apologized, and she forgave him. There was no reason for him to stay any longer.
And yet there he stood, his mind searching for any excuse to prolong this time with her.
“Do you want a lesson?” he asked suddenly, nodding over her shoulder.
She turned her head to the side, looking in the direction he had indicated, at the piano up against the wall. It was a moment before she turned back around to face him.
“It helps a headache,” he added with a tiny shrug.
She stood there, saying nothing, and for a minute Chase hoped she would turn him down. He knew that leaving was the right thing to do, but he obviously wasn’t going to be strong enough to make that decision on his own. The sight of her, the sound of her voice, it was always enough to blur the lines of right and wrong for him.
And then, to his complete dismay and utter satisfaction, she stepped to the side, granting him access to her apartment.
He hesitated before he stepped inside, walking a few feet into her living room, and as he heard her close the door behind him, he felt something like triumph course through him, momentarily alleviating his mind-numbing guilt.
He was at war with himself, and in that moment, he realized with dread, he had no idea which side would prevail.
Too afraid to turn back around and look at her, he approached the piano bench and sat down, running his fingertips over the keys. Chase felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, aware that Andie had come up behind him, and instinctively he slid to the right, giving her space to sit on the bench next to him.
She sat down quietly, her movements slow and cautious, like a frightened animal.
“I can’t read music,” she said.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “That’s okay. There are only a few chords to the song. I’ll just teach you those.”
There was a pause before she said, “I don’t know chords either.”
He laughed to himself, and he heard her laugh softly next to him. A flash of relief ran through his body as the awkwardness between them grew fuzzy around the edges, revealing a glimpse of the comfort and ease that existed for them within the confines of Andie’s car only a few weeks ago.
“I’m gonna be an awful student.”
Chase shook his head. “No, you won’t. Here. The right hand is a little tricky, so I’ll just teach you the left. It’s the same four chords over and over. You can play that part and I’ll do the rest.”
He reached over and brought her left hand to the piano, the movement causing their shoulders to touch, and he closed his eyes for a second, attempting to get his bearings before he positioned her hand over the keys.
“You’re gonna start with A, working in octaves,” he said. His voice trembled slightly, and he cleared his throat before he continued. “That just means that you’re going to press two A’s at the same time. It makes the note richer.”
He splayed her hand over the keys, placing her pinky and thumb where they belonged before laying his hand on top of hers. He aligned his fingers with hers so that his thumb and pinky rested over Andie’s, and he pressed them down gently, causing her to play the notes. She arched her fingers under his touch, curling her hand into his own and increasing the pressure of his skin on hers.
He inhaled a shallow breath as he felt a warm fluttering low in his stomach.
“A,” he said softly, keeping his eyes on their hands as he gently moved hers to the next position. “And you’ll just keep using the same fingers,” he murmured, placing her pinky and thumb over the black keys this time. Once again he laid his hand over hers, lightly pressing his fingers into Andie’s as he made her play the notes, and he felt her body shift infinitesimally closer to his. “B sharp,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
He leaned toward her as he guided her hand down the keys to the next position, causing the length of her right arm to rub against his waist, and he felt the skin there tingle and burn beneath his shirt.
“F,” he murmured, playing the notes with her, and she splayed her hand, allowing his fingers to slip between hers. For a breathless second, their fingers intertwined, and Chase closed his eyes as he clenched his