Our Song - 1. Our Song

“Where’ve you been all my life?”

“You’re cute,” Levi grinned across at his new friend, trying not the blush too obviously, “but I ain’t decided if I like you yet.”

“Yeah, ya have,” Mac sipped his beer, a confident smile spreading over his chiselled lips. He’d been smiling like that for the last hour or so, and Levi liked it. There were few things more frustrating than flirting with a guy too yellow-bellied to do anything about it.

“An’ how can you tell?” Levi arched a blond eyebrow at the taller man.

“Yer still here: y’ ain’t walked off and left me sittin’ high an’ dry.”

Levi resisted the urge to giggle, but crooked a finger to draw Mac forwards. Only when the young mechanic was within a hopeful inch of him, did Levi disappoint him.

“That’s ‘cause you’re sittin’ on my truck!”

“Aww sugar…”

“Don’t sweat it big guy,” Levi purred, “I’ll let you know if you ain’t wanted.”

Mac half-glared, half-pouted at him, and Levi guessed he deserved it for winding the other guy up. After all, they’d been getting along so well.

“So you’re a mechanic right? You must have some big fancy truck with chrome trim and everythin’.”

Mac shook his head and grinned.

“Nah… I got the shop truck, the one we use to tow people out, or tow ‘em home, haul parts and trailers: that kind of thing. I like a Mustang.” The mechanic sighed, “I bought it for practically nothin’, did it up from scratch and spare parts, an’ spent three years havin’ to walk into town because it didn’t run all the time. But she’s a beaut now!”

“An’ what colour is it?” Levi queried.

“She’s a Mustang: so she’s jet black. My buddy Mason wanted me to put Shelby stripes down her, an’ I’m so glad I didn’t.”

“Me too,” Levi smiled and tapped his Dixie cup against Mac’s long necked bottle, “otherwise people might think I was datin’ some boy racer. I’d never live it down.”

Mac paused, his drink halfway to his lips.

“We’re datin’ now? That was fast.” He smirked, and Levi was forced to punch his arm, and steer the conversation back towards the safer ground of their mutual friends.

Levi had ended up at the party by accident. Originally he’d planned to drive north to visit his sister, but her bosses’ kid had come down with some flu or other, and she’d had to work instead. Apparently there was no one else who could manage the account with China over the weekend, and Levi had gotten off the phone wondering just how complicated it could be to sell face cream to women. Having already turned a couple of his friends down in the their offer to go out clubbing in the city, Levi hadn’t felt like trying to jump in at the last moment – especially since Brendan had booked everyone’s hotel rooms in advance. He’d been just about ready with sweatpants, a tub of cookie dough ice cream, and a large spoon to settle down for a Nashville marathon when his cell had buzzed. Levi hadn’t seen Clayton since the beginning of the summer, since before the hay coming in was taking up all his time: but since his set of slightly more cosmopolitan friends were away without him, Levi had pulled on blue jeans and a checked shirt before climbing into his truck. He hadn’t been sitting alone on the back of his truck for two minutes when Mac had wandered over with his bright, bold smile and wondered aloud where Levi’s boyfriend was.

“So how do you know Clayton?”

“I fix his truck. Damn boy, I fix every Ford, Chevy and GMC ‘round this fire – ‘cept yours that is.” Mac ran a big hand over the back of the Silverado with an appreciative smile. “Not that I wouldn’t be very pleased to do you a deal on some better off-road tires.”

“I won’t need ‘em,” Levi shrugged, “I work construction, but mostly in town. These days I only drive out to cornfields to get drunk.”

“Well I’m so glad you did.” Mac dropped his voice in the short gap between songs and lent close, “you’re makin’ this evenin’ so much better than-.”

The radio cut him off, and Levi went tense.

“Oh my god! This is my song!” Levi was surprised by how instantly happy the three chord intro made him. He had listened to it that morning, while waiting for the coffee to drip through the filter and into his mug, and found himself swishing his hips and two-stepping around the kitchen island. He’d been sitting in the back of the truck with the speakers on, half-hoping to hear it again, but Levi hadn’t expected it to come back on. He laughed and jumped down from the tailgate.

“Where’re you goin’?”

“Come here boy,” Levi took Mac’s hand and pulled him forwards, “I wanna dance.”

Mac blinked but he came along with Levi’s tug, and a moment later they were toe to toe in the red dust between the truck and the fire, and all Levi could hear was the music twisting through his brain as he put one hand on Mac’s strong waist and moved his feet in time with the beat. Mac grinned, and didn’t let go of his hand, but brought Levi close with one big palm against the small of his back. The young man was surprised to find that he and his new mechanic friend were almost the same height, and they moved well together. Levi loved to dance, but he hated to do it alone; it was always so much more fun with his arms around a beautiful man, and Mac seemed to feel exactly the same way. Neither of them knew all the words, but Levi half-whispered scraps of the song which filled his head, and soon enough the stars were spinning around overhead. Mac’s eyes never left his own, and as the song began to fade out on the radio, Levi wrapped his fingers around the mechanic’s neck and jaw, and kissed him.

