Chapter Fifteen
Restez: stay in position; a direction to string players not to shift up or down the fingerboard
Damian
I wake with the scent of Charlie in my nostrils, but the place where she should be lying is cold.
Blinking, I sit up and rub my eyes, looking around for some sign of where she might be. But there’s nothing of hers left in my room. Her clothes, her shoes, her purse, all gone.
Fumbling for my glasses, I slide them on, then find my discarded jeans from last night and fish out my phone. Thankfully the battery isn’t too low since I didn’t bother charging it last night. I plug it in now and check the time. Eight fifteen and a text from Charlie.
Last night was amazing. I didn’t want to wake you, so I called an Uber to get home before my first class. Call you later.
I let out a soft sigh. I wish she would’ve woken me. I would’ve happily taken her home. I didn’t even think about classes last night when I told her to stay the night.
I’m a little surprised she woke up in time on her own. Maybe she’s one of those weirdos who can wake up without an alarm all the time. I get a little glow of happiness when I realize that I’ll probably find that out in the near future.
Sending back a quick text—Have a good class. Talk later—I leave my phone on the charger, pull on my jeans, and head for the shower. When I leave my room, I bump into Zeke. He makes a show of looking me up and down, taking in my shirtless torso and messy hair. Then he leans to the side to look behind me. “No walk of shame this morning?”
I shake my head. “Sorry to disappoint. She has eight o’clocks, so you missed her.”
He makes a sound of faux disappointment. “Too bad. I was hoping to see her again.” His gaze grows abstract, and he rubs his face. “I forget that she’s just a freshman, you know? Since she’s the same age as we are. How’s she doing with classes and everything? I never see her since she’s not in band or orchestra. She seems like a cool chick.”
My eyebrows climb my forehead. It’s not like Zeke to want to gossip, but I guess his curiosity makes a certain amount of sense. “She’s good. Enjoying classes. Having an easier time than most freshmen, but I think that’s true of piano players in general. They usually understand chord structure better than the rest of us, even if they don’t know all the proper names, y’know?”
He nods. “Yeah. True. I noticed that with Chris in our class. He always sailed through the theory stuff better than the rest of us. It always made me feel better that he sucked at sight singing though.”
He grins, and I let out a laugh. “Yeah. He was a cocky bastard about the theory stuff until you showed him up in sight singing. No one expected the trombone player to sing that well.”
His grin turns crooked. “I was in choir in high school. I was in a couple of the school plays, too. I’m a triple threat.”
With another laugh, I move past him. “I’m going to take a shower, maybe head in early and try to catch Charlie for a few minutes before Music History.”
He nods, letting me pass. “Cool. Catch you later. I’m going to get some practicing in before class today.”
When I get back to my room, I see I have a missed call from Charlie. Brows furrowed, I call her back right away.
She answers on the third ring. “Hey!” she chirps. “I got your text and tried calling right back, but you didn’t answer.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I went to take a shower. Is everything alright?”
A singsong voice calls, “Hi, Damian,” in the background.
“Who’s that? Where are you?”
She chuckles. “I’m having breakfast with Lauren. My mom called when I got home, and dealing with her took all my time. By the time I finished our phone call, I was going to be late for theory. And I woke up Lauren yelling at my mom, so she came out and suggested breakfast so we could dish.”
“Dish?”
“About you. You have sisters. Surely you’re familiar with the concept.”
My ears get hot, and I cover it by dropping my towel and digging underwear out of my dresser drawer. “Yes. I’m familiar with the concept,” I say more stiffly than I intended.
She giggles in response. “Anyway, I’m skipping my morning classes. And since you’re awake and not in class yet, I wanted to call and say hi.”
“Hi,” I reply softly, a smile pulling at my mouth. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Another laugh comes out of her, this one a little odd sounding. “About what, exactly?”
“Us?” It comes out a question, but it’s the most pressing thing on my mind right now.
“Great.” Her voice is suddenly low and husky. “I was hoping we could get together tonight, and …”
The and hangs between us, sending blood rushing south with all of its implications, making it more difficult than it ought to be to pull my underwear on. I clear my throat. “I’d like that.”
“Me too.” I can hear the sultry smile in her voice.
“Are there other things you’re feeling less great about? You said your mom called, and you yelled at her. Is everything okay?”
A heavy sigh comes over the phone. “That, well … it could be worse. She was making demands about the way she thinks things ought to be. I told her no. She wasn’t happy, but I think I might’ve finally gotten through to her. Time will tell.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. Not over the phone. And Lauren and I have kind of talked it to death right now.”
“Okay.” I swallow against a wave of disappointment. But I get it. I wouldn’t want to talk about my family problems over the phone in the middle of a restaurant either. It still stings that she’ll talk to Lauren about it and not me, though.
“Hey.” Her voice is soft, cajoling. “I told you enough about my mom last night that I’m sure you can piece a few things together. You know she doesn’t want me here. She’s still pressuring me to come back with them, and …” She trails off, swallowing audibly over the phone. “Anyway, I told her in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t be doing that, and that she needs to stop trying to bully me into doing what she wants. And that if she wants to call and talk to me about my life and see how I’m doing, that’s fine, but if she’s just going to browbeat me some more, I’m going to block her.”
I blink, my head jerking back in shock. She’s said that she’s tempted to do that before. But I didn’t realize she was serious. “Wow,” I say at last. “What’d she say to that?”
Charlie snorts. “I didn’t give her a chance to say much after that. I hung up. Because letting her have the last word makes her think she’s still in control of the situation. And the reality is that she isn’t. Not this situation. Not anymore.”
“Good. It sounds like you’re happy about that.”
She lets out a long, slow breath. “You know, I really am. I think I’m happier than I’ve been in … a long time. Ever, maybe. Between you and us and meeting your family. And now finally dealing with my mother. I feel like …” She pauses, and I wait, letting her figure out how she wants to finish that thought. “I feel like I’m finally the one steering my life. And like anything’s possible. It’s wonderful.”
“That is wonderful.” I pitch my voice lower, full of suggestion. “We should celebrate.”
Her husky laugh is her first response. “Celebrate, huh?” I can see her arching one eyebrow as she says that, and I grin.
“Yeah.”
“I think I know how you want to celebrate.”
I reach down and adjust myself. “Dinner tonight? I’ll practice beforehand so we can spend the whole evening together. Do you think that’ll work for you?”
“Dinner where?”
“I’m not sure yet. Does it matter?”
That low, husky laugh again. “I guess not. I’ll get everything done before dinner, then. What time?”
“Let’s say six to give us both plenty of time for practicing and homework.”
She lets out a groan. “Crap. I didn’t do my assignment for this afternoon’s English class.”
“Better finish your breakfast soon and get to work. See you tonight.”
“Sounds good. Love you.”
A wide smile stretches across my face at her easy use of those words. “Love you too.”