Now, I just needed to put them into action.
Taking out the bag of chips I snagged from the kitchen, chewing as obnoxiously as possible, I watched for Tolliver's reaction.
"Those sound good," he said.
"They are," I replied, chomping on a few more chips before adding, "You probably hate it when people eat in your car, huh? So messy."
"Nah, feel free. I eat in here all the time."
"But you probably don't like girls who eat a lot."
Tolliver lifted a brow. "Actually, I love it. Nothing turns me on more."
I closed the bag, not missing the way his mouth ticked up.
Reaching for the stereo, I started messing with it, pushing all the buttons, turning on music. I knew guys hated it when you mess with their car. Glancing over, I raised my voice and said, "Oh sorry, is this bothering you?"
"Nope," Tolliver said.
"Are you sure?"
He nodded then grinned, turning the dial even louder. "I love this song."
Me too, I thought but didn't say.
Who would've guessed the hockey player was an Adele fan?
But obviously he was.
As Tolliver began mouthing the words, nodding to the beat, I quickly switched gears. Pairing my phone via Bluetooth, Adele's gorgeous vocals cut out replaced by a track from one of my classical playlists. In my experience, most 17-year-old jocks also hated string pieces. Even when they were as amazing as what was currently wafting through the speakers.
I waited for Tolliver to get upset, switch the station back, something.
What I didn't expect was for him to listen, brow furrowed.
"Hey, is this you?" he said after a moment.
I blinked in surprise. "Yeah, me and my cousins."
"But that's you on the main part, right?"
"It...is."
"Awesome," he said, surprising me as he turned up the music again. He threw that smile at me, and the way it made my heart skip a beat should've made it illegal. "You're really good."
I cleared my throat. "Like I said, it's my cousins too. You're right. We are fantastic. But I can't take all the credit."
Tolliver shrugged. "Still, your playing stands out. The way you performed that high part just now? Beautiful."
Why were my cheeks so hot?
And how did he even know which part was mine?
In the year I dated Wayne, he'd never been able to hear the difference. Sometimes my parents couldn't pick it out either unless they saw the performance live. And yet, Tolliver somehow knew.
I wanted to keep trying to put him off, but first, I had to know.
"How did you guess?" I asked. "That I was lead violin?"
