He gazed so steadily and pointedly at me that I gulped. For such a formal guy, he sure took Pictionaryseriously.
I swallowed around the growing lump in my throat and winced in pre-embarrassment as I threw caution to the wind because there was honestly nothing else my brain could even fathom to guess.
“Is it… is it a penis?” I asked before cringing back in embarrassment.
From the way Noah’s eyes widened and his lips parted in shock, I could tell my first assessment was correct—the drawing was indeednota penis.
“No.” Noah scowled, sounding decidedly offended. His tone made it seem as if it were crazy ofmeto even make that guess, whenhe was the one who drew a freaking penis on the board. “No, of course not. You think I would—”
I cleared my throat before nodding pointedly toward the very clearly penislike drawing.
Noah followed my gaze and took a moment to study the masterpiece as his head tilted slightly to one side and then the other.
A long, slow breath escaped him.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said as he took in the drawing with new eyes. My heart melted a bit at how chagrined he looked. He picked up an eraser and wiped off the board with quick, harsh movements, as if his drawing personally offended him. “That’s not at all what I intended. Let me choose a new word.”
I bit my lip to stifle a growing grin. “It’s fine. What was it supposed to be, though?”
“An elephant, I’m afraid.”
I blinked at the cleared whiteboard as the corner of my lips twitched. “But what were those… What was the line of dots coming out of the trunk?”
Noah rubbed at his temple, and his lips twitched with a reluctant smile. “Peanuts. I thought they’d be a helpful clue.”
“Oh.” I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop the bubbling laughter from escaping. Were the circles supposed to be eyes or ears?
Noah noticed my predicament, and he let out a strained chuckle. “Drawing isn’t my forte, all right?”
He chose a new card, and I couldn’t hold in my laughter anymore.
He sounded so embarrassed, but I was thrilled.
I’d finally discovered something Noah Kincaid sucked at.
* * *
The night was flying by, and my harmless crush on Noah was blooming into something warm and dangerous. The butterflies in my stomach felt far too content for my liking.
I’d almost given myself a hernia from laughing during the rest of our Pictionary game, and Noah finally threw in the towel when his drawing of a giraffe resembled more of a lava lamp.
The sun had long since set before my smile ever would, and an eerie glow cast itself through the room’s wide windows as I settled back and nibbled on one of the chocolate chip cookies I’d packed. Noah moved over to the piano bench, and I couldn’t help noticing how at home he looked there.
“I grew up learning technique,” Noah said as he folded back the cover from the piano’s keys. “Every lesson was about note measures, finger placement, posture, and the right amounts of pressure.”
I shuffled further down against the wall into a delightful slouch, really wishing I had some milk for this cookie. “Looks like it paid off,” I said, wincing when a stray cookie crumb flew out of my mouth. I dusted it off of my thigh, hoping Noah wasn’t as observant as I knew he was.
His back was almost ramrod straight, with his shoulders in resting position as he started a slow classical waltz with the keys. The butterflies came to life, wings fluttering sluggishly against my stomach as they awoke.
“For years, I played the same set of pieces targeted toward refining my technique and fine-tuning the foundation until it was unquestionably perfect.”
Yep, definitely paid off. Noah’s eyes focused on the keys before him while mine were riveted to him. His melody picked up, weaving through the room like a physical dance as I watched his hazel eyes remain centered on the keys. It was no wonder he’d helped me pass Slade’s test.
“Until one day when the organist at my local church called in sick and wasn’t able to perform,” Noah said in a softer tone, and the notes followed suit until they were whispers crawling throughout the room. “Most of the parishioners were our neighbors and knew of my lessons, so they asked my mother if I could fill in.
“It was… new,” Noah said unsurely before nodding his head at the word choice. “Something fresh and exciting.”
His eyes shot up to mine, and I sucked in a breath at the warmth in them.
