The lights in the basement flickered as the storm outside whistled through the HVAC system and shook the pipes.
“Wild storm,” I said, suddenly nervous.
He nodded but reached for some sticks on the snare and handed them to me. I stepped forward with reverence. I didn’t want to sit down and try to play. I really couldn’t do much more than hold the most basic beat, but I didn’t feel ready to end this moment. The sounds of pouring rain added to the moody atmosphere of the basement.
I didn’t get behind the kit, instead choosing to whack the ride cymbal in front of me. It stung my palm and hurt my arm more than I expected. It rattled throughout the basement just as lightning flashed outside the ground-level window.
“Whoa. I am Zeus!”
He chuckled, and I realized he had moved right behind me. “You don’t need to hold on so tight,” he said.
“Why is everyone always?—”
“To the stick,” he clarified as he reached around to loosen my grip. “You have to let the sound waves travel freely.”
He moved ever closer, not touching anywhere but where he loosened my fingers from their death grip. Yet the whole back of my body warmed as though he’d pressed himself against me. A flash of heat spread up my back, knowing he was close enough to hold me if I moved back an inch. I imagined him pressing himself against me and into the wall. His hands trailing up my arm to take the stick away and toss it to the floor. His other hand roaming up my sweater and?—
Jesus, save me, what was happening?
I wasn’t interested in a relationship; the idea felt exhausting, but my body was on a totally different page. It was reading an erotic novel. Especially as his long fingers deftly wrapped around the stick, toying with it. He mimicked the motion he wanted me to perform, loosely playing with it.
“Like this,” he instructed quietly. “Listen to the difference in the sound now.” His smooth, deep voice trembled the hairs on my neck.
I did as I was told, and the air vibrated differently this time.
“Yep. Right. Good job.”
Those words pulsed a shocking wave of desire through me. Obviously, the attraction had been there since I first looked him up. And sure, maybe I’d been in awe of him before he even came back to Green Valley. It wasn’t every day that a GVHS alum made it in the real world. And the more time I spent with him, the more I respected him, but this was not about me and Leo. This was about Cath and her future.
“When you hold on too tight, your arm absorbs the impact.” He hadn’t stepped away. Were his breaths coming faster, or was it my imagination? Any second now, I would move from this position.
Lightning might as well have struck us for how charged the air felt.
What if I leaned into him, letting his rich tones vibrate through me as an example of sound waves? I wanted something of his to move into me. I needed to see his reaction. To be alone in this state of tightly coiled tension would be unbearable.
I turned my head to find his face inches from mine as he watched me hesitantly. His pupils dilated, and his mouth parted. My heart jumped up my throat. His eyes moved to my lips and, holy crashing thunder, was that the storm or my heart racing? The way he looked at me differed from the lascivious gazes I’d known since puberty. He looked at me like I was precious and confusing, like he was as surprised to find us in this position as I was.
If he lowered his lips to mine, would I stop him?
A flash of lightning came instantaneously with a house-shaking clap of thunder. I jumped so hard that I dropped the stick and gasped. He instinctively wrapped himself around me to protect me from some imaginary danger.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, holding me tight. “Just the storm.”
It was unexpectedly lovely to be held and protected.
Upstairs came another crash of something dropping, followed by Janice’s shout. We shared a look of fear.
Leo didn’t hesitate. He sprinted up the stairs before I’d even exhaled. I still felt the weight of him as I followed, unsure if I was grateful for the interruption.
CHAPTER 12
LEO
I’d never appreciated my long legs more than when they propelled me up the stairs to the first floor.
Janice’s shout caused a panic in me like nothing else. My hammering heart was now erratic.
“Are you okay?” I yelled as I made it into the kitchen.
