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“Is everything okay?” Jess asked, voice slightly unsure.
I nodded. “Yeah, but instead of taking you to the theater, how about we go to the pool?”
She straightened off the wall, wobbling a little with her weight balanced on one leg. “You were taking me to the theater?”
“Figured you might be missing the piano.”
Several emotions flickered over her features all at once. “How’d you know?”
I stepped forward, slipping my arm around her waist, offering to support some of her weight. “Because piano is a part of you.”
Her hands came up to rest against my biceps. Just that simple touch had my heart bouncing around erratically. “Like swimming is part of you.”
“Mm.” I agreed.
“You’ve been missing it?”
Dividing my stare between hers, I whispered, “I’ve had more important things to focus on.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Isn’t swimming your passion?”
Unable to help myself, I dragged the pad of my finger down the bridge of her nose. “Not my only one. Not the most important.”
Her lips curled in. A whole symphony of emotion played across her face. It was no secret I loved this girl’s piano skills, but that silent song was now my favorite. I should feel like the world’s largest ass, like a criminal in handcuffs. What I was doing was wrong.
But goddamn, she felt so fucking right.
The openness of her stare. The way she lit up when I said something she liked. She looked at me the way I always wanted. Like I was her sun, moon, and sky. Like she loved me the way I loved her.
I can’t go back to being just her friend. I can’t go back to less.
“Ben?” The timid call in her tone was like honey to a bee.
“What’s up, baby girl?”
I felt her chest inflate as though she was gathering the courage to make a confession. Anticipation built inside me as I waited with bated breath.
“What if I forgot how to play?” The words rushed out in a pained confession.
Even if I had hoped she’d say something else, I was not disappointed. Anything she entrusted me with was something I would be grateful for.
“Hey,” I called, gently grasping her chin to push it up so she’d have to look at me. “Have you been worrying about that?”
She bit into her lower lip, eyes shimmering with tears. “That’s why I’m here at Westbrook, right? Because I’m crazy good at piano.”
“Crazy good.” I agreed, rubbing my thumb over her jaw.
“So what if I forgot? What if, when I sit down at the piano again, I don’t know how to play? Or how to read music. What if whatever it was that made me so good is gone with all my memories?”
I whistled low. “Those are some heavy thoughts.”
Her head bobbed. “I could lose my scholarship.”
I made a sympathetic sound, wrapping her in both arms, wishing I could shield her from her own thoughts. “Bring those Bambi eyes up here,” I beckoned, and she lifted them instantly, making my heart skip a beat.
“Good girl,” I praised. She flushed, and I suppressed a smile. Someone’s got a praise kink. “I know it’s scary up in here right now,” I said, lightly tapping against her temple. “But there is one thing I know as sure as the sky is blue.”
Taking her chin, I pushed her face up. “See? Sky is definitely blue, right?”
