Chapter 22 #4
“Oh, baby,” Luke croons, and I barely have time to get over the fact that he just called me baby before he reaches for my face with both hands, brushing his thumbs across my cheeks. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he says, his voice wavering at the words.
I can see he understands what’s happening to me, even though I don’t know how to explain it, and that’s a dizzying concept as well.
Luke lets out a wet laugh, wiping tears from his own eyes, taking care not to smudge his eyeliner.
There are so many people around us, and we’re definitely making a scene, but I couldn’t care less right now. We’re having a moment.
I pull Luke down and kiss him, my arms around his neck. His hands find my hips, my stomach twisting with heat from his touch, and he holds onto me like he never wants to let me go. Putting our foreheads together, his eyes jump between mine, and he sighs happily.
When we pull away, Luke’s mouth curves into a satisfied grin, and he bends down again, kissing my cheek affectionately with his hand on my back.
“I like seeing you come undone,” he whispers into my ear, his amused chuckle bringing my blood to a boil.
He stands up straight and regards me with a glint in his eye.
“Remind me to take you out like this more often.”
Suddenly, I’d be fine skipping the concert and dragging Luke to the coat closet instead. It’s only music. Who needs it anyway?
Somehow, I manage to find enough self-restraint to keep it together.
We pick up our tickets at will call, then head to the bar and get more drinks—beer for me, and red wine for Luke—before finding our way to our seats.
We lucked out being seated on the ground level in the middle of the theater, with a perfect view of the stage.
I’m blown away by how ornate the hall is, gilded ornaments and sconces adorning the walls and ceiling.
I don’t remember the last time I saw the interior of a building look so pretty.
I’m buzzing with excitement, and I feel like I could burst by the time they dim the lights and the orchestra comes on stage.
Luke must be able to sense it because he’s leaning on the armrest of his chair, holding his chin in his hand, silently shaking with laughter as he watches me.
I can tell he’s enjoying my enthusiasm, and somehow, being here with him, I don’t feel the need to hide it or scale it back. I just let it be.
Then, Yo-Yo Ma comes on stage to the sound of uproarious fanfare, and my heart races in time. Luke holds my hand in his lap, an anchor tethering me to earth, and I squeeze it. I don’t know why I feel so nervous, but when the music begins playing, everything else suddenly falls away.
These songs could play a hundred times on recordings, and it would never beat sitting in a theater hearing them live.
There’s simply no contest. Feeling the crisp notes wash over me in the audience truly makes the experience.
Even the slight buzz from the alcohol is sweeter here than if I got drunk and listened at home.
I swear I can feel every movement in my bones.
Every bow pull across the strings is like fire in my soul.
Watching the instruments being played is equivalent to seeing a masterpiece unfold before my eyes.
The skill and precision needed to hit all of the right notes, infused with the fluid soul of the motions, make it so they come out feeling alive.
The instruments are extensions of the musicians’ bodies, and they clearly feel the music as much as I do.
My entire being is connected to the sound.
Eventually, they break for intermission, and the house lights come back up. Luke turns to me and smiles, bringing our clasped hands to his lips, delicately kissing the backs of my fingers. I stare at him in awe. I’m waiting for the sign that this was just a dream.
“Are you happy?” Luke asks, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
“Dangerously.” I can’t help but laugh, and Luke chuckles. “But thank you. This has been the best day ever.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“There’s more?” I balk. “I don’t know how you could top this.”
Luke’s lips twist up into a devilish grin, and he leans closer to me, his voice barely a whisper in my ear. “I can think of something else I would love to top,” he purrs, and I can feel my cheeks flush as the meaning hits me all at once.
I pull back to stare at him in surprise, and he’s got that ravenous look in his eyes that turns my stomach molten.
My eyes go wide, and I snap my head forward toward the stage, swallowing hard.
I can feel Luke shaking with laughter beside me, clearly having garnered the flustered reaction he was aiming for.
It’s enough of a dizzying prospect that, when the lights dim again, and the orchestra returns for the second half of the show, I have a hard time paying attention.
All I can think about is Luke’s comment and the various ways we could accomplish that.
I need to readjust myself in the seat a few times to hide what else it’s done to me.