Music - 1. Chapter 1

Eleven years ago, two handsome young men graduated from The Julliard School of Music. They both majored in Music Composition. Obviously, they knew each other, but their acquaintance was very casual. Neither of them had any gaydar at all, so they didn’t know that they were both gay. If they had, and if they had bonded, they would have made a beautiful couple.

After graduation, Bill Morrison remained in his native city, New York, New York. Roger Quinn returned to his hometown, Los Angeles, California. Since they were never really friends, they completely lost touch with each other. Years later, a music competition brought them together, but unfortunately, as adversaries.

They both had a habit of perusing the websites of all the major music companies in the world. It’s a good thing they had that in common. An announcement was plastered all over New York City Opera Company’s website. It remained there for over two months, and they both saw it.

The Opera Company was sponsoring a competition for a new one-act opera. The winner would receive $500,000, and the second place composer would win $250,000 to be funded by The National Endowment for the Arts. The best news of all, was that both one act operas would be staged as a double bill on the company’s opening night of the new season, exactly two years from now. Neither Bill nor Roger was concerned about the money, which they sorely needed, but their goal was to see their opera staged.

It's not that the opera company was particularly altruistic. The truth was that for them to continue to receive government funding, they were required to present a new work as often as possible.

Both men couldn’t wait to register for the competition. Unfortunately, for Roger, it had to be done in person in New York City, at a meeting of all the applicants. They would be interviewed individually, and had to make a very tough cut. The major consideration, to determine the cut, was prior experience and an example of one of their compositions.

Neither man was concerned. Both had already composed a symphony, and a few lesser works, which had been played at Philharmonic concerts in both their cities. Roger was currently working on a full length opera, and Bill was in process of composing an oratorio.

Roger was certain that he could pare his opera down to a single act with a cleverly revised libretto. Bill was confident that he could take the music from the oratorio, which he had already composed, and convert it to a one act opera.

Aside from their secret sexual orientation, they had another secret in common. Both men were composing a Broadway musical. Neither wanted anyone to know, so it was their secret to keep.

******

In all, twelve composers arrived at the opera house to submit their applications. They were seated in the theater waiting to be addressed by an executive of the company. It was a rather long wait, and the applicants began to chat. Both Bill and Roger suspected that they had met before, but neither could remember where or when.

Bill’s light bulb lit first, and he asked Roger, “Did you go to Julliard?”

“Yes, I did. Why are you asking?”

“Because I think we graduated together.”

They introduced each other, and established that they did graduate together. They even gave each other a manly hug.

Roger was never shy. “I can’t remember your name,” he said.

They formally introduced each other, and began an animated conversation about their days at Juilliard, and what they were doing now. They were interrupted, when finally, someone came on the stage and addressed them. He was very terse.

Mr. Perkins, who is coordinating the competition, wishes to apologize. He was delayed on company business. He requested that you all have lunch, and return by 1:30 PM. He’s sure he’ll be here by then.

“You’re a native New Yorker,” Roger said. “Is there a nice place for lunch around here?”

“There’s a great deli a couple of blocks away. Let’s go.”

“Wonderful,” Roger said. “I don’t think I’ve had a hot pastrami sandwich on rye since I left New York.”

“I’m surprised,” Bill said. “Don’t they have deli’s in L.A.?”

“Sure, they do, but I never think to go to one.”

Roger ordered his pastrami sandwich, and Bill ordered salami on rye. The sandwiches came with sour pickles, and they both had fries on the side.

While they were enjoying their sandwiches, with cream soda, Bill asked casually, “Where are you staying Roger? Do you have any friends or relatives here, who are putting you up for a few days?”

“Not a one. I’m staying at the Y.”

“Look,” Bill said, “you’ll be going home in a couple of days, so why don’t you stay with me? I have a two bedroom apartment.”

“That’s a great idea, but there are two reasons I can’t stay with you.”

“Oh?” Bill said, with a question in his voice. “And what are they?”

“First of all, we’re competitors, and second of all, I’m gay.”

Bill broke out laughing.

“Why are you laughing?’

“Because your fears are groundless. First, our composing will be done miles apart. We can’t spy on each other and steal ideas. Second, I’m gay also, so tonight I can take you out to a great restaurant in Greenwich Village?”

“What’s the name of it?”

“The Male Room.”

“No shit, I went there all the time, when I went to Julliard. I can’t believe we never ran into each other.”

