at all, but I blush when I can’t stop my body from responding to his innocent touch.
He notices my blush and looks at me mischievously. “What is it?”
I really want to tell him that I want him. I don’t know why I don’t. It’s the perfect, quiet moment with no one else around, but it feels almost strange, to admit it after everything I just shared. Instead I share another one of my secrets.
“I was in a band once.” I watch as Zack’s facial expression changes from shock, disbelief, wonder, and settle on…skeptical, maybe? It makes me smile.
“Like the marching band?”
“Ha. No. Mia and I started a band in high school called the Pink Fingers.”
“Pink Fingers?” I take a sip of water and wait until he’s done laughing.
“Well, yeah – we were girls and always had our fingernails painted pink. Don’t laugh – we were fifteen. But Mia is pretty good at the guitar; she’s played forever. We could never find a decent girl drummer so we quit after a month. We practiced at my house.”
“What did you play?”
“The keyboard.”
“Really? Are you any good?” His eyebrows shoot up in excitement.
“I’m awesome.” It’s the cockiest thing I have ever said, but I’ve lost the need to be coy around him. I shrug my shoulders like it’s no big deal.
“Shut up.” I laugh when I see Zack’s eyes dancing with amusement. He thinks I’m completely joking, but really, I’m not.
“I was classically trained for about thirteen years and then majored in Music at college. Then I started teaching myself how to play by ear. I can play almost any song after listening to it once. Well, I could when I was playing all the time. Now it might take me a few tries.”
“Play with me.”
“No way.” I shake my head adamantly.
“Come on. We have our sound check in an hour, we can play then.” He looks at me and sees me filled with complete hesitancy. The keyboard got packed up when the house sold and it’s just one more musical thing I haven’t done since Mark’s death. “Unless you’re afraid?”
He sounds like a second grader daring someone to stick their tongue to a frozen pole. He also knows how hard it is for me to turn down a dare, thanks to me and my big mouth telling him about the night Mia dared me to flirt with him.
I exhale dramatically. “I’m not playing with a rock-god.”
“Rock-god?”
I nod slowly. Seriously. “That’s what they call you.”
He leans back in his chair for a moment, considering the phrase. Surely it’s not the first time he’s heard it. “I like it. I think I’ll get it put on some t-shirts.”
I snort and turn my head away. “I can’t today, anyway. Mia’s flying in and I’m picking her up at the airport and bringing her straight to the arena.”
I stand up to leave the table but stop at his voice. “Darren can get her. Just one song. Please?”
Somehow, when he speaks the word please, it does me in every time. He’s not begging, but he gets this intense look on his face like if I just agree to do this one thing, it’ll make him the happiest guy in the world. He’s full of hope and expectation and I realize that all I want to do is make him happy.
“Fine. One song.” I walk away, smiling to myself the whole way.
Chapter Eleven
My heart is racing a thousand beats per minute and no matter what I try to do, I cannot calm myself down. The only people who can see me are Zack, the rest of the band and a few sound techies who are making sure everything’s plugged in and the lights are set correctly for tonight’s performance.
The only person missing is Ethan. Zack and I arrived at the arena earlier so I could play a song with him and still have time to work before Mia flies in. Our fun, or Zack’s idea of fun anyway, came crashing down once Chase showed up to let Zack know that Ethan wasn’t on the bus. His cell phone was off, and no one knew where he was. I watched Zack instantly change from the normal laid-back guy he is to completely pissed off in a span of a split second. They were all ticked off Ethan was running late again, but this time was different because he hadn’t bothered to let anyone know.
The tension all over the stage tonight is so thick I can barely breathe.