Page 32 of Muted

Wrenching my gaze away from him, I quickly swallow down half the glass, choking a bit when it goes down wrong. I swear I hear Theo release a low growl, but the sound of blood pounding in my ears mutes everything around me.

Theo stands up and takes my glass from me when I finish. With a glare directed at Vance, he flips him off, then leaves my side. There’s no way I can meet Vance’s eyes after whatever just happened, so I duck my head and wait for him to start once more.

I don’t have to wait long.

This time when we run through the warmup piece, I don’t struggle. I didn’t realize how much tension was in the air until it dissipates. Apparently, Vance is a happy man when he gets perfection. Theo’s magic water and super intense eye contact did the trick.

We spend the next few hours working through the regular songs. When I think we’re done, Vance leans down and pulls music from his bag.

“Here, I’d like to give these a try. I’ve been holding onto them for a while now because Thad just didn’t have the skill to pull them off. I think… Well, youdo, so let’s run through them and see if any will work for us.” There’s a hint of excitement lacing his voice. Although I’m tired, I hold my hand out for the music and set it out.

Twisting on the bench, I stretch and then pop my back before doing the same to my neck. I expel the relief I feel through a soft sigh which stops Vance. Apparently, the noise shocked him. To be honest, it shocked me too. I wasn’t even thinking after playing for so long, so my throat has been slowly relaxing.

“Is this too much today? If you need to stop, we can try these another night.”

Shaking my head, I give him a half smile and sit up straight, ready to sight-read the first song. I wait for his signal because I’m the one that starts this piece, but his eyes are focused on my mouth where that small sound escaped from.

When I press my lips together, he jerks his gaze away, focusing back on the music. “I’m ready for you to start. You can slow the tempo if you need to for the first run through.”

Internally, I smirk. I know the song. I’ve never played this particular version, but it doesn’t seem too difficult. As we play through, my smile grows, along with Vance’s enthusiasm, when he realizes this duet is a good fit for us. It’s flirty, but also really fucking fun to play.

He teases me when he picks the speed up, and I lean forward, picking up my pace within a measure of him. His laughter rings throughout the space and I can’t stop my smile from growing with pleasure, my heart rate kicking up in excitement.

“Fuck. Yes!” he calls out to me, and I nod in agreement. We finish the song with a flourish, both panting from the exertion. The song rings out for a few beats until we lift our feet from the sustaining pedal and the combined last notes cut out.

Vance chuckles and shakes his head, then stands up to hold out a fist for me to bump. “Well,thatsong is going in the set. Fuck, that was killer.” I find that I only hesitate a moment before I tap my knuckles to his.

His eyes drop to my hand before he looks away and pulls back to sit once more. “Seriously, Susu. You’re incredibly talented. It’s rare to find someone who’s decent enough to keep up with me.”

My good mood falls a tiny bit at his cockiness, my smile feeling a touch more brittle. His slightly condescending compliment shouldn’t offend me because Vance Stollistalented, a prodigy even. Why shouldn’t he acknowledge it? I’ve been told by a few people that I’m gifted as well, but those moments were rare. Mainly my aunt and uncle, who I suspect would tell me the same no matter my skill level. My piano teacher adored me and always had praise or a kind word to sprinkle in during our lessons.

The only other comments came from individuals who were not from back home, when we’d travel for a recital, or I accompanied in another town. Both were only a few instances, and when I accompanied, the focus was more on the main performer rather than me.

“You pick the next one to try out,” Vance encourages, missing my minor change in mood. I wouldn’t expect him to know. It’s not like I can tell him, anyway.

I flip through the pages and then hold up the one I’d like to try. It’s not as upbeat, more of an emotional love ballad, but I adore the song.

“Oh, good choice.”

He digs out his part and I roam my eyes around, only to find both Chester and Theo sitting at one of the back tables with papers spread out. But they aren’t working. They’re watching us.

Watchingme.

Well, that’s not unnerving or anything.

“Ready?” Vance asks, and I nod, dragging my eyes away from the two men.

Another almost flawless run through and Vance seems absolutely giddy with pleasure over it. This time, when we finish, I feel my throat closing up again, only this time it’s not because of my never-ending anxiety. The power and emotion behind the music hit me harder than I had expected, and I think I’m done for the night.

Sighing happily as he writes down this song, he drops his pen and asks, “What’s next?”

I just… can’t. Not anymore. The song was about hope and life and love and everything that’s been stripped away from me because of shit I have no control over. I shake my head quickly and feel a hint of shame for disappointing him when his smile fades away.

“No, you’re right. It’s getting late. I’m going to hunt for more material to try out. You did well, Susu. I’ll see you tomorrow for warmup before we play for the bar.”

I watch him shove his music into his bag, my movements mimicking his at a much slower pace. My emotions got the better of me and I didn’t check the time before I ended our session. I’ve got almost forty-five minutes until the next bus hits my stop. The city spaces the buses out the later it is in the evening, so now I’ll have to wait.

Vance leaves his piano to head home, but he pauses when he’s next to me. “Seriously, I’m happy to have you. I think this is going to really work out. You’re exceptionally gifted.” With that, he knocks his knuckles on top of my piano and waves goodbye to Theo and Chester before walking out the front door.

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