Beats of the Heart - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Miles looked over his clothes and sighed, resigned that they would do in a place like this. It was posh but not overbearing. Perhaps he would be okay. He saw his small group sitting at a table, and Eve noticed them first. She rushed toward them and hugged Miles, letting him give her a small kiss on the cheek.
She beamed at Danny. "It's good to meet you officially, Danny. Miles had just mentioned you graduated and are going to college."
She hugged him, making him flush. "Yeah," he said shyly. "I'm crashing at Miles because my other place fell through."
"You're welcome to stay for however long you need it." Miles clicked his tongue. "And I need to settle that debt with those little assholes."
Danny bit his lip. "Should we just let it go?"
Miles sighed and tousled his hair. "I would prefer you get your hard-earned money back, but this will be your choice, kiddo."
Danny frowned. "I notice you keep calling me kiddo."
"Yup!" Miles laughed, leading him to the table with the other three. As predicted, Vivian swept them both in a tight hug and started to fuss over Danny when she found out about his predicament.
Desmond quickly joined the conversation, and when he found out about Danny's passion for literature, they promptly abandoned the other conversations. Bree snuck away from her chair and crawled onto Miles' lap, and he hugged her gently.
She would tell him about her daycare, friends, and new toys, and Miles would listen diligently. When it seemed about time to order, he urged Bree back to her seat.
Vivian removed her shawl from her shoulders, and Miles noticed that she was in a new dress. "Auntie, you look lovely today."
She laughed heartily. "Well, I am trying to impress Mr. Bonnett at church, so I must dress to impress.  He's the one who suggested this place."
Miles struggled to keep his smile neutral. "Lucky for us." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the menu.
As he predicted, this place was flapjack free. What the hell is a strata or a florentine?
When the waiter came over, he was overwhelmed and gave Danny a desperate look, who just chuckled. Miles waited for everyone to order and was relieved to hear Bree order some waffles.
"I'll have what the kid's having and a coffee." He said, enduring the muffled laugh from the others.
"What kind of coffee, sir?" The waiter asked.
What kind of question is that? Isn't there just coffee?
"Something strong and black." He finally said with a shrug.
The waiter left with the menus, and Miles sighed lightly.  Eve leaned over with a smirk. "You look so fucking lost right now."
"What happened to real food?" He muttered, making sure Vivian didn't hear him.
"You know mom. She is hoping to report back to her lovely Mr. Bonnett." She rolled her eyes but was happy. It had been a while since Vivian had lost her husband, so it was nice to see her stepping out into the dating world.
"How's work, dear?" Vivian asked him, breaking him and Eve out of the conversation.
Miles frowned a moment. "Busy, but I guess that's better than nothing."
"That rude man is still pestering you?" Vivian was aware of the persistent CEO of Eclipse hounding him for Dirge.
"Unfortunately. He has resorted to emails now, begging me to sell." He ran his hand over his short hair. "But the moment I agree, my DJs will be cut, and everything I have accomplished will be dismantled."
Danny looked at him curiously. "DJs?"
Eve glanced at Miles to make sure he was comfortable with her telling Danny. When he nodded, Eve grinned. "Miles runs Dirge Records. A safe haven label for DJs."
Danny's eyes widened. "Dirge? As in Requiem's Dirge?"
Miles froze while Eve laughed. "You know of Requiem?"
"He's great! I like all kinds of music, but Requiem's beats are something else." He turned a pair of bright eyes toward Miles. "You actually know Requiem? Like in person?"
Miles nodded. "But Eclipse is willing to destroy everything I stand for just to have him."
"For an exorbitant amount of money," Desmond added in. "But it's not worth it."
"Eclipse?" Danny looked at all of them. "So Brian Smith is reaching out to you? Dad's friend?"
Miles clenched his jaw. "I didn't realize they were friends, but that's not surprising."
Danny's nose wrinkled. "Gross. He's a creep."
"That's true." Miles' shoulders rolled to show his discomfort.
Brian was always a slimy bastard, scheming against everyone to make more money and gain more influence. He was spiraling out of control because his agency was falling apart.
The waiter returned with the drinks, and Miles picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip. "Holy sh—" He caught himself before he dropped the word 'shit' in front of Bree.  Eve would never forgive him if he let it slip.
The waiter chuckled a little. "It's our specialty, our slow drip with locally grown and roasted coffee beans."
"I may have to become a regular just for this," Miles said and made eye contact with the waiter.
He had to admit that the young man was very good-looking. Thin, pretty, with full pink lips. He looked at the nametag. Reggie.
"Correction. I'll have to come back for something other than the coffee, Reggie." Miles gave him a wink.
Reggie blushed a little and bit his lip. "I'll be back with your food shortly." With pink ears, he took off with a quick backward glance toward Miles.
"Seriously?" Eve asked, her eyes darting between the two of them.
"Don't you always push that I meet someone?" Miles asked with a smile.
"Is he even legal? He looks like a kid!" Eve protested.
"Good point. When I get his phone number, I'll ask him for his ID." Miles shrugged but then was elbowed by Eve. He laughed. "He's serving Bloody Marys, so he's not a minor."
Miles wasn't serious about picking up Reggie. He was cute and bashful, but it would probably end with a quick fuck, and Miles would never contact him again. He hated this about himself, but dating was crossing a line. There was too much happening that it would be a mistake to throw in another commitment.
Although he avoided relationships, he could flirt, which is exactly what he did the entire meal.
Eve clicked her tongue when the young waiter was at another table. "You've always been like this."
Danny groaned. "He normally does this? I never thought my grumpy-ass brother would be so... flirtatious. I seriously thought for years that his vocabulary consisted of nothing but grunts and insults."
