Strings Attached, page 17
Drew rubbed her thigh. “Hey. You okay?”
She straightened and cleared her throat. “Yeah.” She looked into Drew’s eyes. “You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I feel like you see me.”
Drew’s mouth twitched into a smile that sent a jolt straight to Nikki’s heart. Drew wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her into her arms. She snuggled up to her and tucked her head beneath Drew’s chin. John and George could come back to life and do a Beatles reunion, and it wouldn’t make me feel happier than I am right now. Is this all it takes? Being in her arms like this?
Drew combed her fingers through her hair. God, she loved her touch. She shifted and cupped Drew’s face in her hand. Drew looked at her with tenderness and swiped the wetness from beneath her eyes with her thumbs. Nikki kissed her again, gently, teasing with her tongue, savoring the softness of Drew’s lips and the taste of her mouth. She pressed a bit harder. The sensuous moan she elicited almost sent her over the edge. She’s not even touching me, and I’m so ready…
Drew slipped her hand beneath Nikki’s shirt and urged her closer. The soft feel of her palm on her bare skin was incredible. If she didn’t slow things down soon, she’d be helpless. She didn’t want to fuck things up so soon by sleeping with her, or she’d only be discrediting her confessions of only a few minutes ago.
She broke the kiss and pulled back. “We’d better slow this down.”
Drew was breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. That might be a good idea.”
“Not that I want to stop, but…you know—”
“I know. I understand. Let’s not get carried away too soon.”
“Yeah.”
She straightened out her shirt and steadied her breathing. Drew followed suit. She saw movement on the floor behind a table lamp next to a glider. A black and white cat with yellow eyes was checking her out. Drew turned to where she was looking.
“Vinnie,” Drew said quietly. She extended her hand toward the floor. “It’s okay, Vinnie. Come say hi.”
Vinnie approached Drew slowly, keeping an eye on Nikki, before butting his head at Drew’s hand. After she gave him some affection, he cautiously walked alongside the couch toward Nikki. She let him sniff her hand, and when he leaned against her leg, she took that as acceptance and stroked him. He then sauntered away and jumped onto the recliner. He curled up and twitched his tail in contentment.
Drew turned to her. “You’ve passed all three inspections. I think that’s a good sign.”
“And what about your inspection?” She pulled Drew into her arms again. “Did I pass that?”
Drew kissed her lightly. “Most definitely. But since you don’t want me to use you for sex, and I don’t want to be a one-night stand, I think we should call it a night.”
“Yeah, I guess I should go. I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
She put on her jacket, and Drew walked her to the door.
“You haven’t.” She released a smile. “Thank you for today. I had a great time.”
“Me too.” She gave Drew a chaste kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“My first cello lesson, remember? I want to be well rested so I can concentrate.”
“Don’t be late.”
She gave Drew a soft poke in the ribs. “What happens if I am? Detention?”
Drew put her hands on her hips. “Definitely detention. And I won’t go easy on you.”
“Promise?”
Drew laughed and playfully shoved her out the door. “Get outta here.”
“Good night, Drew.”
“Good night.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Drew made sure the lesson room was ready for the twenty-eighth time and checked the clock. Nikki was almost ten minutes late. Maybe she’d scared her off. She’d given Nikki so many mixed signals that it was no wonder. She must think I’m a total tease. She knew she’d done the right thing, though. After Nikki shared her feelings about wanting someone to come home to, bringing her to the brink of tears, she had to put on the brakes. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of them to let this thing get serious.
She didn’t want to be alone for months on end, missing her partner, rarely having someone to come home to herself. She’d always wonder if another woman was taking care of Nikki’s needs. Sure, Nikki said she was tired of it, but could she trust that it was really out of her system? Would she resort to her old ways when she got lonely?
Or horny. Her center started throbbing at the memory of what almost happened last night. Within an hour after Nikki had left, she’d had to strip naked on the bed and take care of her own needs.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
She jumped at Nikki’s voice. Better keep your penny, or you might be sorry. “You’re late, Razer.”
“Ooh, last-namin’ me.” Nikki closed the door, walked up beside her, and grinned. “Gonna give me detention, McNally?”
“That’s Ms. McNally to you.” She sat and motioned for Nikki to do the same in the seat diagonally from her. She positioned her instrument between her knees. “And I’ll think about it.”
“I’m bound to get into more trouble. You might as well give it to me.”
She ignored the double entendre and picked up her bow. “Get into position like this.” Nikki’s grin grew wider. She was more adorable by the minute. She needed to get her focused on the lesson.
“Make sure it’s comfortable and fairly close to you. But allow enough clearance for the bow, so you’re not striking your knees when you stroke.”
Nikki burst out laughing.
“Will you be serious? Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Nikki laughed harder. She loudly cleared her throat. “Be aware of proximity between stroke and knees. Got it.”
It was no use. Drew joined her. When the laughter finally subsided, they got back into position. Their giggle fits out of their systems, they settled in for the lesson. She was impressed with how seamlessly Nikki transitioned into student mode. Her determination was dead serious, and she hung on her every word. She was a quick learner but was having difficulty holding her bow at the correct angle for simple notes.
