Heaven Is In Your Eyes

“I’ll clean these” Tony smiled as he cleaned his mouth with the white napkin I had put down for him, "Why don't you go look for that guitar?"

I smiled at him and pushed my plate towards him, “Just rinse them and put them in the dish washer.”

“That’s what I meant by clean.” He chuckled taking both plates towards the sink in my kitchen.
I sighed heavily as I watched him move, he had a way about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. He used his height well, straightening up completely as he walked. One of his tattooed arms swayed by his side as the other held up both white plates.
I took a second and let my imagination run wild. Imagining what it would be like if this was a regular activity. One of us would cook dinner while the other offered to wash the dishes.
I shook myself out of it with a muffled chuckle, this hangover was making me insane.
Once I heard the sink water start to run I began walking towards my library, a place where I would light scented candles and read romance novels… only imagining what life would be like if a knight in shining armor came and swept me off my feet, carrying me into the San Diego sunset.

My brother’s electric Gibson guitar stood in a corner, like I thought, collecting dust. I picked up its black chords and swung them over my shoulder and picked both the guitar and it’s amp up with both hands.
If my brother was here he probably would have yelled at me, his language more colorful and anything I allowed myself to listen to.

Tony was walking towards the living room at the same time I was, making me quickly set down the amp and hand him the guitar.
“Like it?” I smiled watching him examine the brown guitar.
His smile widened, “Hell yeah!” he chuckled, “It’s beautiful!”
“Good” I smiled back attaching one side of the black chord to the guitar and the other to the amp I had set down on the floor, “I don’t even think my brother misses it all that much. He hasn’t even called to ask for it back or anything.” I pulled the amp to the wall for the power.
I watched his tattooed hands run over the strings carefully, knocking the dust off them. Then he began playing each one individually and listening carefully. He would adjust them every time his face went sour.

I took my place on my love seat and crossed my legs in front of myself, sitting Indian style. I watched him lick his lips carefully as he continued listening to how the chords sounded together. An eruption of heat suddenly exploded in my belly, making me feel anxious around him.
“What are you going to play?” I asked trying to remove the feeling from within me.
He looked up and shot me an innocent smile, “Let’s see if you know this one.”

He finally began to play. His fingers fluidly played the notes and his other hand strummed the chords.
I smiled widely remembering the song. He was amazing, nothing was wrong about the performance he was giving. The way he played reminded me of everything that was amazing in this world. His large smile was contagious, making me feel like this was his only passion in life.
I had seen people play guitar before, starting with my own brother, and they never looked the way that Tony looked in this moment.
He looked like he was weaving his own soul into the guitar in his hands, letting the melody that escaped be the colors of his beautiful soul.
“Name it.” He smiled at me as he continued playing.
“Sweet Child O’Mine.” I placed my hands under my chin.
He nodded and continued to play, “Yep.”
“You’re amazing Tony.” I gushed feeling like a groupie at a rock show, “I could see you playing for hundreds of people.”
He gave me a soft smile and stopped playing, “In my dreams. I don’t really have the funds to go out to L.A and pursue a music career right now. I’ll probably stay in construction my whole life.” He chuckled looking down at the guitar again.

“But you’re really good.” I said softly, “Like rock star good.”
His laugh echoed in my living room, “Rock star good huh?”
“Yes! You could really make it somewhere. If music is your dream then go and get it!”
“It’s not really a respected career, you know the life of a guitar player.”
“Screw a respected career. This is what you want!” I placed my hand over his.
He looked down at our hands and smiled, “Everyone respects a doctor.”
I pulled my hand away quickly, “Well if everyone is a doctor, I’ll be out of a job.”

He chuckled and went back to playing, something lighter this time. He leaned back on the couch and rested the guitar on his chest. His eyes wandered around my ceiling searching for something, “I would lose my job if I pursued this.”

“Didn’t you say you were in a band with the guys?” I remembered one of my blurry thoughts from last night, “Maybe you guys can all put out some music or a demo.”

“They have their jobs too.” He continued to play.
“If they feel anywhere close to how you feel about music, they would consider it in a heartbeat.” I said softly.
He finally stopped playing and furrowed his eyebrows together in deep thought, “Think so?”
“Of course!” I leaned closer to him.
I finally watched a smile spread on his lips, “You’re right Doc.” He put the guitar down next to him and he fixed his body so that he was leaning towards me.
Our faces were in front of each other, I could feel his warm breath on my nose.
“We could make a demo, won’t really hurt anyone right? If someone calls us we could take a risk.”
I tried to respond to his words, forgetting the fact that there was a handsome man inches away from my face.
“Do you have any songs?” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“We have a lot, an album’s worth… but we could start fresh, we could write a couple new ones. Vic’s got some new lyrics in this book he keeps.” I watched his excitement grow, “You should hear his lyrics Lupe, and his voice? It’s the most unique thing. And Jaime? He can play amazing bass for hours. And you should see Mike hit those drums, he destroys.”
I gave him a small smile, he was finally showing me how he really felt about his band, “You see! You already have the drive and the talent now you just need to put it on a disk and ship it off to whoever will listen.”

I couldn’t imagine his smile getting wider but it did, “You’re right! Thank you!” he placed a kiss on my cheek and sped off towards my front door, “I’m going to tell the guys about it! I’ll be back in a second!”
He flew out of my house closing the door in a swift motion.
Good thing he didn’t stay long, because I would have died the second he saw how tomato red my cheeks got.
I pressed my fingers against the spot he had kissed, it burned deliciously and so wonderfully.
That was probably the most male contact I had gotten in years and I welcomed it with my entire being.