My face blazes with heat, because I let my imagination run amok. It’s probably because I’m so tired, I reason. Right? And he had to get all in my face, comforting me after that horrendous nightmare. I don’t like him or anything. I couldn’t. I don’t.
Rhonda nudges my arm and gestures to her notebook in front of her that has the word ‘hot!’ written out on it.
I frown at her as she grins.
“What? The two of you together?” She fans herself whispering the words, so the Maestro doesn’t overhear.
“Shut up! He’s my stepbrother.” I whisper back through clenched teeth.
She tilts her head with a teasing smile. “So? Taboo is sexy.”
“Do you two girls have something you’d like to say about Mr. Milford’s performance?” Maestro says looking directly at us.
I slink down in my chair. “No, sir,” I say, wanting to escape the attention. Maybe melt into the floor Wicked Witch style. If only someone had a bucket of water to throw at me right about now, that would be great.
“Good. May we resume then?” He turns and Rhonda giggles. I shoot her a death glare, but she keeps smiling.
Chase, I notice, hasn’t looked away from me once until the Maestro has him play another piece and I do everything to busy my mind, so I don’t make a fool of myself yet again.
11
CHASE
I’m greeted by the most delicious sight of Melody bent over into downward dog, looking like a full snack that I’d like to sink my teeth into. Her black short shorts cling to her round curves and her oversized shirt has fallen giving me a peek at her toned stomach.
“Oh, hey,” she says, head tilted to see who’s just walked in. She looks genuinely happy to see me, and I can’t help but think of that little moment last night where I almost broke down and kissed her. Thankfully, I came to my senses just in time.
Melody steps through her pose with one foot and arches her back, bringing her hands together above her head. It’s an odd feeling of coming back to my place and having someone else occupying it. I can see she’s brought her boxes in, but with nowhere to put anything, they lay in a heap by her bed.
“You can have half the closet if you want. My clothes don’t take up a lot of room,” I say as I pass her, plopping down onto the couch.
She stands up and beams at me. If she doesn’t stop looking at me like that, I’m going to start thinking she actually likes me.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, why not?”
She shrugs her shoulder. “That just seems like a nice gesture for someone who didn’t even want me to have a bed.”
“Well maybe I’ve had a change of heart.”
Her eyebrows shoot up like she doesn’t quite believe me. And I don’t blame her.
Now that she’s stopped her yoga practice, that oversized shirt of hers covers her shorts, making it look as if she’s wearing nothing at all under there. I quickly adjust myself and avert my eyes from her miles of unblemished skin.
“You free to work on our project?” I ask, changing the subject.
She pads over to the kitchen and grabs a drink of water. “Yeah, I can for a half hour. I’m meeting Rhonda again tonight. Her notes have been invaluable. I think with her help, I might actually have a chance of catching up.”
“Yeah, she’s great. You should hear her play violin.”
“Is she good like you?”
I bristle under the compliment, remembering how intently Melody was watching me earlier. “Rhonda’s talented that’s for sure. She might even rival me if I’m not careful.”
Melody sits next to me on the couch and her vanilla and citrus scent wafts over me. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her take a sip of the water. Drinking something as simple as water from a bottle shouldn’t be hot, but somehow, I’m acutely tuned into her, wishing her hand was wrapped around something other than that bottle.
I dig out my laptop and open it to where I’ve saved our work. Silence engulfs us as we wait for it to load and a nervous energy courses through my veins. If she were any other girl, I’d have her beneath me by now, then running out the door in the morning. But she’s not just any other girl. She’s the one girl I can’t have. And maybe that’s why I find her so captivating. She’s off limits.
