Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
I stopped at her seat. Not giving one shit about the other students in the class, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. Bonnie didn’t even try to pull away. She just melted into me like she knew where she belonged.
I broke the kiss and sat beside her, taking her hand and pulling it onto my lap. I faced Lewis at the front of the class. A small smile appeared on his face, before he turned and wrote something on the board. I brought my gaze back to Bonnie and the flush on her cheeks. Students were talking in whispers and looking our way.
They could damn well look.
Bonnie ducked her head then glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “Farraday,” I said. Her eyes filled with tears. The sight was a damn crowbar to my chest.
Then she smashed it wide open when she whispered, “Dean.”
I gripped her hand tighter as Lewis started the class. I never let her go through the whole lesson. I made no notes, but I didn’t care. Holding Bonnie was more important than anything right now.
* * *
When class was done, I released Bonnie only long enough for her to get her things. Taking her hand again, I led her slowly down the stairs and out into the corridor. She let me lead her through the building and toward the practice rooms.
Her feet faltered, and I held her tightly. Now that I was aware of what she was going through, I picked up on things that I hadn’t before. She walked heavily; the beat of her foot hitting wood sounded like a drum in my ears. Her short breaths were sharp bursts of irregular rhythm that felt out of sync with the brightness she exuded.
The sounds were dark colors in my head. Colors I didn’t like to see. Especially on Bonnie.
I brought us into a practice room and sat her down on a chair, pressing my lips to hers before dragging over the piano stool and sitting before her.
Her huge brown eyes were on me. She was nervous. I could tell by her fidgeting hands.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her face. It was as if ever since I found about her heart, I couldn’t stop noticing just how beautiful she was. I must have stared longer than I realized, because she tucked some loose hair behind her ear and whispered, “Cromwell.”
I blinked, ripping myself from my thoughts. Bonnie wore a worried expression. I reached out for her hand. Her focus dropped to our fingers. “We’re going to work together again,” I said, and her head snapped up. “On Lewis’s composition.”
“Cromwell.” She shook her head sadly.
I ran my free hand over the thigh of my jeans. “I want to play again.” I closed my eyes and could see the colors sparking back to life, growing more vibrant as I allowed that truth to hit home. Bonnie squeezed my hand. I opened my eyes. “I want to play because of you.”
“Me?”
I got on my knees, on the floor, my eyes level with hers. I cupped her face and felt my lip hook up. “Because you, with your questions and tenacity, made damn sure that I faced some shit I didn’t want to face. You pushed and pushed until I couldn’t turn away from it anymore. You pushed until I found myself in here, in the practice rooms, picking up instruments I hadn’t touched in three years.”
I kissed her forehead. “I fought against it. Fought against you. But when I saw you at that coffee house, singing, just you and your voice and your acoustic guitar, I finally saw something in you I hadn’t seen before—kinship. You loved music as much as I did. But unlike me, you weren’t afraid to show the world.” My stomach clenched. “Now I know…everything… My need to play again is just…more.”
Bonnie shook her head, ready to argue. I cut her off before she could. “You make me want to make music again, Farraday. Let me do this with you.”
Her eyes dropped. “Cromwell,” she said softly, “things will get worse.” I held my breath. “A lot worse. You have a life. You have a chance to create something great alone.” She swallowed and looked dead into my eyes. “I will only hold you down. You don’t need to do this for me.” She smiled a self-deprecating smile. “I won’t be able to compose anything that is worthy of your time. I’m driftwood to your tall ship.”
I knew she was talking about more than the music right now. She was talking about her. She was talking about me. About us.
“Then lucky for you I’m a musical genius and can take the lead.” My lip hooked in humor. Bonnie’s smile turned from sad to amused. I kissed her nose, just because I could and it was there. “I’m not going anywhere. If you haven’t learned by now, I’m stubborn and pretty much do whatever the hell I like.” I moved to the piano, taking the stool with me. I nudged my head to the space I’d left on the stool. “Get your arse here, Farraday.”