Levi grinned, because Mac tasted of hops and barley, and something sweet that he didn’t all together recognise, and he kissed like a man in love. Levi groaned against him, Mac’s strong hands pulled him close, and Levi could feel the effect he’d had on his new companion through his jeans. Mac stroked his blond curls as they parted for air, and Levi grinned at him.

“Mmm… good song.”

“Yeah, isn’t it?” Levi ran his fingers down Mac’s strong arms, “I think I decided to like you now.”

“Yeah?” Mac practically purred, “you wanna hop back up on that tailgate and let me get you another drink?”

“Sure; though I kinda want them to play that song again.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

*

“Can I drive you home?” Mac stroked the back of Levi’s hair softly, and the young man shivered happily.

It was late; the tail end of the evening, and the fire had burnt low and dark in the thinning circle of trucks and cars. Clayton had left an hour ago, coming across to bid them goodbye whilst his curvy and incredibly red-haired date waited against his truck with her belt buckle shining in the KC spot lamps. Levi had received a text shortly after, and he knew that Clayton would want a beer and a full account of his evening the next time they met, because Levi had never had anyone else sit on the back of his truck, especially for a whole night.

“If you drive me home, how will I get my truck back?” Levi chewed his lip thoughtfully, “how about I drive you home?”

“Sure,” Mac smiled, “I’ll get one of the boys to grab the Mustang in the mornin’.” He stroked is hand down Levi’s shoulder. “Seriously, where have you been my whole life?”

“Still cute,” Levi blinked and resisted the urge to wrap his arms around Mac and make out in the back of the truck until everyone else had left, “let’s go.”

Mac lived above his shop, and as Levi pulled the truck up outside, he realised he’d driven past probably every week for years, but he’d never needed anything from that particular garage. Mac might have been wondering where Levi had been all his life, but the young man didn’t want to admit that he had been speeding by in fifth gear. All the way about towards town, Mac had been scanning the radio, but Levi didn’t mind the mechanic fiddling with his stereo. Mac was surprisingly careful and delicate for a guy with such big hands, and Levi shivered when thought of the warmth of Mac’s palm against his back and neck. He killed the engine and the soft noise of the radio filled the cab.

“I wanna see you again.” Levi looked out at the illuminated shop front as he spoke, because he was nervous. He liked guys who were strong and confident and good dancers, but they were few and far between: a tiny part of Levi’s brain was convinced this would all go wrong in the next thirty seconds.

“I’d like that too,” Mac grinned, and reached across the bench seat for Levi’s hand.

“Can I call you?” Levi purred.

“Sure,” Mac took his fingers from the radio buttons just as the speakers twanged six notes they both instantly recognised, “but only if you dance with me again.”

Levi turned the radio up as they jumped out of the cab, and Mac wrapped his hands around his hips as they came together in the headlights of the truck. Levi laughed as his song played again, spinning around with his date. He could hardly believe that Mac had found it again by scanning the stations on their ride back to the shop, but he knew he wasn’t dreaming about the mechanic’s big brown eyes, his happy smile, or the way his hands held onto Levi’s body as they danced around, two pairs of work boots on the concrete of the forecourt. Levi didn’t know why it made him so happy to hear it, a song he hadn’t known at all until that morning, but all he knew was that there was nothing he’d rather be listening to under the stars in the dark: and no one he’d rather be dancing with than the sweet, funny, handsome man in his arms.

The song began to fade out, and Levi wrapped his arms around Mac’s shoulders and kissed him again. This time Mac was less surprised, more ready, and kissed him back hard and warm. Levi groaned, opened himself to Mac’s tongue, and clung onto him as his date ran thick fingers up under the material of his shirt, massaging his back and spine as they kissed. Levi didn’t want to ever let him go, kissed back just as hard, all tongue as they moaned in tandem, trying to access the firm muscles under Mac’s shirt. Only the fact they were standing in the headlights in full view of anyone made them break the kiss and take a step back. Levi panted, wrangling his libido back into check before he tried to strip Mac naked in the street.

“That might just be my favourite song ever,” he grinned breathlessly.

“Oh yeah,” Mac smirked, “mine too.”

*

The week had never flown by so quickly and yet dragged on for so long. The days seemed to flash by, and Levi would look up from his hammer and saw to find the job half-finished already, his hands sore from work and his truck looking low on supplies as though he had completed the building of a porch or wheelchair ramp in his sleep. But the nights and evenings dragged on forever, because all Levi could think about was Mac, and how it had felt to dance and spin with him to his new favourite song. Every time it came on the radio, Levi found himself singing the lyrics, moving his feet and his hips, and wishing his date was there to kiss.

Mac hadn’t waited even a whole day before he had sent the first text, asking Levi to come out to the creek the following Friday night. There had been something hopeful about the way he’d worded it, and Levi had felt a familiar warm stirring in his loins at the idea of sitting around a fire as the creek trickled by. Levi had texted him back, and all week their flirtation had continued until there were kisses at the end of every text, and Levi could think of little else. Mac had sent him a picture of the car he’d been working on, but wouldn’t send one of himself, and Levi went to bed each night feeling lustful and slightly frustrated. When Levi had texted over a picture of his open wardrobe to ask what he should wear, Mac’s surprise at the number of clothes he owned had been palpable. Levi might have worked construction, but he also liked to look nice when he wasn’t, and his wardrobe was stuffed with everything from blue jeans and ragged t-shirts, to brightly coloured chinos, alpine knit sweaters, and rodeo shirts with rhinestone studs.

