The Sound of Us

Three

The week had flown by and work had utterly consumed my attention, as always. I hardly had time to think about my teeny tiny infatuation with the new violin teacher.

It was finally Saturday again and we were almost late for Jason's regular class with Miss Susan. I hadn't even had my morning Starbucks yet!

I planned to go out for coffee and a sandwich during the hour long lesson but Amir found me in the corridor.

"Good morning, Mr. del Fiume," he said brightly.

Yuck! That made me feel old.

"Please, call me Ethan," I said, trying to mimic his youthful ease.

"Can we talk for a moment?" he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

We can talk all day, you gorgeous creature. And can I ask why your hand is on my shoulder? Are you handsy, like a European or...?

"Ofcourse," I said stoically.

Amir took us into an empty classroom and closed the door. Being alone with him like this made me suddenly nervous. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"I wanted to get your opinion on how to inform Jason about the need for an extra class," he said, looking serious. "I watched him play last week and he's really good. He just needs some subtle fine tuning."

What I wouldn't give for some fine tuning from you, Amir! My gaydar had never been very accurate, did he give off a vibe or was it just my wishful thinking?

"Why don't you tell him exactly that," I said. "And maybe mention that it will make him a better player than Brent Mulligan."

Amir's face scrunched up in a questioning frown. For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to let my hands disappear into his hair, to...

"Who?" he asked, since I hadn't provided an explanation yet.

"Jason's school rival," I replied, returning to my senses.

"Oh," he said, followed by a warm laugh.

The sound felt foreign, why did my world feel devoid of laughter lately?

Then, my stomach grumbled reminding me that I'd skipped breakfast in my rush to pick up Jason. As much as I wanted to chat more with Amir, I'd ran out of plausible reasons for us to stay in this room.

"I'm heading out for coffee and breakfast," I said. "Can I get you anything?"

His face brightened for a moment, before he pulled out his phone and quickly scanned it.

"You know what, I'm free until Jason's lesson. Let me join you."

Holy fuck! Really? Just you, me and coffee?

"Ok," I said with a shrug, trying to hide how excited I really was.

I was behaving like a teenager, was this what a midlife crisis felt like? Crushing on my kid's violin teacher?