Drew got up and stood behind her. She draped her arms over Nikki’s shoulders. They were cheek to cheek, and she felt Nikki’s smile. “Like this.” She placed her hand over Nikki’s right hand and gently squeezed, rotating it slightly forward. “Relax your wrist. Now, across this way.” They slowly dragged the bow across the strings. “Nice and easy.” It made a smooth, even sound. “Yeah, that’s it.”
It felt so good having Nikki’s body wrapped in her arms. They moved the bow back and forth several times, and then she let Nikki make the movements on her own with Drew’s hand simply resting over hers.
As soon as she released her, Nikki swiveled within her embrace. Nikki dropped the bow and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in for a kiss that buckled her knees. She moaned into Nikki’s mouth. Nikki slid her tongue inside, and she had to stifle another, much louder moan. She was at work, for God’s sake. They had soundproofed the lesson room walls but not the doors.
They stood together, lips still locked, and Nikki awkwardly discarded the cello into its stand. She snaked her arm around Drew’s waist, squeezing their bodies together. “God, Drew, you taste good.” She kissed her hard and then began kissing her way across her jawline and neck.
Drew’s breath disappeared. She struggled to speak; the sensations taking over her body with the feel of Nikki’s lips were almost too much to bear. She imagined how electric making love to her would be.
Nikki came back up her throat and caught her lips again. She finally withdrew and rested her forehead on hers. “I think I have a little crush on my teacher,” she whispered.
“Just a little one?”
“No. A big, huge, gargantuan, out-of-this-fucking-world crush.”
The temperature spiked in her face. “I think that stunt just bought you detention.”
Nikki kissed her cheek. “Mission accomplished.”
She play-slapped Nikki’s arm. “You’re such a delinquent.”
Nikki grinned.
“I’ll have to give you some menial task to do for punishment.”
“Oh yeah?” They started to put away their instruments and pick up. “Like what? Need me to clap your erasers? Clean your chalkboards? Organize the art supplies?”
“Get with the twenty-first century, woman. Schools don’t use chalkboards anymore.”
Nikki followed her out the door. “So, what then?”
She had to get away from her before her hormones got the best of her. She went behind the checkout and retrieved a stack of 8x10 photos of Passion Play. She slapped them on the counter. “Sign these, and then get the rest of the band to do the same. I’m already running out of the ones you guys signed last week.”
“You’re giving me homework?”
“Yes. And it’s due by Wednesday. You also need to practice your lesson.”
“I guess that’s not so bad. I was afraid you were going to make me scrub floors with a toothbrush or something.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll keep that in mind for next time you misbehave.”
Nikki put her hand to her chest. “I’m hurt! You’re already assuming I’ll get in trouble again.”
“Hey, you warned me this would happen. I’m just planning ahead. Just in case.”
“You sure do come up with a lot of excuses to see me.”
Yeah, I do, don’t I?
Geena stepped in beside her and rang out a customer. “Hey, do I need to give you two a time-out?”
“Just me,” said Nikki. “Apparently, I’m a troublemaker, and I’m not to be trusted.”
“Says the woman who blindsided me in the face with a fistful of snow.”
Geena burst out laughing and gawked at Drew. “She seriously did that to you?”
Nikki said, “Not seriously, no. It was not at all serious.”
“That’s awesome!” Geena high-fived Nikki. “She’s too serious too much of the time. Good for you.”
Drew sensed a gang-up and reined in her defenses. “Fine. Go ahead and poke fun, you guys.”
They continued laughing as Nikki filled Geena in on the snowball fight.
“I need to prep for my next student. Nikki, don’t forget your cello.”
Nikki grinned and stopped her before she headed back down the hall. “And my homework. Due tomorrow.”
“Wednesday.”
“We’ll see.” She kissed her on the cheek and winked as she turned to leave. She waved to Geena. “See ya.”
As soon as Nikki was gone, Geena was on her tail. “Spill.”
“I’m not spilling anything. I have a lesson in ten minutes. I need to get ready.”
“There’s nothing to get ready. I already prepped it. Spill.”
Drew unnecessarily straightened and rearranged the stools and music stands.
“Come on, Drew! I’m dyin’ here. She is some kind of crazy for you.”
“You said yourself I need to keep this casual. I can’t—”
“Ms. McNally?” Her nine-year-old pupil stood in the doorway, his guitar case propped on the floor and almost as tall as he was.
“Hi, Zac. Come on in.”
Geena smirked as she slipped out of the room. “This isn’t over.”
No, it wasn’t. It was far from over.
What happens when the next tour starts? What happens if Nikki grows tired of me? Or…what if Nikki was falling for her? Then what? I break it off because I won’t be able to handle it?
She sighed and turned her attention to Zac, who was still waiting patiently to start his lesson.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“You can invite Nikki, too. If you’d like.”
