“No. It looks expensive.”
“It’s super expensive,” I confirmed. I started for the living room. “Come on.”
Alan followed behind excitedly.
I went to the open case on the couch and pulled the bow out. “Whenever you’re done with string instruments, you have to loosen the hairs of the bow before putting it away,” I explained. “So now tighten like so…. Would you like to try the rosin?”
“Yes, please.”
Felix stood in the doorway, leaning against the threshold as he watched.
I showed Alan the proper way to rosin the bow and then allowed him to try a few times. “Good. Then we need the shoulder rest for the violin—and make sure it’s tuned.” I held the instrument and plucked the strings to tune it by ear.
Alan watched with wide, excited eyes. “That’s so cool! You don’t even need a piano or anything to help tune it?”
I just smiled and accepted the bow. “When it’s properly placed on the body, you can hold it on your shoulder without the use of your hand on the neck.” I demonstrated. “Now, with your fingers on the strings, make sure not to bend your wrist. And this is your posture for violin playing.” I held it out. “Go ahead.”
I helped Alan with holding the instrument and moving his hand into the correct position on both the neck and bow. “How’s that feel?”
“Good.” Alan turned so Felix could see. “Look how cool!”
Felix nodded. “Very nice.”
I moved around Alan and put my hand on his to guide the bow along the string. “E,” I said before moving the bow. “A, D, and G.”
Alan was practically vibrating. “Can I try without you?”
“Go ahead. Be gentle with it, though. This violin has an insurance policy.”
Alan mimicked the motions I’d done on the bow with him, and I tried not to wince too badly as it produced sharp, off-colors.
Alan noticed. “That bad?”
“The violin takes some work,” I said politely.
Alan practiced with my help for another fifteen minutes before Felix announced dinner. Most of the meal consisted of music talk, or rather, Alan grilling me about the violin. What books should he get, how much would a beginner’s instrument cost, would I keep it tuned for him until he learned to do it on his own…. I apologized to Felix afterward, as he had basically bought a violin to go with the chicken.
Afterward, I helped clean the kitchen, and then Felix and I relaxed on the couch together while Alan did his homework upstairs. He came down a few times, once for clarification on a math question from Felix, and then again for me to look at the bars he was composing, now that he was officially part of my comp class, but otherwise we spent the evening alone.
Felix was slouched a bit on the couch so that he could rest against my shoulder. He tilted his head to look at me. “Want to go to bed?”
I blinked a few times and looked down. “Was I falling asleep?”
“You look like you’re about five minutes away from it.” He sat up straight before getting to his feet. “Come on.”
I took his extended hand and got up, collected my bag, and headed upstairs as Felix turned off the lights and checked the door. I said good night to Alan as I passed him leaving the bathroom and heading to his own room. Felix’s room was dark but luckily spotless as I made for the master bathroom, so I didn’t knock my toes against any wayward furniture. I brushed my teeth and changed into pajamas before going to the massive wall-size window and peeking through the curtains. Pitch-black.
“It’s pretty at sunup,” Felix said.
I looked over my shoulder at him shutting the door, a faint figure illuminated by the open bathroom door. “I bet.”
Felix went into the bathroom, and I moved to the bed. I tugged the covers back, flopped down, and pulled a pillow against my face. Yup, smelled like Felix. God. There was nothing more comforting than the scent of someone you lo—
The bathroom door opened again.
“Hey,” I called. “I’m not saying this’ll happen, but if you’re suddenly a pillow or two short, I definitely stole it.” I smirked as I rolled onto my back to look at Felix, and my breath caught.
He stood in the open doorway, completely naked. His body was like a marble statue, a tribute to classical Greek gods. It was just solid muscle and a toned stomach with a deep abdominal vee line. Felix had smooth dark hair on his chest, at least the parts unscathed by the burn.Thattrailed down from his neck, along his shoulder and part of his right pec, the rest of his arm, and along his side down to the hipbone.
