Page 45 of Muted

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snap out, barely noticing that Susu ducks her head. “Why the hell do I keep missing it?” Playing through it again, I realize the run is similar to another song that doesn’t have the accidental in it and it was just a habit from memory. I play again, then again, and eventually feel good enough that I won’t make the mistake anymore.

“Okay, let’s start here,” I tell her, pointing at a few measures before I kept fucking up, “and go until the end. I’ve got it now.”

When she lifts her hands to the keyboard, I notice her fingers are trembling and I wrinkle my nose at it, then close my eyes because I’m a fucking idiot. Sliding my hand over hers, I squeeze it gently when she jolts under my touch.

“Sorry for snapping like that. It wasn’t directed at you. I was pissed at myself.” She doesn’t pull her hand away when she nods her head and exhales heavily through her nose. “Ready to go?” I ask, not looking directly at her. From the corner of my eye, I can see her fortify herself, then feel her sit up a bit taller.

I chuckle when she sways her legs under the bench just a bit to the beat of the song. She’s already counting in her head, so I count under my breath along with her and then we both start playing in perfect synchronicity.

The back and forth of her leg as it swings is distracting me. I can feel her muscles flexing along with the ones in her arms. We haven’t made it through to the end yet, but I jump when she shoots her left hand over my right to play a string of notes between my hands, then pulls back to pick up her part at the higher end of the keyboard.

I’m really off my game because I didn’t even notice that our parts crossed over each other when I skimmed through. I see another section coming up and smile when she doesn’t hesitate to reach over my arm once more. It happens more and more as the climax of the song builds and I realize that this song will be much more entertaining if we play side-by-side this evening.

We both start playing rapid fire to end the song, her arm over mind as we pound out the notes, our bodies leaning forward as we play as loudly and dramatically as we can.

There’s a sound echoing behind the final notes as they ring out and the moment we lift our hands, I realize it’s her giggle. Considering the low resonance of her tone, her laughter is quite high. My cheeks ache from the way I’m grinning at her. There’s that light again in her eyes. It’s happy. Peaceful.Warm.

My head is screaming to lean over and kiss that upper lip that sticks out a tiny bit further than the lower one, but I know that would be the wrong move. Clearing my throat, I try to look away, but her eyes are magnetic. I just can’t stop staring at her.

“You think you’ll be up to play this tonight? Even if we fuck it up a little, no one’s going to notice.”

Susu quickly nods her head, body still shaking with silent laughter now. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and find Theo standing at the door, staring at her with both his eyebrows raised. Apparently, we’re both shocked to hear her. I don’t blame him. Susu has been around for a good amount of time now and we’ve heard nothing close to a peep from her.

“Perfect. Why don’t you take a break, and we’ll meet back here in about an hour to start the set?”

When she shifts her body to leave the bench, I touch her arm again, not ready to have her body heat removed from my side. I wanted to touch her again. “Are you good playing it together on one piano in front of everyone? I could run home and grab the copies I forgot.”

She looks at where my hand that’s resting on her arm, but once again, she doesn’t pull away. Tapping the back of it with a finger, she indicates she’d like me to lift my hand. Reluctantly, I do, and I’m tempted to fucking throw a fit about it.

Fuck me, I want to keep touching her.

There’s so much warmth surrounding her, and it’s not just what’s pumping beneath her skin. She goes to grab her phone and types something out quickly.

I feel deflated that she won’t use her words again with me when she just did earlier. What is it that keeps her silent? What allows some words out, but not others?

I’m going to figure it out, and then I’ll get her to actually talk to me.

Handing me her phone, I wait until the last minute to drop my eyes to the screen.

‘I don’t mind playing together. I think it’ll be more entertaining. We should save it for the end. It’s a perfect piece for us.’

Us.

My smile grows across my face once again. She sees it too. This chemistry we have together and the bigger picture. After playing for hours, we both tend to get warm; extra heated with two of us on the same bench. It’s a workout, playing for that long, particularly when you use your entire body to feel the music.

Apparently, I took too long to answer while daydreaming. She slips the phone from my hand, fingers tapping against the screen again, before she shoves it in my face again.

‘If you don’t think it’s a good piece to end the night with, that’s okay. It was just an idea. I’m good with whatever you want to do.’

Oh, sweet Susu… I don’t think you are, honey.

Jesus, I need to get a grip.

“No,” I choke out. “It’s perfect. I think everyone will love it as the finale. It’s a good idea.” The same idea I had, but hadn’t expressed yet. I normally like to have the credit, but I find I want her to take this one. “You did good, Susu. Brilliant plan.”

The pride that shines from her face when she erupts into a megawatt smile is too much. I fucking crave this woman and I want to see that look on her face every fucking day.

Standing up quickly, I adjust my shirt awkwardly. “I’ll see you in an hour. Excuse me.”

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