He pressed the elevator button and the doors slid open.
She smelled like roses. Her hair shone like silk.
“See you later!” she waved and stepped into the lift. The doors slid shut before he could explain that his weekend work wouldn’t be at the office.
CHAPTER13
GUITAR HERO
Orchid
Their first guitar lesson was scheduled to take place at Orchid’s apartment.
“My studio’s big enough for two amps and not much else,” Peter had explained.
So here he was, slipping off his shoes at her front door, his oversized jeans sagging below a Rolling Stones t-shirt. A mop of soft hair was falling over his eyes. Orchid thought how much his silky hair and smooth cheeks reminded her of a little boy, compared to the unruly waves and stippled beard of the agency head that she couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Hey,” she greeted Peter and waved him in. How would it feel to welcome Phoenix? And would he be dressed in such casual attire, his gym bag slung over a shoulder?
“I dig your place,” Peter said, nodding his approval.
Orchid looked around her. It was a one-bedroom, neat and compact, small compared to Phoenix’s luxuriousness. “It’s home,” she acknowledged. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, I’m cool.” He loped with an easy stride into the living room.
“I looked up some chords online,” she said, leaving out the part about most of her time spent researching PTSD symptoms and perusing counterAgency ad campaigns.
“Damn, girl.” Peter whistled as he swung the stickered case off his shoulder and onto the floor next to her couch.
She indicated a spot on the sofa, and he joined her with a relaxed slouch. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been accused of being an over-achiever,” she said.
“I figured. The way you picked up real fast in Chinese class.”
“Well, I knew some already from my family. I’m half-Chinese.”
Peter pulled out his gleaming blond-wood guitar and rested it on his knees. “You always tune your instrument first.” He plucked each string and tweaked the knobs, aiming for notes that sounded arbitrary to Orchid’s untrained ear. “Half Chinese, huh? You should model.” He looked at her as he sharpened or dulled each twang.
“Geez, thanks, but I’m pretty sure I’m too short and too old.”
“You’re taller than I am, and you got carded the other night.”
She saw how he was taking her in from under his dark lashes. She catalogued his expression. Nope, she didn’t want interest from this particular man. Best to avoid the bait of his compliment. In truth, she wished for that look of longing from someone else. If Phoenix offered that compliment, well…Well, what?She’d been clear with him. She needed work experience. That was her requirement. Her rules.
Which she could undo.
“How do you know when it’s tuned?” she asked.
“My noggin knows, but you can buy a tuner gizmo.”
He strummed the strings a few times. Satisfied, he placed the guitar on her knees.
“It’s so big.”
He pulled the strap over her head and helped her adjust the guitar until it was snug on her lap. “Now try an open strum.”
She thrilled to feel the strings vibrate under her power. “I watched a video on the G chord,” she said, demonstrating for him. He adjusted her fingers, making them stretch farther than felt comfortable. “The more you play, the broader your wingspan.” Peter demonstrated by fanning his fingers wider than seemed possible. And then he added, “Hai keyi ma?”
Orchid laughed. “My brain is trying to learn to play and you want me to speak Chinese too?”
