Snapping his gaze back to her face, it took him a moment to understand what she was saying. “Don’t worry, I’ve heard harsher words from adults.”
She fiddled with more locks that had fallen from her bun and said, “Well, shall we start?”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned to follow the kids. But he held onto her wrist, stopping her. “Jade, are you okay?”
The way she fidgeted he’d think she was nervous. Was it because of the lesson, or did he cause it? With the way she avoided his gaze, he’d guess the latter. But why? Because of the night at the beach? Getting caught by her brother was probably embarrassing for her. For him it was damn inconvenient, but once he got his hard-on under control, he could see the funny side…barely.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice a little high. “If we don’t go in now, the kids will attack the instruments even though I told them not to touch.”
He didn’t let her go, but instead pulled her closer to him. He didn’t miss the sharp gasp and the way her gaze dropped to his lips. “That night at the beach—”
“Not now.” Her head dropped, and she covered her face with her free hand. “I can’t walk into the lesson with that on my mind.”
Nate nodded, let go of her hand, followed her into the hall, and was smacked with the sound of rowdy kids.
* * * *
From the moment Jade spotted Nate amble into the school grounds, memories from the beach flashed before her eyes. She didn’t have to imagine what lay beneath his navy t-shirt and cargo pants he wore because she’d had her hands all over that fine body.
Now with him standing so close, she acted like a nervous schoolgirl. And when he put his hand on her arm, it sent a tingling sensation through her body. The move was far from seductive, but boy did it get her heart racing.
There was no way she could discuss what happened the other night right before a lesson. She couldn’t look at all those sweet, little faces while her mind relived the most erotic moment of her life. Until Connor came along and ruined it. God, she’d never been so embarrassed. What must Nate think of her having a big brother scold her like a kid? Pathetic, that’s what.
As they entered the hall, the noisy sound of children echoed through the room. It was too much to ask for them to sit quietly for a few minutes while the excitement and temptation of the instruments were displayed all around them.
She clapped her hands, and they stopped what they were doing and clapped the same rhythm back. Once they had quietened down, she asked them to sit on the mat.
“I’ll let Mr. Miller take over the lesson now, but I’ll still be in the room watching. So please listen to what he says.” And she took a seat behind the class.
She watched Nate stand in front of the kids. He rubbed the palms of his hands on the front of his jeans. Wow, could a bunch of kids be making him nervous?
“As Ms. Brennan said, I’m Mr. Miller, but you can call me Nate. And I play guitar for…” Clearing his voice, he quickly amended, “I play guitar and a bunch of other instruments which I’ll be showing you today. Hands up if you’ve heard of Jimi Hendrix.” He glanced around the room, and when no one responded he asked, “What about Eric Clapton?” Again, nothing. “Eddie Van Halen, B.B. King?”
A few kids fidgeted and some yawned. Poor Nate, he looked disgusted that none of the kids knew these guitar greats.
Then Lachlan put up his hand, and Nate’s face lit up, probably hoping there was one child who knew who he was talking about.
“When do we play the stuff?” Lachlan asked.
Nate’s shoulders sagged for a beat. “Soon, buddy. Can anyone play a musical instrument?”
The whole class eagerly raised their hands. Jade hid a smile behind her hand. There was no way all these kids played. It was the reason she was having these lessons.
“Awesome. What can you play?” He pointed to Leon.
“All of them,” Leon answered as he wiggled on the floor.
“Wow, that’s impressive. Why don’t you pick something and show me what you can do?” The skeptical expression on Nate’s face showed he was on to him.
Leon bounded off the mat and picked the loudest instrument in the room, the drums. The shining kit a beacon to any little boy. He sat on the stool, picked up the sticks, and made a loud, horrible noise of banging and clanging.
Nate bit his quivering lip, trying not to laugh. He was being polite, because Jade covered her ears. It was a good thing she sat behind the class so they didn’t see her reaction and Leon was too involved in his drumming to notice.
Then all the kids stood up and shouted that they wanted to show him what they could play and ran to their chosen instruments. Within seconds, a chaotic amount of noise filled the room. Nate turned to Jade with a pleading expression. He had no idea how to control the little terrors. Laughter burst from her lips. Maybe starting with the youngest grade wasn’t the greatest of ideas.
* * * *
What the hell had he signed up for? No one warned him the kids would be out of control monsters. Sure, they looked so cute with their big, innocent eyes and missing teeth, but that was just a disguise. How did teachers deal with this every single day?