Clayton had called over in the middle of the week with a pair of cold beers in the back of his truck and Levi had taken a much needed break from arguing with the post-holer to sit on his friend’s tailgate and shoot the breeze.

“So…” Clayton hadn’t even asked the question, but Levi knew exactly what he wanted to know.

“Uh-huh… he’s nice.”

“Is that so?” Clayton arched an eyebrow, “an’ here I thought you were convinced that there ‘ain’t nothin’ but dumb redneck jocks’ at these parties I like so much.” Clayton did a passable impression of his friend. “I knew you’d have a good time if only you didn’t think about it too much.”

“An’ what’s that supposed to mean?” Levi pouted, but Clayton punched his shoulder.

“Means you over-analyse everythin’! Habit you picked up from your slick city crowd. You didn’t ever used to be that bad.” Clayton swigged his beer, “I’ve been hopin’ to get you back out in the fields for ages.”

“Hey, some of us have social lives that need maintainin’,” Levi clinked his bottle against Clayton’s. “Anyway, you never come into the city with us either.”

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because the last time I came out with you and your guys I made some poor pretty boy cry!” Clayton huffed, “I told him, just like you said to, that I was just there with friends, an’ I wasn’t gay, an’ I wasn’t interested.”

“An’ he didn’t take it so well: I remember,” Levi looked suddenly guilty, “fair enough. Thanks for invitin’ me out, Clay.”

“Any time. So, when are you two going out again?”

“Friday.”

“Down by the creek? I’ll see you there.” Clayton grinned. Levi had finished up his beer, and waved to his friend, hammer already back in hand as he drove away.

Now it was Friday, and Levi waited on his front porch in his best jeans and cowboy boots, a black and red t-shirt bearing the logo for some trendy shop he doubted anyone there would have ever heard of, and an old brown rodeo shirt open over his shoulders. There was a six pack at his feet, and his pockets felt sort of empty without the key to his truck: Mac had asked that morning if he could pick him up, and Levi hadn’t been able to resist. He hoped his imagination hadn’t pulled tricks on him during the week, but when Mac stepped up out of his super shiny Mustang, he was just as beautiful as Levi remembered.

“Hey there.”

“Hey,” Levi bit his lip as he stood up and walked towards the car, “nice ride.”

“You wanna see how fast she goes?”

“Yes!”

Mac drove smoothly, as Levi supposed he would if he spent a lot of his life in and around cars and trucks, and it was Levi’s turn to scan through the radio stations, searching and failing to find, their favourite song. It wasn’t that far to the creek, and Levi was surprised how easy it was to relax again in Mac’s company, talking about their weeks – stuff they hadn’t shared via text.

“I took my little brother’s out for dinner,” Mac grinned, “Mom deserves a night off from them sometimes.”

“Are they a lot younger than you?”

“Oh yeah, high school sophomores; twins,” he explained wryly, “and they are both totally obsessed with sports. They play football, basketball, soccer; and they are on the track team; and they like to swim.”

“So pretty full on then?”

“Oh yeah. Mom says that by comparison I was the easy kid to raise, because she jus’ bought me a broken up piece of crap car for my fifteenth birthday, an’ I spent every weekend an’ all my allowance fixing it up for over a year. I’m pretty low maintenance.”

“You seem like somethin’ worth keeping around to me,” Levi purred, reaching across to touch Mac’s round shoulder as he shifted gears.

“Yeah?” the mechanic sounded hopeful.

“Oh yeah.”

Parties by the creek tended to be quieter, because they had to leave the trucks by the road, and having the carry everything generally meant more bottles and less ice, kegs and Dixie cups. There was already a fire going when they got there, and Mac walked across the circle of light to greet some of his friends who Levi didn’t recognise. Clayton grinned at him, but he was already sat on a hay bale with his pretty curvy girl, both of them with their heads close and knees touching. Levi had just opened up two beers when Mac came back to sit with him, and he was carrying something.

“So boy, you feel like dancing?”

Levi blinked at him against the light of the fire, but Mac sat with him, placed the guitar over his chest and strummed three chords so familiar that Levi had begun to move his feet before he’d even realised it. He had no idea how long it had taken Mac to learn their song, but his voice was rich and deep and utterly perfect. Levi couldn’t resist moving his hips, even though he sitting down, his feet tapping in time with the music as Mac played his guitar and sang the words that had travelled around in Levi’s head for a week.

The last note hadn’t even faded when Levi flung his arms around Mac’s neck to kiss him, and he didn’t care that people were staring as he pressed himself against the man he was falling in love with. When they broke apart Mac’s eyes were full of stars, and Levi never wanted to let him go.

“Play it again?”