Page 95 of Strings
“No one is letting anyone off any hook. You will hold me to my word. Mother approval or not, you are mine.”
He presses a button on the side of the wall and the doors open. I’m his? I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend in my life. I say a silent prayer as I tighten my fingers around his key. “Are you sure?”
“Never been more sure in my life.” He kisses the side of my head and leans cockily against the elevator wall.
The doors close and fear grips me. If this is a dream, it’s a good one. As the knot in my stomach tightens, I remember who I am. I’m not this girl. Talia is a walking lie. I’m not Talia, I’m Summer. Summer doesn’t have fantasies. Summer lives real-life nightmares.
There’s a monster under my bed. I just pray Sebastian never looks there.
She’s not fat, but when she sings, it’s over.
These last two months have been the craziest time in my life, and I’ve lived through a lot of crazy. The Gala is in two days. Saturday can’t come fast enough. I’ve been working so much this week, I’ve barely seen Sebastian. I haven’t used my new key even once, but it sits nicely on my music note chain.
My key and his key look very nice next to each other, and there’s something about the jingle of multiple keys that’s music to my ears. I’ve always loved music, and even when I was younger, it was my escape. But now, the sound those keys make when they rub against each other is the best sound I’ve ever heard. I like the idea of escaping into Sebastian. My thoughts of him help me get through these grueling twelve-hour days.
I stare at the stack of papers on my desk and drift away for a moment. I consider making a drinking game out of the event. Every time I hear how important it is, I take one shot. Every time Bordo asks me for an update, I’ll do a double. Too bad I can’t play. I’d be too drunk to get anything done.
The Gala schedule catches my eye and I smile. I hope Sebastian likes my surprise. I really wanted to do something special for him, even if it gets me in trouble. There’s a big blank space next to his name. What is he waiting for? He still hasn’t given me the name of the song he’s performing, and I need to get the agenda to the printer tonight in order to have them on the tables on Saturday.
“Are you ready?”
I gaze up from my paper as he enters the room. He’s wearing a dress shirt and a jacket. A little fancier than usual, but it suits him. “For what?”
“Oh, come on. I told you. We’re having dinner with my parents tonight.”
“No… you said that was Thursday.”
He teeters his head back and forth. “It’s been Thursday all day today, babe.”
“No… not tonight! I thought I had more time. I’m not ready!” I flip open my laptop and go back to the page I was reading about his mother. I’ve been trying to listen to her sing and memorize her career for the last few days so I could try to make a good impression. Did I know today was Thursday? Shit!
He walks behind my desk and hovers over me to see what I’m frantically studying. He sniffs my hair and I feel his hot breath on my ear. “God, you smell good. I’ve missed you these last few days.”
“She’s a soprano, right? What should I know? What was her favorite performance? Should I mention her awards? Would she like that?”
He pushes my now shoulder-length hair away from my neck and begins kissing his way down to my collarbone. “Yes.”
“Yes what? Yes, she’d like if I mentioned her awards or yes, I should ask about her performances?”
He spins my chair around so I’m facing him and leans down so his forehead rests against mine. “Anything you say will be fine. It doesn’t matter. All she needs to know is that I’m crazy about you and that right after dinner, I’m taking you home so I can ravage you.”
“You can’t tell her that! She’s going to think I’m using you for orchestral sexcapades and then she’ll realize I’m note-illiterate. I need to know what to say so she doesn’t think I’m a complete musical idiot!”
“Orchestral sexcapades? That sounds fun.”
He tries to kiss me and I place my hand on his chest, pushing him away. “Dammit, Bash, come on! Focus.”
He sighs. “I can tell you this much. If you want to stay off her bad side, I’d avoid calling me Bash.”
I nod anxiously. “Yeah. Okay. If you hate it, it makes sense she would too. What else? Do I have time to go home and change? I can’t wear slacks to meet your parents.”
“You look gorgeous. You always do. Just be yourself.”
Be me? Who am I? I spin around in my chair and face my laptop again. Sebastian gets a text and starts typing a reply.
What if she asks about my upbringing? Consistency is imperative. I’ve been creating and practicing my life story over and over in my head and trying to make it coincide with what Sebastian knows. I already told him I didn’t have money growing up, so I can’t lie about that. But I have to lie about what my parents did for a living. If she knew the truth, she’d never let me near her son again. How did I get to this point? I wasn’t supposed to form any relationships when I moved here, let alone fall in… No. It’s not that. It can’t be. I mean, I’ve never been before. This is like. I couldn’t possibly…
“Oh hi, Sebastian!” Amy waves as she enters the office. “Did you come by to give us the name of the song? We really need it for the printers.”
