The Perfect First (Fulton U, #1)(48)

Pushing open her cracked bedroom door, I stepped inside. She was facing the window, but her eyes were closed. Her fingers flew across the strings. The sway of her body to the rhythm of the music was mesmerizing.

Seeing her like this added another thing to the growing mountain that made her unlike anyone I’d ever met before. Her hair was up in a different intricately braided style. It was her very own crown; she was like something royal plunked down in the middle of so much normal.

Her fingers flew faster over the strings as the song reached its crescendo, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could spend the next fifty years with this girl and I’d still be learning more about her. That thought sent a jolt through my body. She finished the piece and I stared at her, entranced. That was the kind of thing I shouldn’t have been thinking. I wanted to say it made me rethink my plans for the night, but like roots had sprouted from my feet, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I could have watched her forever, could have let her show me more of who she was and peeled back the layers she wore like a shield.

She dragged the bow across the strings, wiggling her fingers and creating a vibrato on the final note.

“That was unbelievable.” I clapped after my private performance.

She jumped at my words and spun around. Her hand clutched to her chest, but she slowly relaxed and a smile spread across her face, the same kind that kept thoughts of her eclipsing all others.

“How did you get in here?” She put her violin on the bed beside me, flipping open the case.

“Your roommate was walking out and she let me in.”

“More like storming out.”

“Kind of.”

“She asked me to stop and I told her I’d be finished in thirty minutes.” Her mischievous smile made my chest swell with pride. “I feel bad for subjecting her to that though.”

“To the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard?” I could have listened to it all day every day.

She ducked her head and slid the bow into the case. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better.”

“Who’s doing that? That was amazing, and I don’t even like classical music.”

“To the untrained ear, maybe, but my fingering was sloppy.”

I let that one slide. “You weren’t subjecting anyone to anything. People should be paying you to play for them.”

She gave me the kind of patronizing smile you give a small kid before patting them on the head and telling them to run along.

Reaching over, I covered her hand with mine as she closed the case. “Seriously, I’m not blowing smoke.” My thumb ran along the back of her hand, her skin so smooth under my callused touch. A tingle spread across my skin, the kind that only happened when I was around her, the kind that kept me up at night reliving the kiss in the bar and the brush of her against me on the dance floor.

Her lips parted and she stared into my eyes. Her pupils dilated and her entire body stilled. She cleared her throat and tugged her hand out from under mine. “You played a great game.” She sat on the bed with the violin case between us.

“You watched?” I peered over at her.

“I told you I would. I don’t break promises.” She stared back at me like the question stung. “I tried to read up on as much as I could about the rules and everything, but I think you’re going to have to explain things to me.”

“That I can definitely do, but not now. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Her eyes twinkled with excitement. “What kind of surprise?” I could practically see her rubbing her hands together. A part of me wondered if I was a temporary amusement to her. She played the violin. She was graduating from college at nineteen. She was a math genius and headed for her PhD. I ran across a field and caught a ball—faster than most, yes, but one wrong move and my career was over.

Once the excitement of her firsts list was over, did she even have a use for me? I was getting in over my head with her in the worst way, in the kind of way that twisted me up in knots and made it hard to sleep or concentrate on anything other than when I’d get to see her next.

“A list surprise.”

She grabbed her coat. I held it up and she slipped her arms inside, smiling at me over her shoulder. Her lips were so close to mine. The taste and feel of them had been etched on my soul.

Sliding my hand down to hers, I led her out of her apartment. I opened my passenger side door for her then jogged around to my side. The engine purred and I pulled out into traffic, headed toward our destination.

“What’s up with you? You did win the game, right? I don’t know much about football, but I can read the scores.”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You’re right. We won.”

“Then why are you so quiet?” She peered over at me, trying to catch my eye.

Because I want to kiss you again. I want to do more than kiss you again, and I want tonight to be special. I don’t want to fuck up and make you regret it. “No reason.”

She put her hand on my arm. Her fingers tightened and massaged the spot. “You don’t have to keep indulging me with list stuff. We can watch a movie or grab something to eat instead.”

“You’re going to love it. How do you know I’m not doing this to entertain myself?” I gave her a strained smiled and snapped my eyes back to the road. If I wasn’t careful, I’d get distracted and wreck the car. My body hummed in anticipation of getting to where we were going just like it did before a game.