Page 45 of Dark Notes

She giggles softly. “I assume you have one in the house?”

I feign disgust. “Travel without a guitar? Never.”

“Then let’s go. I wanna hear it!”

Following her out of the water, she hands me a towel and goes back to drying herself off. She wraps the towel around her body and I pout. “Now I can’t see your beautiful body.”

The grin on her face is brighter than the goddamn moon as she gazes at me.

“If I like the song, I’ll let you see whatever you want, and do whatever you want. If I don’t, then you’re out of luck, Rock God.”

I groan loudly. “Great. No pressure then.”

We walk back inside the house to the bedroom, where my guitar is, and suddenly I’m self conscious, which is not something I struggle with. I shouldn’t have mentioned the song. It’s too early. I only have the chorus written, and I should’ve waited until it was complete.

She hops onto the bed without a care in the world as my chest fills with anxiety.

“Maybe we should wait until it’s done.”

With a shake of her head, she disagrees, “Nope. I want to hear what you have now. I’m interested to see the process.”

I grab my guitar and sit on the bed with her, while I inhale a deep breath before exhaling.

“You should know, I have never written about something so personal. It’s different. It’s terrifying.”

Sensing how nervous I am, she reaches up and places her hand on my face, with a soft smile on her lips.

“I love your voice, Jagger. You could sing the alphabet and I’d be entranced. Please show me what you’ve been working on.”

I nod slowly as I lick my lips. “Alright. Right now it’s called,This.”

Starting with a guitar intro, I begin playing so she can hear the music I have, before I begin singing the words I felt the first time we were together.

My fingers digging into your skin

Your lips parted on a moan

The taste of your kiss

The sound of your cries

The arching of your back

Everything I’ve ever needed is

This

I set the guitar up against the wall beside the bed, as she continues to stare at me silently. This feels like waiting for the verdict in your murder trial.

“Are you going to say anything?”

She tilts her head to the side, with a smile on her lips. “Much better thanNine Inch Nails.”

I feign shock. “What?Trent Reznoris the king!”

She giggles. “Who is that?”

Shaking my head, I chuckle. “He is the lead singer ofNine Inch Nails, baby. We’re going to need to broaden your horizons a bit.”

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