As we leave class together, he brushes off the fact that he almost decided to go to Julliard, so I quickly change the subject. “You moved from Vegas to come to Virginia?” He nods, and I snort. “I’m guessing that by now you realize that winter in this place over the last few years made Elsa’s wrath look tame, right?”
“Whatever.” He throws his head back and releases a laugh. “We lived in Michigan until I was five, so this is kid stuff.” Before we reach the steps to go to the exit, a male—and impossibly undeniable—voice calls out my name. I stop in my tracks.
“Not only is he alright, but he’s also personally summoning you,” Nathan teases, lifting his eyebrow. “I’ve got to head to my next class, but I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll be around,” I say a little too brightly. I keep my back turned on Rhys, trying to even out my breathing, to think clearly, before I turn around to face him. When I do, he’s a few feet away from me near a bulletin board. My legs tremble as I walk over to him.
“What do you need?” I ask lamely.
“I sent you a message to your student email about lessons, but I wanted to make sure you received it before this afternoon. Does four o’clock today in Practice Room four on the basement floor work for you?”
I know I should make up my mind, but I’m still wishy washy about Rhys’ role in my future. When I speak, though, I can’t bring myself to tell him that I’m not sure I can work with him and the exact reasons behind my indecision.
Coward.
I’m a big, freaking coward.
“Yeah,” I breathe, “Four o’clock is perfect.”
“Good. See you then.” As he starts to walk off in the opposite direction, he gives me one more look, staring at the top of my head for a long time.
“What?” I demand, causing him to grin. I shouldn’t have said anything because he strides back over to me, leaving only a few inches of space between our bodies. From where I’m standing, I decide that his eyes are definitely more green than blue, and that his lips look entirely too soft. Not only is he gorgeous, but he also smells like trouble—some cologne that’s sexy and exotic and ...
Ugh. What the fuck am I thinking?
“What is it?” I repeat.
“This is the third time I’ve seen you with a hat on. I’m trying to figure out if this is a regular occurrence or if I’ve just been unlucky.”
“Unlucky?”
“I told you—I like seeing your eyes.”
I swallow back the lump forming in my throat. “How many times have you fed that line to girls on campus?”
Shaking his head, he laughs. “Just the one who wore a damn hat around everywhere she went.” Giving me an unapologetic final smile, he adds in a professional voice, “Don’t forget, four o’clock.”
“Sure.”
As I walk down the steps, breathing shallow breaths, I once again try to wrap my head around what twisted stroke of fate brought us to the same place at the same moment in time, knowing I won’t forget our lesson this afternoon even if I spend all day trying to drill it out of my brain.
I just won’t be going.
And for the next ten days, until my second lesson with Professor Cameron in her office on the following Wednesday, this is how my relationship with Rhys plays out. We see each other every Monday and Wednesday in class and in the hallways of the music building, but I miss each of our lessons—three in all so far. He doesn’t confront me on why; he just gives me a shrug or a nod when I approach him to spout off some bullshit excuse about forgetting or something coming up.
But when Professor Cameron interrupts my lesson for the third time in fifteen minutes, she’s clearly irritated. Shutting off the metronome, she takes off her glasses and massages her fingers over the bridge of her nose.
“That was horrible. We have more work to do than I thought,” she says bluntly.
I stare up from the sheet music on the stand in front of me. “What?”
Releasing a sigh, Professor Cameron stands up from the upright piano situated in the corner of her office and cracks her knuckles. “This is a basic piece. Rhys had me under the assumption that you were progressing quickly with the private lessons and with sight singing, but I’m not entirely sure I believe him. So I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know now.”
Chapter Six
Too stunned to react just yet, I simply stare unblinking across the room as she stares back at me expectantly.
Wait.
What?
Rhys had lied and told her I’ve been coming to my lessons with him? Why would he do that when it’s also his ass on the line? Rolling my tongue over my lips, I pretend to study my sheet music. “It’s coming along,” I say carefully, not wanting to get him in trouble. “Slowly.”
“Slowly,” Professor Cameron repeats, drawing that single word out. She taps her index finger thoughtfully against her sharp chin. “I’m going to check your schedule and then, if your other classes allow it, I’ll speak to Rhys about you taking a third lesson with him on Thursdays.”
Shit.
Another lesson added to the two that I’m already avoiding at all costs.
Wonderful.
After a few moments of awkward quietness between us, Professor Cameron asks me in the gentlest voice I’ve heard her use to date, “You don’t have a problem with Mr. Delane, do you?”
After that first day of class and missing my lesson with Rhys, I fully planned on meeting with her to discuss my issues. I was going to take Kendra’s advice, tell Cameron discretely what my problem was, and hope that she’d understood. That was until I had dinner with both Mac and Nathan—who already knew each other from the music department choir, which is obligatory for all music majors and minors—last Tuesday night.
Even though they knew nothing about my specific situation, their discussion about my advisor’s quick dismissal of what she deemed “petty problems” swayed my plans. Like a coward, I simply chose to avoid the situation instead of confronting it directly.
Now, with Professor Cameron’s frustration at my lack of progress and her preparing to speak to Rhys directly about her dissatisfaction, I realize it’s time for me to do something.
“There’s no problem,” I rush to assure her. “But, I ... I can send an email to Rhys to see if we can make our lessons a little longer.” Closing my eyes for a second, I curse myself for being too stupid to realize this would happen. “If that’s alright with you, of course.”
When I open my eyes, I see that she’s giving me one of her rare smiles—or at least, what closely resembles a smile.
“I can always appreciate initiative, so yes, it’s fine with me. I’ll check in with Rhys as well.” Assuming her seat behind the piano again, she slides her glasses back on and flips to the beginning of the sheet music. “Let’s see if you can sludge through this a couple more times in the next fifteen minutes.”
Flustered, as soon as my lesson is over I search the music building for Rhys. I want to get to him before Cameron has the opportunity to. When I’m unable to find him, I take off for my dorm room, passing by Nathan and promising to text him later along the way. When I reach my room, pausing for just a moment in the doorway to let the air conditioner blow over me, I’m not at all surprised to find Daniel with Corinne. They’ve been spending a lot of time with each other lately—which means she’s had less reason to dig into every detail of my personal life—but I’m reserving my opinion on him.
He hasn’t tried to talk me into going to his room again since that first night, but he reminds me so much of James, my douchey ex, that I can’t help but distrust him.
“Trying out for cross country?” he jokes from his spot on Corinne’s bed where they’re playing some PS3 game. I shoot him a sharp look because the first image that pops into my mind is that of my sister in that red and white cross country tracksuit.