Chorus by G. Eilsel

Chorus is a best friends-to-lovers, mutual hurt/comfort MM romance, packed with steam and some angst.

Theo
I was never a believer in love at first sight, until I took one look at Dante and my entire universe shifted under my feet. We met when I was nineteen at my audition for his band, and he made it clear he didn’t want me there. Wary and guarded, he refused to let me in to his life, didn’t want to get too close. He was closed off, suspicious of the world and stubborn enough to refuse to change… but guess who gets an A plus for persistence?
This guy, right here.
That was four years ago. Our band is on the national stage now, backed by a professional agent with a new album release that’s promising success. Endless possibilities stand in front of us. But more important than that, Dante is my best friend in the entire world. He knows everything about me, and I… well, I know more about him than most. He’s a mystery. An enigma. A puzzle I’m dying to solve. Years of pining have only made me fall harder, and I’m not-so-patiently waiting for the day he gives in to this insane attraction between us.
Some things are destiny. Meant to be. Kismet. Karma. Whatever you want to call it, that’s what we are. All that’s left is for him to understand it.

Dante
Control.
I need it. Crave it. Every aspect of my life is under perfect control, and no one and nothing takes it away from me. Not until this tiny, energetic man came crashing into my life, disrupting my balance with his giant blue eyes and troublemaker smile that never seemed to fade.
When Theo burst into that room four years ago, I was terrified of his easy laugh and loose posture. He opened up so effortlessly, and my history was too recent, too raw. Suspicion was my default mode with everyone, especially someone who had a pull that I couldn’t understand. He posed a threat to the carefully constructed control I had built my life around.
Ever since I laid eyes on him, he’s been the very center of my world-the axis on which everything else turns. Over the years, he’s never been discouraged, slowly chiseling away at my armor until I’m bare and exposed when he’s around. He makes it sound so easy. Give in. Forget the control and just take what I want.
And God, how I want him.
But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is never that simple. Unaware of how broken I really am, he’s the only one in my life who looks at me like I do no wrong. I can’t risk that—couldn’t stand to lose it. It’s enough to have him in my life, to keep him as my best friend. It’s enough to love him from afar.
It has to be enough.