"That basically is the extent of it. Miles Mendez. Resident caveman unless he can get inside someone's pants." Eve teased and endured a covert middle finger from Miles.
"Miles has commitment issues," Desmond chided.
Miles rolled his eyes. "I do not have an issue with commitment. I have an issue with men in general."
Eve slapped his arm. "It's because he's holding out on the guy he's been in love with for years."
"I do not love him!" Miles protested and then hid his head in his hands when Eve's grin became a full smirk. He had kept his encounter with Shawn a secret for years, but one drunken night with Eve made him slip. Now she never let him hear the end of it.
"Aw, the torment of unrequited love with a mystery man." Eve jested.
Danny laughed. "Who was he?"
"No one. It wasn't like that. I only met the guy once, and we'll never meet again. Simple as that. There's no reason to be hung up on a random encounter." He muttered.
Eve leaned toward Danny. "Miles hasn't been too forthcoming on the details, but he had said that he was bewitched by a certain man's face years ago. Claimed that he nearly believed in magic again."
Miles flushed and hid his face in his hands. "It was years ago. It doesn't matter anymore."
Eve sighed lightly. "Except this devilishly good-looking man set the bar way too high. He was a real gentleman, from what you told me. He sobered you up and waited outside the club in the cold to ensure you got into the cab safely. You won't find many men like that in New York, but you willingly walked away from him."
He had yet to tell Eve most of the details. He kept that night to himself until he slipped one night. All she knew was that Miles was drunk and had met a beautiful kind man. She didn't know about the kiss or how close he was going home with him.
Most importantly, she didn't know how dark his thoughts were that night or the bottle of pills in his pocket. She didn't know that without Shawn's interference, he probably would not be here today.
"Evie, that was a long time ago. He probably doesn't remember me." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "And I would have forgotten about him too if you didn't bring him up all the time."
A blatant lie.
"I know he was special to you," she said with a frown.
Miles pursed his lips when he was met with intense stares from everyone at the table. "We met by coincidence, but it was the wrong place and wrong time. The chances that we will meet again are low. The chance he remembers who I am is even lower than that."
"Still—" Eve started but stopped when Miles shook his head.
"The chances of us working out beyond one night is nil," Miles said softly. "So there is no point in continuing this conversation."
Eve sighed and relented. "Fine. You're right. We're just hoping for the best thing for you."
Miles nudged her. "You look out for me. But right now, I'm okay with settling with a random fuck."
"Fuck!" Bree piped up with a giggle.
Miles blanched and turned to her with wide eyes. "Bree! How many times have I told you not to repeat what I say!"
Eve slapped his arm. "How many times do you say the F-Word around her?!"
Miles looked desperately at Bree, who giggled again. "Uncle Miles said it's his favorite word!"
Miles turned toward Desmond, pleading for help, but he could feel the glare radiating off Eve.
"So, as punishment for teaching my daughter a curse word, you're going to put extra hours in the club, right?" She said with a tight smile.
More nights working at The Apple did not bode well for him. He was already dealing with the issues popping up with Dirge, the headhunters coming after Requiem, and now helping Danny settle in his place. He had no time for his music. Working at The Apple would strip more time from his schedule.
But then again, Eve didn't know the true pressure he was facing with his business. The calls from agencies trying to acquire his label were becoming so incessant that he silenced his work phone. He had spent more time filtering and answering emails than listening to demos.
And his hands ached to create new music. He had ideas flooding his mind but couldn't do anything about it.
He needed to find a balance while protecting his people.
A soft touch on his arm startled him from his thoughts. "Miles?" Eve asked gently. "You okay?"
Miles forced a smile. "Of course. Right as rain. You know I'll help you. Just let me know when."
He took a drink from his coffee, draining the cup. He would make it work. He always did. Take care of Danny. Help Eve. Take care of his artists. Help the club.
He can figure out the music soon.
The conversations started at the table again, and Miles heard Desmond engaging Danny. "Are you going to orientation tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I want to get familiar with the campus too. I'll be meeting a couple of my friends there." He said with a smile.
"Friends?" Miles asked tentatively. He was hoping it was a better crowd than the one from before.
Danny nodded. "Courtney and her boyfriend, Rob. We have been friends since junior high."
"I can take you there if you would like." Miles offered. "I was planning on meeting with one of my old professors to ask a question, so I can do that while you hang out with them."
They made their plans for the next day, and Miles quickly handed over his card to pay for everyone when the check came. It didn't surprise him when Reggie handed him the receipt with his number.
However, when he returned home, he threw the number in the trash. Instead, he went to his room and sat down on his bed with a long sigh. He opened his drawer and pulled out the worn-out business card. He didn't need it anymore because he could recite Shawn's number by heart, but he still held onto it for nostalgia.
Despite the nagging ache of longing, he convinced himself that it was a simple crush that would disappear. He was projecting romantic feelings toward someone he identified as his savior. Phycologists have several terms for it, so it would be best to write off his emotions. Therefore, Miles had tried to forget about Shawn throughout the years and many hookups.
However, his attempts were fruitless, especially when Shawn became famous and appeared everywhere. And now that Miles was working in the music business, there was no escaping him. Amidst the frenzied and faceless crowds, he could always catch glimpses of the man.
Miles sighed and convinced himself to put the card away again. There wasn't a reason to call him.
What would he even say?
What would be the point?
They were from two different worlds, and he was positive he was the only one who cared to remember that night long ago.
For Miles, it was the one night someone showed him genuine concern and care. It was when he needed kindness more than anything, and Shawn provided it.
He created numerous excuses in his mind as to why he clung to that memory. Yes, Shawn was beautiful. And, yes, that kiss practically ruined him. But in actuality, he never wanted to forget the man who comforted him when all seemed lost.