Rival(116)

Fallon and I smiled at each other.

And let them never end.

? ? ?

A crack of thunder exploded through the midnight sky, and I opened my eyes as it bellowed over the house. As it slowly traveled away, I blinked against the flashes of lightning coming through the window.

Flipping my head to the side, I saw Fallon still sleeping peacefully in her green T-shirt and panties. She’d kicked her side of the blankets off, and that was one thing I’d noticed we had in common. We both overheated when we slept.

There were lots of quirks about her that I’d found out, and I hoped mine didn’t annoy her too much.

Her neck glowed with a thin layer of sweat, and her lips opened and closed barely enough to even notice. A slice of her stomach peeked out, and her innocent face looked absolutely beautiful.

Just looking at her, I felt myself harden with want. We’d already attacked each other after the race. In fact, Jared and Tate and Fallon and I all came straight here after the race, skipping the bonfire altogether. They went to their room, and we came to ours.

She’d slug me if I woke her up for sex, though. Not that I would. She was exhausted.

Taking a deep breath, I threw off my blankets and got out of bed, pulling on my pajama pants and leaving as quickly as possible. The harder I got, the more I didn’t want to be honorable.

So I left.

I went down to the basement, rubbing my thumb across my fingers the entire way. It’d been months since I played, and I felt the hum in my hands. The cool keys under my fingertips.

Playing wasn’t an obsession or something that I needed to do. I just appreciated having the skill to play, though. Everyone should have a way of expressing themselves, letting the stress out—even if it was just sexual frustration for me right now.

Pulling out the bench, I sat down at my family’s completely restored 1921 Steinway grand piano and sifted through the music, picking a Dvorˇák piece.

Placing my fingers on the keys, I started playing the same notes I’d been practicing off and on for years. I didn’t change up my music a lot, preferring to master a piece before I moved on to something else, but as I got more comfortable with the music, I’d find myself adding my own flavor. Speeding up, slowing down, softer, harder . . . A single composition can have so many meanings depending on the person playing.

I liked the freedom to explore and take risks.

The same could be said for Fallon’s skateboarding. She enjoyed it but only so much as she was left alone to own it.

Cool skin touched my bare shoulders, and I straightened, taking my hands off the keys.

“Addie said you came down here to play at night.” Fallon set her chin on top of my head. “Why don’t you just have the piano moved upstairs?”

I reached up and took her hands. “It’s something I would rather do alone.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.” And she pulled away.

“No, I don’t mean that.” I turned around and yanked her back to me, pulling her into my lap. “I mean without my father around. I like to play. I just don’t want to be forced.”

She leaned back against me, straddling my legs and facing the keys. “It was a sad tune.”

“The best music is,” I said into her ear. “I’m happy, though.”

She ran a delicate hand over the keys, leaning her head back on my shoulder. “I think we should do the dancing lessons with Jared and Tate. It would be fun.” She inched up, kissing my jaw. “I still can’t believe he lost.”

My chest shook. “He threw that race. You know that, right?”

“He did not,” she maintained. “Tate was awesome. And . . .”

I sunk my teeth into her neck, and she groaned, cutting off her own thought before it even got out. I sucked on her neck, my whole body twisting with need at the smell of her. Wrapping my arm around her stomach, I shifted my legs further apart. Since her thighs were outside of mine, she stretched wide. Keeping my mouth on her neck and my arm around her, I slipped my other hand inside of the front of her sleep shorts.

“Always ready for me,” I breathed out, feeling how wet she was between her legs. I moved my mouth up the side of her face and over to her ear. The heat on my fingers shot right to my dick, and I circled her clit, feeling it get harder between my fingers.

She reached behind her and grabbed the back of my head. “After we get back from hiking tomorrow,” she started, breathing hard, “we should come home and try to get this piano moved up to the main floor again. Maybe get some of your friends over here to help.”