“I still lived at home then, and I had a boyfriend. We hardly ever went to bars. It doesn’t matter. As far as I’m concerned, we just met.”

“After the orientation, please come with me to the Y, and I’ll get my bags,” Roger suggested.

“So, I take it you’re staying with me.”

Roger nodded shyly. They had already created a bromance, and both men hoped it would develop into more. They completely forgot that they were adversaries.

Mr. Perkins finally arrived and the meeting began. The applicants were advised that their operas had to be submitted no later than one year from this date. They would be scheduled for a visit every three months to present their progress. Then, he called them into a private room for a face to face interview. They presented their credentials, and played something which they had written. Roger played a piece from his opera, and Bill did the same from his oratorio. At the end of the day, six finalists remained including Roger and Bill. When Mr. Perkins announced the news, there was an audible groan from half the assembly. Bill and Roger hugged each other tightly. Neither one of them realized what they were doing.

“We really have something to celebrate tonight,” Bill said. “I for one intend to tie one on, and I hope you’ll join me.”

“Of course, I will,” Roger said, all the while thinking, “I’d like to join you in more ways than that.”

The sexual tension between them was escalating, and they were going to spend the night together. Earlier that day, they had established a bromance. Now they had almost arrived at a romance.

They ran to the Y to get Rogers belongings, and then went to Bill’s apartment.

Bill had a rather spacious, two bedroom apartment in Chelsea. When Roger saw it, he had to wonder how Bill could afford the rent. Most of the living room was taken up by a baby grand piano.

“This place is beautiful,” Roger said. “You must be doing a lot better than I am.”

“I doubt it,” Bill said. “I supplement my income by giving music lessons during week days, and playing piano at a gay bar in The Village every Friday and Saturday evenings.”

“Are you going to tell me that you play at The Male Room?” Roger asked in jest.

“Yes, you must be psychic.”

They both laughed.

“It’s too early for dinner,” Bill said, “but we don’t need to eat at The Male room. When we’re ready, there’s a very nice restaurant around the corner. The prices are affordable, and the food is more than palatable. We can socialize in The Village after dinner.”

“That sounds great,” Roger said, “but I came in on the red eye before dawn this morning. Before we go out, I really need to shower, badly.”

“No problem,” Bill said. “Throw your bags in the guest room. I’ll give you some towels and a wash cloth. I only have one bathroom. It’s well stocked with everything you’ll need.”

“I respectfully beg to differ,” Roger said. “If you aren’t in the shower with me, the bathroom supplies are severely limited.”

It took a minute for that last statement to sink in. Finally, Bill smiled. “You are so right,” he said.

The two men began to strip right there in the living room. Their clothes were strewn all over the floor. They stood for a moment drinking in the sight of the man they had just met, and were about to make love with. They could have been brothers. They were both six feet tall. No excess fat, muscular from frequent work outs, cut, and four and a half flaccid inches. Staring at each other, they were plumping up to seven inches. After that, the brotherly resemblance ended.

Roger’s hair was curly and ash blond. It framed his face like a halo. His eyes were blue. Bill had blue eyes also, but his hair was jet black and straight. It was the only thing straight about him. He wore it a little long, about halfway down his ears.

They stared at each other until it became uncomfortable. Finally, Bill asked, “Are you ready to shower now?”

Roger nodded. He grabbed Bill’s hand, and Bill led them into the shower.

******

Roger fulfilled his need to cleanse himself, and a whole lot more. The couple made love in the shower at a very sophisticated level. It was as if they had been making love for years. They not only sucked and fucked, they rimmed each other, and fucked without lube or condoms. When they dried off and fell into bed, they fucked between their armpits and their legs. Then they repeated everything in a different position.

Whatever they did together was intense and lustful, but it was much more than that. It was an expression of pure love.

They never did go out for dinner and recreation that day. They just kept making love. Finally, Bill prepared cheese omelets with coffee for dinner. At the table, Roger grabbed Bill’s hands and held them in his.

“I have to tell you something,” he said to Bill. “I have no return ticket. I didn’t know what the requirements of the competition would be. I thought I might have to be in New York the whole time, so that my progress could be monitored. I gave up my apartment, and put my meager furnishings in storage. I had intended on renting a small apartment, and a Piano. A spinet will do. Could I stay with you?”

