Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
It was a dramatic piece that sent shivers down my spine. And although I was only playing one note on cue, it did feel like a duet. Like for the first time in my life, I was part of music making.
Cody continued playing, and I didn’t get to hit my note again. But it was fascinating to watch the expressive way his hands moved. His fingers were strong and nimble. And his body was warm where it was pressed against mine.
I could have sat there for hours. But then the piece ended, the last notes fading out as they echoed around the little room.
“Wow. That was amazing,” I said.
He grinned wryly. “Thanks to your contribution.”
“Who composed that?”
“Rachmaninoff.”
“Gesundheit.”
He shook his head, perhaps amused in spite of himself?
“All right, I need to practice for real.” He nudged me with his hip, and I slid two inches down the bench.
“I guess I’ll go to the library until my shift at the coffee house starts.”
Cody nodded absently as he flipped through some sheet music in his bag.
“Thanks,” I said. “I enjoyed that.”
He nodded again, not looking at me, and I frowned. He sure could create beautiful music, but getting him to participate in a conversation was a bit like pulling teeth.
I grabbed my bag and got to my feet, standing in the small space between the piano and the door. “Well, bye.”
I waited a beat longer, but he didn’t say it back. I reached for the doorknob.
“Maybe next time you can try two notes.”
I turned back, pleased that there was going to be a next time.
And then the words tumbled out of me before I could consider the wisdom of them. “Are you going to the movie night?”
He put a stack of sheet music on the piano stand. Finally, he looked up as if surprised I was still here. “I don’t do things like that. Aaron and Diego stopped asking me a long time ago.”
“It’s not at the house. It’s for class.”
Cody frowned, as if he wasn’t sure I was being serious. “Chemistry class has movie nights?”
“Yes, well, the science club does. It’s Thursday night and we get extra credit if we go.” I stared at him. “Have you ever even heard one word Professor Beringer’s said?”
“One time I got there early and think he said ‘hi’ to me.”
I was torn between rolling my eyes and laughing. “Okay, so you’ve heard exactly one word.”
“What’s the movie?”
“Guess. And it’s not actually a movie, it’s a show. About chemistry.”
He thought for a moment. “Breaking Bad.”
“Yes. We’re watching the pilot episode and then we have to write up a critique of the chem lab scenes.”
“And you’re going?”
“Yes.”
“And you want me to go too?”
“Yes.” Wasn’t that part obvious? “Will you?”
His head tilted to the side as he studied me.
“What?”
“You look like you want me to say ‘sure’ like before.”
“Because I do.” I sighed dramatically. “Free will is overrated.”
“All right,” he said at long last.
“You’ll go with me?”
He gave me a smile that was small but lovely enough to make my heart skip a beat.
“Sure.”
17
MIA
“How do you have this many dresses?” I asked, trying to keep my jaw from dropping.
We were in the home that Tori shared with Jayden, Lucas, and Kyle. I'd only been here once before and never down in the basement. From what I'd heard, it used to be a cluttered mess, but now it had been loosely divided into a bedroom, a game room, a study room, and an area with a huge rack for Tori's clothes.
“Lucas told the guys how much I like thrifting, so a couple weeks ago we all drove down to Atlanta and spent the weekend. I went to a lot of thrift shops, and I found the most gorgeous dresses.”
A gleam came into Tori’s eye. “Did you know that, given proper motivation, you can fit four people in a dressing room?”
I laughed, not sure whether to be impressed, shocked, or jealous.
Maybe all three.
Tori hurried on. “I looked up the reception hall where Aaron's grandparents’ thing is, and it's really fancy. There’s a ballroom, a courtyard, a stage, the works. They host a lot of weddings there.”
“Wait, you looked it up?”
“Yes. It's a big event. You haven't?”
“No.”
“So a hot dude is taking you to some big, formal affair with his whole family, and you haven't even done a little cyberstalking?” Tori sounded incredulous.
“It hadn't occurred to me. I like getting to know people by, you know, getting to know them.” My voice was a tad defensive, but now I really wanted to look the venue up.
“Yes, but if you're going to an event like this, you should know what you're walking into. Are you going to wear your hair up or down?”
I ran a finger over my waves. “Down, I guess. It really just does this. You saw my attempt to put it in a bun on Halloween.”