Player(38)

“Okay,” I said, memorizing everything he’d said and repeating it back in my head.

“Oh, and Val?”

“Yeah?” I met his eyes.

He smirked. “Don’t let go.”

I laughed nervously as he brought my hands to the starting position again.

“Let’s do it a couple of times without flipping just to get the rhythm of it.”

So we did. We took it slow a couple of times with him talking me through it, then fast a couple more, always stopping just before I jumped.

“All right,” he said, facing me. “You ready?”

I nodded. “No.”

With a laugh, he pulled me into him and pressed a kiss into my hair. “You can do this. You can do anything.”

The breath I took almost fortified me. Nerves wriggled around in my stomach like worms.

“Okay. Here we go,” he said and whipped me around.

My pulse quickened. In seconds, I was hanging on to his arm, and he was hooking my knee and then—

He tried to lift me, and I barely budged. The only thing he managed was bringing the knee in his hand up.

Shame washed over me, pricking my skin like static from my chest out to every limb, climbing my face painfully until it reached the corners of my eyes. Tears sprang, clinging to my bottom lids as I tried desperately to keep them at bay.

I laughed. It was the only thing to do. “Well, you officially owe me, and don’t think you’re gonna get off easy, Sam. I told you so.”

His face was inexplicably hard and soft all at once. And when he cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes, I thought I might just go ahead and sink into the floor and disappear.

“I don’t owe you a single thing.” He paused, searching my face for understanding. And then a smile brushed his lips. “You forgot to jump.”

“I—” I blinked. “Wait, I what?”

“You. Forgot. To jump,” he said slowly.

“I…oh my God,” I breathed on an incredulous laugh. “I didn’t, did I?”

He shook his head, his smile spreading. “Again.”

My heart thumped so hard, it felt like I was going to have a heart attack as he spun me around, left my arm on his, which I grasped, and hooked his hand under my knee.

“Jump,” he commanded.

I sank and kicked off with all my strength. And for a moment, I was weightless. The world turned upside down. My insides mixed up and switched places. My skirts flew. And then my feet solidly hit the ground, Sam’s arm still at my waist, steadying me.

And then I exploded. I shot off my feet, jumping up and down, throwing myself into his arms, the two of us laughing as he spun me around. He brought me to a stop, smoothed my hair, smiled down into my face.

“See? I knew you could do it. All you had to do was jump.”

And before I could speak, he kissed me.





15





Steady As She Goes





Sam

“I swear, she’ll be here any minute,” I hoped, checking my phone for a message to prove me a liar. The screen only showed me the time.

The guys in the band shared a look.

“I don’t understand why you couldn’t just call Tommy,” Mike said, adjusting his sax strap on his shoulder. “He always fills in for Chris.”

“I’m still pissed he didn’t just suck it up and come in.” Ian’s eyes were on his drumstick as he rolled it across his knuckles.

“You didn’t hear him on the phone,” I said. “His fever was so bad, at one point, he started speaking Hebrew.”

Ian shrugged. “I’m just saying, take some Advil and show up.”

I shook my head. “You’re a dick.”

Nick spun around on his piano stool at a lazy pace. “This chick had better be good. We haven’t had to rehearse in months. I’m missing brunch for this.”

Josh stopped strumming his guitar, one brow rising at Nick. “Brunch? What the fuck, man?”

“You don’t know living until you’ve had the chicken and waffles at Splits. I dream about that meal.”

I checked my phone again, wondering how long I could hold off a mutiny. When the door burst open, I was relieved I wouldn’t have to.

Val’s cheeks were flushed and glistening, her chest heaving from exertion. Her eyes met mine, and her smile could have powered a New York City block.

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late. I got here as fast as I could.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said before anyone could be an asshole. And by anyone, I meant Ian. “Guys, this is Val. Val, meet the guys.”

Said guys stepped forward, extending their hands to meet her. Except for Ian. He sat behind his trap set and raised one drumstick in lieu of a greeting.

She set her things down and unloaded her trumpet while I spoke.

“Thanks for coming down at such short notice. There’s not much to practice today—we just want to get a feel for playing together. Almost everything we play is in E or A with a base melody. Then, we just jam. You’ll come after Matt, the clarinet, and keep an eye on me for cues.”

“Got it,” she said as she stood.

I tried not to stare at her lips when she brought her instrument to them and blew soundlessly to warm up the pipes.