Drew smiled at her dad’s suggestion, then caught herself. Joining them for Thanksgiving dinner would be considered more of a steady girlfriend kind of thing, wouldn’t it? Not exactly casual dating territory.
As tempting as it was, she didn’t want to give Nikki the wrong impression. “That’s sweet of you, Dad, but I’m sure Nikki already has plans with her own family.” She walked away to assist a customer looking at bass guitars. She turned toward the door when the bells chimed again. Nikki.
Her dad gave her a wink and smiled. “Speak of the devil.”
“Hey, I don’t know what she’s told you, but Drew threw her share of snowballs.”
“Then I taught her well.” He hustled over to Drew. “Why don’t you see what Nikki needs, and I’ll look after our bass player.” He walked away before she could object.
Nikki handed her a manila envelope. “I finished my homework.”
Drew slid out the photos. “That was fast.”
“I lucked out that everyone was home except for Jaymi. And she showed up before I left, so there you go.”
“And if she hadn’t been home?”
“Jaymi isn’t hard to find if you know where to look, so I still would’ve had these to you today.”
She filed the photos with the others behind the register, buying time with the awkward feeling she always got when Nikki talked about Jaymi.
“I practiced my lesson this morning, too.”
“Oh. Good for you.”
“I’m getting better with positioning my bow.” She smiled wider. “Thanks for the extra help with that, by the way.”
“Just doing my job.”
Nikki pouted. “You mean that wasn’t special treatment?”
Once again, she fought to keep her feelings in check. “I believe it was you administering the special treatment, not me.” Sure. Flirt back.
“I can’t wait for my next lesson.” Nikki shoved her hands in her coat pockets. “Well, then. I don’t want to keep you from your work. I need to call my mother to see what time I have to show my mug for dinner next week, so I best be going.”
So, she does have plans with her family. Good. That will help cool things down between us. And she didn’t invite me, either, so she’s respecting my wishes. Even better.
Nikki walked to the door and blew her a kiss. “Cheerio.”
Drew barely had, “See you later,” out of her mouth, and Nikki was gone. What the hell? She should be glad, right?
So why was she so irked that she’d only gotten to spend ten minutes with Nikki before she rushed off? Why was she disappointed that she didn’t even have the option to invite her to Thanksgiving dinner now?
Because maybe she wanted more than casual after all.
Damn it. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Now what? No, don’t go there. Let there be a little distance between us, and the feelings will fade. They’d only grow if they were reciprocated anyway, right? Right. Okay, then. Get back to work, and forget about Nikki for a while. They’d made no plans to get together again before her lesson next Monday. Perfect.
The store was exceptionally busy for a Tuesday. She’d definitely seen an increase in sales since they’d started the promotions and additional advertising. Still, her workday dragged, or maybe it just seemed that way because as hard as she tried, she couldn’t get her mind off wondering when she’d see Nikki again.
“Hey, boss.”
Geena’s voice made her jump. Drew was in the acoustics room indulging herself on the newest addition to their classical guitar inventory.
“Hi, Geena. Is it three o’clock already?”
“Yep, I just clocked in. Anything you need me to do?”
“I left you the accessories order to work on. It’s been busy in here today, but you’ve got Jerry till six, and Mario just came in, too, so I might take off early.”
“Not a bad idea. You should rest up now before the Black Friday rushes start next week. I’m sure we can handle it. No lessons tonight?”
“Just yours at four and five,” she said. “So, check on the drums room first.”
“Okay. Hey, speaking of lessons, I need you to get in touch with Nikki. You’ve got all their numbers under lock and key.”
She hung up the guitar. “What are you talking about?”
“We just drew a name for our ‘lessons with Passion Play’ winner. She wants a vocal lesson with Nikki.”
The day just got a whole lot brighter. “Oh yeah?”
“She gave me some times she’s available. We need to call Nikki to see what works for her.” Geena smiled. “I’m sure you won’t mind calling her.”
“Don’t start with that.”
“Start what?”
“Getting all wound up about me and Nikki. I’m trying to keep things casual, which in case you’ve forgotten, was your idea, thank you very much.”
“Uh, you’re welcome.” They walked out of the room together. “Hey, my girl’s got one last game tomorrow night before the break. You wanna go? All of my friends are heading home, and I hate sitting by myself.”
They stopped at the sheet music racks and began organizing the few things that were out of place. “Oh sure, wait to invite me when you’re desperate.”
Geena gave her a shove. “I am. Very desperate. I wouldn’t want to be seen with you otherwise.”
She gave Geena’s ponytail a tug. “Thanks for the ego boost. You really know how to turn on the charm.”
“That’s what she said. And not that I want to be a third wheel, but if you want to bring a date, that’s fine with me, too.”
They rounded the corner to work the other side of the book rack. “Aha! The truth comes out. You want me to bring Nikki to ratchet up your popularity on campus. As if you need it.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark!” Geena slapped another misplaced book into the crook of her arm. “For your information, I’d be just as happy hanging with you. I know you’re my boss and all, but I happen to consider you a friend. So, bring Nikki or don’t. Either way, I think it’ll be good for you to get out.”