Bill started to laugh. “Of course, you can. I was about to hit you with my own proposal. I want you to stay here, and I swear we won’t get in each other’s way. We can share the piano. I’d never steal ideas from you. Instead, we can help each other. I have a new goal. You and I are going to take first and second place in any order. Think how great it will be overseeing the staging of our operas together.”

Roger gave Bill a bone crushing hug. “Thank you, Bill,” he said. “There’s nothing I want more than to live with you. FYI, I’ve fallen madly in love with you. I have another confession to make,” Roger said. “I have the whole opera already written. I’ve been working on a full length opera, and it’s almost finished. All I am going to do is pare it down to one act, so you can have the piano whenever you need it.”

Bill laughed. “Same here. The music is all written. I’m converting an oratorio I wrote into an opera. Something tells me we’ll have plenty of time to make love and relax.”

They grabbed each other, held tightly, cried a little, and kissed a lot. Totally naked, Bill sat down at the piano. He played and sang a beautiful love song to his beloved.

“I don’t recognize that song,” Roger said. “What is it, and where’s it from?”

“One more confession,” Bill said, “I’m secretly composing a musical for Broadway, and that’s one of the songs.”

“Are you pulling my leg and other parts of my anatomy?” Roger asked. “I’m writing a musical also. Maybe we can blend the two plots, and work on the music together. Who knows? We might be the next great partnership, Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Lerner and Loewe.”

“I’d like to work with you every day until the end of time,” Bill commented dramatically.”

They put in a full day, and the next, working on their operas. They made suggestions to each other to improve the libretto or the music, and it was gratefully accepted, without any resentment.

It prompted Bill to say, “We’re going to win this thing. What do you say, we set aside an hour or so tomorrow and work on OUR musical?”

“That’s definitely a plan,” Roger said.

It was also necessary to take a break when Bill taught piano. On weekend nights when Bill worked at the bar, Roger sat with him all evening.

At the end of the first working day, they took a break, showered, and had dinner at The Male Room. They also socialized at the bar for a couple of hours. They rushed home, and made love for several hours more. It’s fortunate that they didn’t have to make a commuter train in the morning.

For the next year, that’s how their time went. Every day was filled with hard work, and a little play time. Shortly after they both wrapped up their operas, they worked much more on the musical.

“After we win the opera competition,” Bill opined, “It’ll be easier to sell our musical to a Broadway producer.”

“Amen,” Roger said.

******

A year after Bill and Roger reconnected, the big day finally came. Together, they delivered their scores to the Opera’s business office. They were directed to return three weeks later to the opera house, when the winner would be announced. There was nothing further they could do, so they went home. They just relaxed. They were too excited to make love. In the evening, they had dinner at home, and then spent a couple of hours at The Male Room socializing.

Now that their entries were submitted, they began to devote more time to working together on their Broadway musical. It was going well. Their plots were very similar, and they were able to fuse them. Their musical styles were similar also, and because of their love and compatibility, the work was finished rather quickly. Once they found a producer, they would orchestrate it. They agreed not to look for a producer until the opera contest was determined, and the results could be used as credentials.

During the waiting period, they were very antsy. They kept going back to the musical. They honed and tweaked the words and the music, until they were afraid they’d overdo the editing, and spoil their work. They agreed to put the musical aside for the moment. Now, they had additional things to worry about, and angst was written all over their faces.

Three weeks later, they went to the opera house together, and found seats in the theater. Their hands found each other and they gripped them tightly. It seemed like an eternity, but at last, Mr. Perkins came on stage, and stood behind a small podium.

“Every one of you is to be congratulated. Your works are all amazing, and deserve to be staged and seen. That having been said, if you don’t take second or first place, I urge you to submit your operas to other opera companies for consideration.”

He signaled to someone back stage. A stage hand brought out a small rolling cart with six plaques on it. Perkins picked up the plaque on top, double checked an inscription on the back, and announced the sixth place winner. The composer came on stage, shook Perkins hand, and left the stage with his award. He didn’t look happy. The scene was repeated with the fifth and fourth runner ups.

That left Bill and Roger in the top three. At least one of them would have his opera staged. They gripped their hands even tighter. They also gripped their thighs, in a vain attempt to help the other to relax.

When the third place winner was announced, and it was neither Bill nor Roger, they resisted hugging and kissing. Now, it was just a question of who was second and who won. To both their credits, they didn’t give a damn. Roger firmly believed that he would win, because his one act opera had begun as a full length opera. Bill, on the other hand, was converting an oratorio, and that would be much more difficult. Bill had come to the same conclusion, and he was more than ready to accept second place.

