Page 27 of Counterpoint and Harmony

Chapter Sixteen

Modulation:The act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature.

Charlie

Damian’s eyes are dark, almost brooding, as he holds my gaze. His words echo through me.It never will.

“You haunt me, Charlie. Everywhere I go, your name is mentioned or one of your songs is playing or pictures of you are on my phone, my computer, my TV.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

His head gives a slight turn, the barest gesture of denial. “Not your fault.” His whisper is as low as mine.

We stare at each other for long moments, and part of me regrets breaking off our kiss. I also consider ending our staring contest by climbing back into his lap and kissing him again. But I don’t.

His hand moves on my thigh again, a soft caress followed by a gentle squeeze. “What do you want, Charlie?”

I suck in a breath, straightening as I consider him, then finally voice the most honest answer I can come up with. “Whatever you’ll give me.”

His eyes fall closed as he absorbs my words. Then his hand moves to the back of my neck, and he pulls me in for another kiss. When his other hand finds my hip, then slides under my ass, I follow the pressure and climb back into his lap, straddling him again.

We stay that way for hours. Kissing, mostly, but pausing to talk, exchange little stories about our time apart. Telling each other the things we’ve missed.

“God, I could kiss you all night,” I confess at one point.

He smiles, his fingers again sliding under my shirt, but never venturing under my bra. “Good. Because that’s kind of what I had in mind.”

I let out a low chuckle, then lean in for another kiss, loving the way his lips and tongue move against mine. Despite my grinding and his questing fingers on my bare skin, we don’t progress beyond a prolonged make-out session.

We eventually move to the bed, where making out turns into snuggling, interspersed with a few more kisses as we whisper to each other late into the night, finally falling asleep with our clothes still on and Damian’s arms wrapped around me, holding my back tightly against his front, his legs curled up under mine.

When I wake up in the morning, I roll over to find him sliding his glasses and shoes back on. He gives me a soft smile and leans over for a quick kiss. “Sorry to wake you. I have class at ten, so I need to head home for a shower and clean clothes before then.”

I stretch, enjoying the heat that flares in his eyes.

He crosses his arms and shakes his head at me, a Cheshire grin on his lips. “Don’t try to distract me like that. It’s not fair.”

With a short laugh, I sit up and reach for my phone on the side table. “No time for a quick breakfast?”

He lets out a sigh. “I’d really love to. But I have a feeling that I wouldn’t make my class if I said yes. And I have a test this morning, so I can’t skip.”

A pang of guilt shoots through me. “And I made it so you couldn’t study last night.”

He shrugs. “It’s music history. If I don’t know it by now, I wouldn’t have gained anything from studying last night anyway.”

I give him a doubtful look, but he doesn’t waver. “Alright. If you say so. At least let me call you an Uber.”

“Charlie, you don’t have to—“

I hold up a hand, cutting him off. “I’m the one who had you shanghaied and brought here last night. The least I can do is pay for your ride home. No arguing.”

“Okay, fine. If you insist.”

“I do.”

I unlock my phone and request a car through the app. When I glance up, Damian has a funny look on his face. I don’t have any drool on my chin, I’d have felt that already. So I run my free hand through my hair, but he keeps staring at me.

“What?” I finally demand. “Is my hair all smooshed? It can’t look worse than it did in the mornings when I had it super short. It always stuck up everywhere then.”

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