Why did he not want to talk about her when we lived together? Did he not find me trustworthy? We spent three years together, but he never relied on me emotionally and never opened up about his past.
“Is everything alright?” he asks, laying his palm against my forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever, but you’re a bit warm. Oh, and getting warmer.”
Fuck, he’s absolutely adorable.
I burst out laughing, wondering how Aoi can have changed so much yet so little. He’s still the same when it comesto worrying about other people. That gentle soul of his hasn’t faded and that makes me grin brighter than ever.
I take his hand in mine and kiss his palm. “Do you want to play some piano?”
Aoi stares at me like a deer caught in headlights before chortling. “I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you.”
He reluctantly watches me get to my feet and pull him against me as I lead him to the piano in the corner of the room.
Sitting down on the stool next to me, he bites his bottom lip. “This is ridiculous, Andrew. I’ll only embarrass us.”
“Nonsense. Anything you do is perfect, even if it’s not.”
Aoi shakes his head and gives in, allowing me to place his fingers on the keyboard as I lay my hands over his, guiding his movements.
“Just follow my lead.”
He nods and scrutinizes my expression, seeming lost in thought. I tilt my head and wet my lips, sensing my cheeks heat up when his eyes glance at my mouth, magnetized by the casual gesture.
Is he trying to make me lose my composure in front of everyone? Goodness, he can’t keep acting all cute and innocent when he’s looking at me like a lioness ready to pounce on a gazelle.
“I recommend watching the keys,” I say, nudging his shoulder. “I know I’m a treat for the eyes, but it’ll be hard to focus if you keep looking at me like that.”
He flushes bright red and rolls his eyes as though I haven’t caught him ogling me. “Arrogant much? I wasn’t looking at you in any type of way.”
“Oh, you weren’t?” I lean closer until our foreheads almost touch. “Are you saying I got the wrong impression?”
Aoi’s Adam’s apple bobs, and all I can think about is sinking my teeth into it and sucking hard until he’s red and purple. He smiles, batting his lashes bashfully before nodding at the piano.
“How about you show me how to play first?”
“Anything you want, Aoi.”
He elbows me in the rib and frowns, but there’s no animosity in his expression when he says, “Don’t say my name like that.”
“And how am I saying it?” I ask, drowning in the fire of his jewels, getting lost in the pale skin peeking from his shirt.
“Like you want me to swallow you whole.”
This man will be the death of me.
Grinning like a fool, I bite down on my lip and try excruciatingly hard to think about the grossest thing on earth before he notices the hard-on tenting my suit pants.
“If we keep that up I’ll get arrested for public indecency,” I joke and when he laughs, blushing adorably, I’m tempted to just throw him over my shoulder and steal him away.
“Then I advise you to focus on my lesson,professor.”
I teach him a few notes, and though he struggles at first, he picks it up surprisingly fast. Before long, the piano is carrying a gentle melody instead of a jumble of clashing sounds. Letting him play on his own, I lift my hands from his and watch as his focus settles completely on the keys.
How did I survive so long without him? These smiles and delicate hands have haunted my living days, as I spent my nights wishing he’d hold me through my nightmares.
My lips curve into a smile when he lets out a quiet giggle. My chest tightens, and butterflies swirl in my stomach, reminding me that I’m alive–truly alive–and it’s all thanks to him.
