to do and whatever you need from me, you say the word. It’s yours.”
Her smile reappeared. “I’m so glad we made up.” Then she flushed, and I had to grin. “Okay, that sounded a little weird.”
“Nah, it sounded magical to me. And while I’m totally willing to sit here with you all night, you ready to go in?” I wanted to cheer her up for real.
“Are you seriously going to make me sing?” She made a face.
“I’m not going to make you do anything, though I might beg,” I teased gently. “But you have a gorgeous voice when you stop thinking about it.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I already said I’d go on dates with you again. You don’t have to butter me up.”
“I am not buttering you up.” I chuckled, then caught her nape and pulled her in for a fierce kiss. It wasn’t gentle or slow like our kiss before we got in the car. This was a lot more teeth and heat. The little bite she left on my lower lip had me panting. There was a confidence in her kiss that was sexy as hell, and at the same time, the blush turning her cheeks a deeper pink delighted the hell out of me. “It’s the fucking truth,” I told her, keeping our faces close so she couldn’t look anywhere but at me. “But I’m not going to make you.”
Another kiss, and I slipped out, but not before she let out a slow exhaled, “Okay,” that quivered a little and went right to my dick, who stood right the hell to attention. This was my penance for being an ass.
I would suffer it gladly. Especially since we were making progress and I got to have the time with her.
Once inside the school, I picked up my keys for the practice room and studio after I signed in. Then led the way. Frankie glanced around again, and I loved the way she looked at everything as though she needed to catalogue it for later. Once in the room, I set the guitar down and started getting set up.
“Before we dive in,” I told her as she eased out of my jacket. I paused a moment because, hell yes, I liked seeing her in it. She’d worn Jake’s a lot, and yeah, I’d been all kinds of jealous. Now we were going to have to make sure she wore mine as much as she wore his. “Mom invited you to Thanksgiving, and she promised Dad would be on his best behavior. I know you’ve already got plans or at least invites to Coop’s and Jake’s, but you’re welcome at my place, too.”
She turned those wide-eyes on me. “Um…”
“No pressure,” I said, taking the jacket and hanging it up. “Seriously. None. It’s going to just be the three of us.” It was one of the first years we weren’t going to visit family elsewhere. “And I’d love to have you there that day. Bring Archie, too.” I know he didn’t have anywhere else to go. He’d made it clear he’d rather drill his teeth rather than go to dinner with his parents, if they were even in the state.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do yet,” Frankie said slowly. “Everyone has asked, but you’re right I don’t want Archie being on his own either.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I suggested. “I just wanted you to know. And if Dad starts, we’ll ditch and go grab Chinese food or something.”
She laughed, which was the whole idea.
“Okay, now that we have that out of the way.” I sat down at the piano and patted the bench next to me. “Come here, Angel. Come listen to me play for a bit and we’ll go over that song.”
The third song was one I’d written a long time ago. Long enough it was a little embarrassing. I’d tweaked it some, on and off, then reworked it the week after Halloween. I’d recorded it during my last studio time so she could hear it.
“Oh,” I said sliding off the bench just as she sat down to grab my backpack. I pulled out the lyric sheets and the music. I handed her the first, then I handed her the big envelope.
She stared at it.
The label’s name was on it.
“Ian?” Startled, she stared at me.
“I sent that demo you helped me make to a few different labels, scholarships, and contests.” They’d called me the week before, and I’d had some time to get my