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Mrs. Banks
“She liked it?” Collin took the phone out of my hands and reread the message himself, his wide eyes darting back and forth across the screen as a grin grew on his face. “She liked it!”
“We did it!” I jumped up and threw my arms around his neck.
His arms wrapped around my back and I closed my eyes, enjoying just a little too much the way he held me so tight.
“Three weeks to go,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Three weeks.” I leaned back to look him in the eye. “Think we’ll be ready?”
“Are you kidding?” Confidence sparked in his eyes and he smirked. “We’ve already got this wrapped up. This is going to be our moment.”
I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. He was right, this was going to be our moment. I would show the world that I was more than just a push-over without a voice and he was going to show that he was more than just some jock. We were going to nail this.
“You know, there’s just one thing I regret about this whole situation,” Collin added, looking down at me with an expression that made my stomach tilt.
“What?”
He leaned toward me and brushed his fingertips along my neck, eliciting another shiver that went all the way to my toes. “Guess this means we won’t be needing any more...um...private sessions, if you know what I mean.”
I knew exactly what he meant. And the way he was looking at my lips made me wish we hadn’t read Mrs. Banks’ email.
We’d told each other that kiss wasn’t going to change anything. That we’d still just be singing partners. But I couldn’t deny the fact that every fiber in my body wanted to kiss Collin again. The boy who couldn’t fall in love.
I was seriously in trouble.
Chapter Eighteen
The last chord on my guitar rang out loud, like the gong of a victory bell, as my eyes fell on Collin. His hair had fallen onto his forehead, making him look every bit like a Calvin Klein model, and he had his intense gaze trained on me. Excitement jolted through my torso. I couldn’t be sure if it was because of him, or the fact that we were so close to perfection. Nearly everything was falling into place — except for the fact that I couldn’t look at my singing partner without melting.
“It’s really starting to sound amazing, guys,” Ally squealed as she clapped her hands, causing Collin to break his gaze away from mine.
We sat in their backyard, nailing down the harmony for our song. I had to agree with Ally, it was sounding amazing. Like really amazing. Collin had managed to get some guys in band to lay down the percussion and bass line on a track he played from his laptop. We each had our guitars. All of that, combined with our voices, was forming an incredible sound.
I tried not to stare all starry-eyed at Collin as he set down his guitar, leaned back against the base of an old oak tree, and interlaced his fingers behind his head. He was grinning in a self-satisfied way that made it hard for me to look away.
“I think I’m ready to retire from football now,” he said. “Go pro in music.”
“Nah, you’d miss it too much,” Ally replied, sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of him. “I know you get a kick out of winning those games.”
“It’s true.” He sighed and looked over at me. “Hey Audrey, think I can become the world’s first Grammy winning professional football player?”
Honestly, I was convinced he could do anything he wanted. “Sure, but don’t forget me when you become all rich and famous.”
“Never.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You’ll be right beside me, accepting that Grammy, too. It’s going to happen, just you wait and see.”
I smiled and felt a little too pleased at Collin’s depiction of the future. That was everything I’d ever wanted. Collin and I made great music together. We could conquer the world, if only I could get over the way my body reacted whenever he was around.
I’d spent hours last night tossing and turning in my bed, trying to make sense of this thing between us. I’d come to the solid conclusion that what Collin and I had was purely physical.
We’d kissed and it had been utterly amazing. There was no doubting that. And no one could blame me for feeling that way, especially if they knew how charming and gorgeous he was. But that was it. Just a physical attraction between friends. A harmless flirtation. End of story.
“Ally?” Gina stuck her head out the back door and waved at us. “Don’t forget, it’s your turn to help Tripp with supper tonight.”
“Got to go, guys,” Ally said, jumping to her feet. “You don’t want to know how Tripp makes stroganoff without one of us there to guide him. Last time I wasn’t quick enough, he put beets in the sauce.” She shivered and made a face before turning to me. “You’re staying for dinner, right, Audrey?”
I smiled. Staying over at Collin’s house for dinner was becoming a nightly routine. Mom didn’t seem to mind too much. She knew we were getting into crunch time with our song. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