Even before the announcement was made, both men not only concluded which of them would win, but they realized, at the same time, that they were $750,000 richer. With that certain truth, they forgot decorum. They began to hug each other, but refrained from kissing. Of course, they were correct. Roger took first prize, and Bill was second.

They spent the rest of the day meeting with Mr. Perkins. Included in the meeting was the maestro who was to direct and conduct both operas, and the stage manager. They had a tight schedule, and work began immediately. The winners were well-trained, and promised to have a fully orchestrated version of their compositions within three months. A camera man from Opera News Magazine showed up to take pictures. The meeting ended about 6 PM, and the second was scheduled for two weeks later.

The happy couple took a cab to The Male Room. They were very popular that night. After dinner, they bought a round of drinks for everyone in the bar. Even though it was a work night, and it wasn’t very crowded, they would have done it anyway. They were rich after all.

They got home about 10 PM and spent the whole night rimming, sucking, fucking, golden showers, and pleasuring each other in any way possible. Sometimes, all they did was fondle each other and kiss. They were happy with that also. They finally fell asleep at dawn, but not before they made two decisions. They were too busy to do anything about their musical until after opening night of the operas, so they put the musical on hold. The other great decision was that they got engaged.

At last, it was opening night. Roger and Bill sat in the middle of the orchestra, holding hands. They were two nervous Nellies. They didn’t know about the critics, but it was obvious how much the audience enjoyed it. They were hollering and stamping their feet during the curtain calls. Bill and Roger made their way back stage. Mr. Perkins had told them to be there at the end of the performance. He introduced them to the audience and the applause got louder yet.

The critics were unanimous in praising both operas. The New York Times critic said of Roger’s opera, “It was a pleasure to hear melodies again, instead of a bunch of atonal notes, meant solely for critics, who are too timid to admit that they didn’t get it.” Of Bill’s opera, he said, “It was all a little stiff. It could have used a little more action. In fact, it would have been better as an oratorio. That having been said, it was a magnificent piece of work, and deserves to be heard often.”

The happy couple decided to take a month off before actively beginning the quest to get their musical staged. They went to L.A. so Roger could visit his family. While they were there, they warned the family to get ready for a June wedding in New York.

As usual, there were a few family members who disapproved, but they kept their mouths shut. After all, Roger was engaged to a famous composer. Roger’s parents were not among the naysayers. They couldn’t be happier for Roger and Bill.

When they finally got home, they took a few days to rest and relax. During that time, they went to see every musical on Broadway, and took note of who produced it. In some cases, it wasn’t an individual.The play was originally produced by The Manhattan Theater Club, before it went to Broadway.

Bill and Roger made an appointment with the CEO of The Club, who was glad to speak to them, especially, after he heard their credentials. After Bill played some of the score for him, Mr. Hampton could not have been more enthusiastic and helpful.

“We don’t have the resources for a full blown production,” he said, “but I’ll give you the names of some very wealthy producers, along with my references. If they’re stupid enough to pass on this wonderful musical, come back. I’ll produce it on a small scale, and I’ll bet that after opening night, producers will be clamoring to take it to Broadway. Hey guys, there might even be a bidding war. That would be great for you.”

The first producer they were able to see, loved the musical play. It was not necessary to go back to Mr. Hampton, but they stayed in touch. In fact, they became close friends, and often helped fund a new play at The Club.

The play was due to debut October 1 of the following year. Bill and Roger got married the previous June, but they couldn’t take a honeymoon. They were too busy. Like their operas, their musical opened to rave reviews. Bill and Roger were rich beyond their wildest dreams. Mr. Perkins, and their Broadway producer were after them for their next great work. They couldn’t make up their minds whether they enjoyed composing operas or musicals the most, so they did both. Morrison and Quinn became household names right up there with Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Their lives were busy, chaotic, and downright stressful. When they woke in the morning, they had no idea what lay in store for them, so, their lives were also exciting.

There was only one constant in their lives. They loved each other obsessively, in a good way. They made love almost every night, and when they started to slow down in their late fifties, they found a substitute for sex. They went to bed wrapped up in each other’s arms. They fondled and kissed until they fell asleep.

An orgasm is not necessarily the be-all and the end-all. Love is the constant.