he said, “Shall I play one more? An all-time fave? Which I rehearsed just for you?”

“If you insist.”

Jamie did a rapid strum of a high chord, then released an, “Uh!” that signaled the opening of Prince’s “Kiss.”

Perry licked his lips, his toes curling. The song built in intensity until the end of the bridge, but when Jamie reached the third verse, instead of going over the top like in the original, he drew back the volume to a sultry murmur while retaining every last bit of the funk.

This song seemed destined to end with Perry tearing off Jamie’s clothes and unfurling himself over his eager body, maybe flat out in the middle of the living room floor.

But he had to hold back, at least for now. Jamie mattered. It felt wrong to hook up with him while keeping his side gig a secret. Camming was far from prostitution, but it seemed the sort of here’s-what-you’re-getting-into thing that should be mentioned.

Also, Perry had a cam session tomorrow and would need recovery time. Ten years ago, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but at thirty-two, avoiding orgasm for a day helped ensure a solid performance, as it were.

For the final chorus, Jamie sank to his knees beside the couch, still strumming, like a rock star onstage. It should have been ridiculous, but he pulled it off with the sheer force of sincerity.

As the last chord faded, Perry kissed him, because how could he not? The heat and fervor of Jamie’s mouth made it clear where he thought their evening was headed next. It would be so easy.

But Perry pulled back, just an inch. “That was…” incredibly fucking hot “…excellent. Thank you for the honor of a private show.”

“My pleasure.” Jamie studied his face for a moment, then seemed to take the hint that the bedroom was not their next destination. He got up and took the guitar over to its case. “I need water. You want some?”

“Yes.” Perry definitely needed something to cool him off.

As Jamie’s footsteps faded, Perry thought of a way to make the evening more companionable and less scorching. He switched on the TV and used the remote control’s voice mode to bring up Netflix.

Jamie returned to the living room. “Television?” he asked, sounding disappointed.

“Second series of Daredevil just dropped.”

“The one with the blind superhero? I heard it gets things wrong.”

“It’s not perfect, but I love it anyway.” Perry opened the pizza box for another slice. “Just don’t expect me to fight off hooligans when we go out at night.”

“That’s okay, I can yell for help really loud.”

As the episode began, a quiet but intense American male voice said, “In the middle of flickering action comics appears the word MARVEL in bold letters.”

“Wait, what?” Jamie asked through his mouthful of pizza.

The narrator continued. “A sweep across rooftops at night reveals the skyline of Hell’s Kitchen.”

“It’s audio description,” Perry said. “All the Netflix original shows have it now.”

The cold open began, a chase scene in which the titular hero saved the day. Between the AD, dialogue, and sound effects, Perry knew exactly what was happening.

As the audio description continued through the title sequence, Jamie breathed out a “Wow.”

“You don’t mind the voiceover?” Perry asked him. Nathan had always found AD distracting.

“I love it,” Jamie said. “It told me stuff I missed. I didn’t notice that the cop who got shot was a woman. It was so dark, and the camera cut away.”

The first scene after the credits featured an invisible assailant gunning down a dining room full of gangsters. As bullets tore through glass, wood, and flesh, Perry heard Jamie shift on the couch beside him, swallowing hard and rubbing his face.

Just as Perry was about to ask if he was okay, the scene ended, and Jamie gave no further signs of discomfort.

“I forgot how mental the fight scenes are in this show,” Jamie said as the closing credits ran. “I wish you could see them.”

“I can see them in my mind. Also, I can rewatch it on my tablet with my face this close to the screen.” He held his palm a few inches from his nose.