Chapter 17
You Leave Me Breathless
“So where are we going?” Elizabeth asks.
With her beside me as we hold hands like a normal, everyday couple taking a leisurely walk down Main Street, I’m having trouble keeping a straight thought.
I’m also half expecting Jay to jump out of nowhere and kick my ass, then grab Elizabeth and run off with her.
A little paranoid of that actually happening, I quickly scan around us before I pull her inside the music shop.
Air conditioning blasts us as we enter and it feels wonderful, a stark contrast to the stifling humid air outside.
“We’re here,” I announce, quickly bypassing the front counter where a salesperson is busy with a customer, and lead Elizabeth down a hall lined with doors
Elizabeth cocks her head to the side when she hears music. A lilt of a saxophone, the deep keys of a piano, the thumping of a drum set, and the strings of a violin going up and down a scale. Her face lights up.
“They do music lessons here?”
I don’t think she’s even noticed that she’s been bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet since the moment we stepped inside.
Her enthusiasm is reminiscent of the night she came out to the Fields for the first time when I taught her how to drift.
I knew she would love this place, and I’m proud that I’m the one who has put a deliriously happy expression on her lovely face
“Follow me.
I check a few doors until I find one that’s unlocked and open it. We’re really not supposed to be in here unless we're signed up for lessons, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.
The music room we enter has a piano against one wall, and beside it, an acoustic guitar propped up in its stand.
Elizabeth approaches the piano and runs her fingers across the white and black keys to tinkle out a simple four-note tune.
I walk over to where the acoustic guitar sits in its cradle and lift it out.
I don’t have a guitar pick so my fingers will have to do.
I sit down on a nearby stool, propping one leg up on the bottom rung, and situate the guitar until it feels comfortable in my hands.
Elizabeth takes a seat on the piano bench. “Why didn’t you mention before that you play?”
“Your dad gave me lessons growing up.” I strum a few chords of the song I want to play for her. “I’m not anywhere near half as good as you are, though.” Her cheeks flush, the prettiest blush appearing, and she gives me a demure smile.
“You are so beautiful, Elizabeth.” Her blush deepens to the point it turns an almost fiery crimson. Chuckling, I begin strumming a few measures.
She scooches the bench closer to me and crosses her legs on top of it, her rapt attention on my face as we gaze at each other.
“You used to put on mini concerts for us. I loved hearing you sing,” I add.
As I softly pluck at the strings with my fingers, I continue talking. It’s almost as if my words are the lyrics to the music I’m strumming, and it captures Elizabeth’s attention.
“This song is one you wrote for me. You gave it to me the night of our Junior prom. I have played it and practiced it over and over, putting it to memory, hoping that one day I could play it for you.”
“I wrote this?”
“Just for me,” I affirm.
I begin to play for her in earnest. My fingers glide across the strings and ruts, and not once do I look away from her.
The song she wrote for me is heartbreaking in its melody.
The ebb and flow of the musical notes are filled with longing.
She wrote it about us. The music is our story.
As Elizabeth sits cross-legged on the piano bench, she closes her eyes and begins to hum the tune.
Does she remember? Is the music transporting her back to that night when we danced cheek to cheek, longing and love flowing between us?
She has her hair up in a loose bun today; little wisps hang down on the sides of her face and on her neck.
I take a mental picture of how she looks now—like a blond Titian goddess.
I wish I had my phone out to capture her beauty with my camera.
I finish playing as her humming grows softer and an electric silence penetrates the room.
Her misty green eyes open. “I really need you to kiss me right now, Ryder.”
I’m off the stool and in front of her before she can annunciate another syllable.
She uncrosses her legs and stands up to meet me.
I curl my fingers around the back of her neck as she grabs hold of mine, and we both pull at the same time until our mouths come together in the most amazing kiss.
Our kiss goes on and on, and it’ll never be enough.
I’ll never get enough of her lips. I could kiss Elizabeth for a lifetime, and still beg for more.
I know we shouldn’t be doing this here where anyone can walk in and discover us, but I don't care.
“Ryder. Oh,” she says when I kiss right under her ear.
I smile and press a tender kiss to the tip of her nose. “Hey, beautiful.”
Elizabeth exhales a shaky, shuddering breath. “Jesus, Ryder.”
She stares at my grinning mouth, and I’m two seconds away from lifting her up in my arms and kissing her until she breathless, when the door to the music room opens.
A thin guy holding a trumpet case steps inside and halts when he sees us, his eyes bugging out of his head when he notices me and Elizabeth plastered intimately together.
“Oh, hey, I’m so sorry. I, um…this room. My lesson, I mean...I’ll just step outside.”
After he closes the door, we burst out laughing.
Elizabeth drops her head down on my shoulder. “I think he meant to say that he has a lesson in this room,” she tries to get out between giggles.
I hug her tightly to me, and she wraps her arms around my neck.
“Thank you for the song,” she says.
“Thank you for the kiss.”
“It was an amazing kiss.
“So amazing, we’ll need to do it again.”
“Absolutely,” she joyfully replies. “I can’t wait until Saturday.”
“I guess we should give the guy the room now.”
“I guess so,” Liz says back, but neither of us is in a hurry to break apart.
When we do open the door, trumpet guy is waiting outside looking at the floor as we step out of the room.
“Sorry if we messed up your practice time,” Elizabeth apologizes to him.
Still not looking at us, he squeezes past and into the room with a “not a problem” before shutting the door.
Heading outside, Elizabeth takes our joined hands and pulls them behind her so that she can press up against my side. “I think we scandalized that guy for life,” she snickers.
“He’ll live.”
“I'm supposed to meet up with Jayson and Julien later at their house. Their mom and dad want to see me. Any advice on how to handle it?”
“Freda and Mitch are awesome. They loved you like you were their own daughter. Don't be surprised to get hugged and kissed often, and then Freda will force food on you. She loves to cook.”
“Want to join us?”
“I'm meeting up with Fallon later and don't know when I'll be back. I'll text you.”
We get back to my car and I open the passenger door for her. Elizabeth looks around and then raises up on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on my lips. I’m still in disbelief that I get to kiss her like this. If this is a dream, I hope to never wake up.
She looks up at me and gives me such a brilliant smile, it takes my breath away. Yep, I'm a goner for this girl.