Page 55 of Bad Teammate
“It’s okay.” She softly chuckled. “Honestly, I haven’t proven anything to you—the first movement of Moonlight Sonata is such an easy piece. Thethirdmovement, however, is a technical challenge.”
She glanced at the keys as if she wanted to attempt it.
“You don’t have to prove anything more, Katerina.”
“No, but now I want to play something a little more difficult.” A competitive fire lit in her eyes as she sat up straight and eyed those piano keys. I was sure I was getting a glimpse of that little girl who’d wanted to master every piece she got her hands on. “I’m just curious if I can still play. It’s been so long.”
Once again, she took a moment to collect herself, and the air settled.
Her chest rose with her breath. Slowly, she exhaled, and—
My jaw dropped as a ferocious storm of emotion came thundering out of her hands. Her hands flew up and down the keys, speeding up as the turbulent tempo grew even more frenetic and charged.
Goosebumps quickly popped all over my flesh. The music swept me off my feet and carried my senses to new heights—I felt her yearning, her disappointment, her rage. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was listening to the broken dreams of a talented artist—so beautiful but so tragic, too. She’d been forced to sacrifice the thing she loved most so her brother could succeed.
My belly shook as if I wanted to laugh, or maybe even cry, but no sound came out. Lured closer, I sat next to her on the bench. She worked around me, the muscles and tendons in her arms straining. The ends of her hair snapped in my face as she whipped and jerked her head about as she played.
I didn’t dare say a word. I sat and watched, in complete awe of her. She said she hadn’t played inyears.And she could dothis?She wasn’t justgood,she was incredible. There was no doubt in my mind she was every bit as good as her brother.
I never wanted this moment to end, but the piece began winding up towards its inevitable conclusion. Katerina’s bottom bounced off the bench as she powerfully hammered home the crescendo.
Speechless, I looked at her. Tears silently dripped from her jaw.
“Wow, Katerina. That wasperfect.”
“It wasn’t even close to perfect.” She snickered and hung her head. “Way too many mistakes. Not enough feeling. I’m so rusty. It hurts so much to play now.”
“Listen.” I held her face between my hands and stroked away her tears with my thumbs. “You can’t quit playing. You can’t let a gift like this go to waste.”
A twinkle glistened in her big, mournful eyes. “You really think so?”
“Yes, Katerina. You’re every bit as good as Sasha. But more than that, you need to play. Your soulneeds it. I can tell.”
“Derek …” She dropped her head again.
“Katerina.” Straddling the piano bench, I inched closer. “I’d love to go to that symphony with you.”
“Really?” Her eyelashes beat. “You will?”
“If you still want me to, yeah.”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course I do.”
Gently, I lifted her chin and calmed her trembling lip between mine, tasting the salt of her tears. Her lips, so soft and tender and sorrowful, gently yielded to mine. I pulled her closer, her sweet scent all around me, and deepened our kiss.
19
Katerina
My palm skimmed across Derek’s bristly, stubbled cheek as our souls met on our lips. I wish I knew what we’d stumbled into over the past twenty-four hours; all I knew was that what had started off as a pure animal attraction was quickly feeling like something much more important.
Playing for him had unearthed so much emotion I’d kept bottled up and buried for so many years. My heart was raw, my soul bare. Both belonged to him now, whether he knew it or not.
Didhe know? Did he grasp what a big piece of myself I’d just given him?
I wanted him to know.
I wanted him to have the last piece of me, too. But how could I tell him?CouldI tell him? Or would that only scare him off again?
