Page 32 of Counterpoint and Harmony

She finally trails off, and I’m smiling, trying not to laugh out loud. “Uh, Charlie? Have you been talking to Gabby lately?”

“Yeah,” she says slowly, drawing out the word. “We talked earlier today for a few minutes. Why?”

A suppressed snort of laughter escapes. “No reason. It’s just that, well, you tend to talk a lot more when you’ve been spending time with her.”

She sighs, then a light huff of laughter comes over the phone. The simple sound of her breath makes me ache for her presence in real life.

“I miss you.” The thought is verbalized as soon as it enters my head.

“I miss you too.”

We’re quiet for a long moment, then I draw in a deep breath. “Anyway. You were saying about coming for moral support? It’s like an audition, though. It’s closed. Only the judges will be in the room when we play.”

“That’s fine.” Our conversation is back on normal footing, the tension and longing gone from our words and our tone, but an echo of it lingers in my chest as she speaks, all business. “I wouldn’t be able to come even if it were open to the public. Unless I managed a new disguise.”

I chuckle. “You could get those glasses with the nose and mustache attached.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a great idea.” She giggles. “That would be super sexy.”

“You’re always sexy.” My voice goes low, and I say the words without even thinking about them first.

She goes silent, but I hear her breathing speed up. And I’m hard. I’ve been ignoring the chub that started to grow as soon as she called. But now my jeans are uncomfortably tight, and I have to adjust to make room.

“Jesus, Damian. You can’t throw out your bedroom voice like that when we’re trying to talk about travel plans.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

She sucks in a breath again, and I imagine her chest heaving with the motion. In just a lacy bra that pushes her fantastic cleavage up like an offering just for me.

Christ, I’ve got it bad. I slip my fingers under my glasses to rub my eyes. “Sorry. Forget I said that. Travel plans. I’m guessing you have a specific thing you’d like to discuss, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Right.” She sounds breathless still, but like she’s trying to regain control and become businesslike again. “Yes. I do. I was thinking I could come and get you and Lauren, and we’d all fly down together. That way you guys aren’t exhausted from a long road trip, and you can either have more time to relax down there, or not have to miss as much time at school. I don’t know when you were planning on leaving, but you could still make your classes the day before if we fly down that afternoon or evening. Your call.”

“Charlie, that sounds great, but I don’t really have the funds for a plane ticket. Especially not last minute like this. I doubt Lauren does either.”

“You’re missing my point. I have a plane, Damian. I’d fly to Spokane, you’d come get on my plane, and then we’d head to Boise. On my plane. You don’t have to pay for anything.”

My hand drops from my face, and I stare at the ceiling. “You have a plane.” I say it like this is news to me. It’s not.

She giggles. “Yes. You know this.”

I’m nodding, even though she’s not here to see me. “Yes. I do know this. But sometimes I forget.”

“Well, good thing for you that I don’t.”

A surprised laugh escapes me. “Yes. I guess it is. It’s just weird, though, y’know?”

“That I have a plane? Why? I fly a lot. It’s easier this way.”

“Yeah, that does make sense. It’s just that when I knew you, you didn’t have a plane.”

“Well, technically I did.”

I snort. “Fine. You did. But I didn’t know it then. And you still seem so normal to me, that it’s easy for me to forget.”

“Even when I’m calling you after a show I performed halfway across the country?”

“Well, when you put it that way.” I take off my glasses and close my eyes. “My excuse is that it’s late, and I’m tired, and somewhere in my brain you’re still just Charlie, the piano major I interrupted in the practice rooms and asked out for dinner and playing easy Suzuki pieces.”

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