Jimmy Fassett’s band just broke up, but then he meets Landry Flannery, a truly gifted fiddle player. It doesn't hurt that Landry's a looker and has a bold pink stripe in his hair that drives Jimmy crazy. The two men jam together in the evenings -- banjo and fiddle -- and they hit it off. Soon, Jimmy wants to turn their budding friendship into something more, but Landry keeps putting obstacles in the way and inviting more and more people over to play. That’s not what Jimmy wants, so he walks away. Fate, however, isn't done with the two men. At the end of a festival where Landry's band was the headliner, Jimmy is forced to take Landry home because he's sloppy drunk. The two men argue the next morning, and Jimmy refuses anymore contact, until Landry forces the issue. Could things work out between the two men, after all?

Drowning in Neptune's Pool

I unlocked the door and quickly started the engine so I could go pick up Landry. By the time I arrived, he was on his side again and snoring.


Landry’s gear was in the truck, so I didn’t have to worry about tracking that down, too. Since he was fast asleep, his body was deadweight as I dragged him into the passenger seat. After propping him up against the door and securing the seatbelt around him, I took us home.


Instead of taking him to his apartment, I dragged Landry to mine. After another trip to get his stuff, I laid him on the couch and threw a blanket over his snoring body. He was going to have a monster headache when he woke up in the morning. Completely exhausted, I took myself off to bed, deciding to shower when I awoke.


At four A.M., I woke up and heard someone hurling in the bathroom. It all came back to me, then. Landry probably felt like shit. I left him to it and turned over in bed to get more sleep.


Chapter 7