Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

before it disappeared from his sight. Then the sky changed to the deep blue velvet and all the buildings turned on their lights to block out the stars. Soon, his own image reflected in the window. In between the notes of his guitar, he heard the gentle movements of his lover as he entered their home after working, and moving around, doing whatever he did to keep their daily life in order.
    Xavier knew he was the chaotic disorderly one of their duo, while his boyfriend was almost OCD fanatical in his cleanliness. Except when it came to this one room, his music room. Here, he could be anything he needed or wanted that the fickle muse required.
    Five years ago, his muse wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn't write a lyric worth a damn. Not one decent note came to his fingers. It came to the point when he left this apartment and went to a hotel suite for a change of venue and sight. He hoped it would work its magic on the muse and put a spark back in his music.
    It ended up not being the change of space, but one man. A quiet, unassuming hotel service attendant, Ryan Thomas, who delivered room service to his hotel room. With dark brown hair falling in soft waves across his face and brilliant hazel eyes staring at him from lush lashes, Ryan looked upon him as if he was an ordinary man and not a Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter. It felt strange to X to be seen as only Xavier the man and not Xavier Roxie the singer.
    Still, it took some convincing on Xavier's end to get Ryan to return to his room after his shift ended. He insisted they would only talk, nothing more. At least for their first meeting.
    When Ryan returned, they did sit across from each other on the sofa, shared a bottle of delicious Merlot, deep purple grapes, soft brie and crackers, and talked. The night ended, becoming one of the best in his entire life. They talked for hours, late into the early morning. They both fell asleep on the sofa for a few short hours, Xavier waking when Ryan pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and whispered he needed to leave for home and another shift at the hotel. Xavier requested him to stop in again after his shift and laughing with pleasure, Ryan agreed before walking out of the room.
    This went on between them for an entire week. One of the most memorable, remarkable weeks he could remember.
    Three days in, his muse broke wide open and songs poured into his mind with a feverish need. His pencil fairly flew across the once empty pages of sheet music, filled the blank lines with melodies, chord changes, and arrangements. While his fingers strummed the guitar or poked the black and white keys of the baby grand piano he asked to be moved into his suite.
    His muse went wild.
    He kept most of the new songs to lead sheets, which specified the essential elements of each new song that popped into his head – the melody, the lyrics, and harmony complete with its chord symbols above the staff. Later on, he knew he would fill in the chord voicings, voice leading, bass lines, and other aspects of the accompaniment. Often he didn't create them until he was in the recording studio with his accompanied band, sound guy, and producer to clear up and find the right sound for each song.
    Still, even with these basic bare bones he could tell these new songs all held a similar feeling and conveyed the same emotions. They were all about the beginnings of a friendship, a new love, the bright shining feeling this created in one's heart and mind. They were all about Ryan.
    Two months after their first meeting, still writing more songs then he ever did before, Xavier invited Ryan to his bed for the first time. He never took so long to get another man in his bed before, often most of his so-called relationships ending before the two-month mark, but everything felt different with Ryan. He felt different with Ryan.
    Even in bed, Ryan mentioned how he loved being with him, not the well-known singer, but the man behind the music. He often requested Xavier to grab his guitar and sing his latest song to him in between lovemaking. He got a kick out of whenever his music got a passionate response out of Ryan.
    Now, five years later, they were still together. Lovers, boyfriends, and Xavier wanted more. Only, he couldn't offer more to this wonderful man.
    For the last ten years of his singing career, he was kept within the tight, oppressive wing of his religious, conservative manager, who ended up being secretly homophobic. Something Xavier didn't know