jaw. He heard her exhale a trembling breath next to him, and his right hand curled into a fist at his side, fighting every instinct surging through his body.
Chase inhaled slowly before he opened his eyes and unraveled their fingers, bringing her hand back to its starting position. “Back to the A’s,” he said softly, pressing his fingers over hers and playing the notes again.
He could feel the heat of her body as if it were a tangible thing. It permeated his clothes, his skin, his entire being, igniting a fire that was threatening to rage out of control, to consume any sound reasoning within him and hand him over to his impulses.
He realized then that his heart was racing, and for the first time since they sat down, he chanced a look at her; her eyes were on him, her expression unreadable.
Chase swallowed hard, attempting to get control over his voice. “It’s an eight count,” he said softly. “You’re gonna play on the ones.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her eyes locked on his.
Reluctantly he pulled his eyes from hers and looked down at their hands. “If you start with your hand on mine, I’ll help you,” he said.
Andie slid her hand over the top of Chase’s, aligning their fingers again. “Okay,” she breathed, and Chase felt the heat in his stomach spread up into his chest and out through his extremities.
He took a small breath as he brought his right hand to the keys, positioning his fingers and playing the opening notes. He kept his eyes on her hand over his, their fingers twined together as she followed his lead, pressing her fingers over his when she felt him play the notes. His right hand glided effortlessly over the keys, dancing over the smooth surface, and in his mind, it was her skin at his fingertips; he caressed it over and over with light, fleeting touches that made the air around them sing.
She inclined her head toward him, and his breath caught in his throat.
“Chase,” she whispered.
His fingers stilled on the keys and he closed his eyes. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.
“Can you play for me?” she asked softly, carefully sliding her hand off of his. He felt her shift on the bench next to him, bringing her body impossibly closer, and he kept his eyes closed, trying to focus on the feel of the keys beneath his fingers, the ticking of the clock in the corner, anything but the woman next to him, the smell of her, the heat of her.
He swallowed as he repositioned his left hand, and slowly, he began to play. Within a few notes, all of his pent-up emotion had worked its way through his fingertips, and suddenly the notes were everywhere, filling the room and swirling around them, pulling at him and pushing him, drowning him in the moment, and he didn’t think he’d ever want to resurface.
He felt Andie move beside him, and without warning, the length of her thigh was pressed up against his, any measure of space between them now completely forsaken.
His instincts took over momentarily, and he pressed his leg against hers, stifling a groan when he heard the nearly inaudible gasp that fell from her lips.
Chase set his jaw, his eyes still closed, and began to focus on the lyrics to the song in a desperate attempt to keep his mind rational.
Taffy stuck and tongue tied,
Stutter-shook and uptight,
Pull me out from inside…
I am ready…
There was a slight movement beside him again, and this time as she exhaled, he could feel her breath on his neck. He made a tiny noise in the back of his throat as he felt the fissures form in his composure, cracking and spreading and meandering through him at an alarming rate.
Chase’s fingers moved with more determination now, the chords ringing out with an intensity that made the air around them hum.
I am covered in skin,
No one gets to come in,
Pull me out from inside…
I am folded, and unfolded, and unfolding….I am…
“Chase,” she whispered again, her breath fanning warmth across his neck as the tip of her nose grazed the skin there.
His fingers faltered, an incongruous, off-key note clanging through the air, and his hands curled in so that he rested two clenched fists on the keys. The sudden silence echoed through the room, pregnant with impossibility.
“Chase,” she said again, and the longing in her voice disabled the last of his restraint.
He turned toward her quickly and she gasped, followed