Page 68 of Bartholomew
“Today, I am going to teach you how to play an instrument,” I said. Her face lit up with excitement, quickly turning to confusion.
“An instrument? You don’t have any instruments here,” she questioned.
“Yes, I do actually,” I smirked, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. “I just keep it tucked away, so I doubt you’ve seen it yet.”
“Ollie, I’ve cleaned every inch of this house ten times over. I think I would have noticed an instrument,” she said skeptically.
“You didn’t notice my toy bag, so let it be known I still have a few surprises up my sleeve,” I chuckled.
“Well, let’s get to it then.” The smile on her face lit up the room.
“You stay here. I’ll be right back.” I leapt from the couch, heading down the hall to our room and into my closet, where I kept my guitar. Being able to teach her something new, to help her learn and grow, filled me with an emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
I ran back to the living room, excitement coursing through me.
“I have never played an instrument,” she admitted, watching me take the guitar from the case.
“I know, that’s why this will be so much fun!” I pulled the guitar onto my lap, sitting next to her again. I strummed the strings, taking a moment to tune them. “I haven’t played in over a month, to be honest. Things got a little hectic there.”
I plucked out a simple melody, adding in a few embellishments and chords as I familiarized myself with the feel of the instrument in my hands again. It was like coming home, this small thing that I did only for myself.
I busied myself playing through the song. I knew it by heart; the melody coming back to me like a familiar friend.
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly,
All your life,
“You were only waiting for this moment to arrive.”
The lyrics fell from my lips softly, the meaning of them striking a poignant message for this very moment, for this very woman sitting next to me. I glanced over at her; her face an amalgamation of adoration and awe. I wanted to put that look on her face every day for the rest of my life.
For the rest of my life? Where had that thought come from? Barely two weeks of knowing this woman and I was ready to spend my life with her?
firefly glowing in the dead of night,
Open those beautiful eyes and learn to see,
All your life,
Your worth has always been there, now finally be free.
My singing stopped, and I realized so had my strumming. I shook the thoughts from my head, vowing to revisit the notion later when I had the time and the energy to think about what that really meant.
“I, um, changed up the lyrics there a little bit,” I stammered, a little embarrassed. “Your turn, gorgeous girl.” I helped her hold the guitar, turning her so that her back pressed against me. “Okay, your left hand goes here, like so,” I instructed, placing her hands in the correct places. “And your right hand will go over the guitar like this so you can strum.”
“Like this?” she asked, looking back up at me from over her shoulder. Christ, she was beautiful. That curiosity and excitement lit her face up like a sunrise, full of wonder and joy.
“Exactly like that, love.” I let the word slip intentionally this time. And that blush did not disappoint.
CHAPTER15
DELILAH
He played the guitar beautifully. It was a shock, but the truth, nonetheless. I had given it my best effort, learning to play. But with his muscular chest behind me, his arms wrapped around me as he helped me learn the hand placements and a few strumming techniques and chords, I could barely focus. He was so strong, such a stable presence behind me. It made my mind travel off into thoughts of him touching me, of him showing me new things in an entirely different way.
He had awoken something within me this last week that I hadn’t known existed. Something new and something visceral that made me feel like a woman, maybe even like the goddess he so often referred to me as. There was something powerful about giving and receiving pleasure. The way he would look at me, or the way his eyes would roll back in his head when I touched him a certain way, had me feeling like the most powerful woman in the world. I was not so sure of myself to think of myself as an expert, but with Ollie, it didn’t matter. He enjoyed my touch, and I enjoyed his. Immeasurably so.
