made my pulse race faster. A warm flush was spreading across my cheeks despite the cold morning air. I plunged into the crowd, worming my way forward as I was driven by a feverish desire to reach the source of this exotic, tantalizing composition. A few people started to protest as I squeezed past them but one look at my face quelled their complaints. Perhaps they forgave me because of my appearance, perhaps they saw the strange, raw need in my eyes. Either way, I quickly made it to my goal.
His dark eyes met mine the moment I broke through to the front of the crowd. I had been right about his fingers, they danced on the guitar, plucking the strings and tapping the frets in a rapid, mesmerizing rhythm. How he maintained such perfect concentration without ever looking was beyond me. And he certainly wasn’t looking at the guitar in his hands – his eyes were only on me. A slow, warm smile spread across his face as he saw me step forward. I flushed again, this time with pleasure, to be the cause of Sebastian’s joy.
His fingers slowed on the strings. The music came to a smooth stop, the last notes echoing magically in the salty, harbor air. The crowd erupted in applause. I clapped politely while butterflies erupted in my stomach. He was still staring only at me, his eyes intense beneath his thick, black lashes. People moved in between us, blocking me from his view as they went to drop money into the open guitar case in front of him.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Sebastian urged in his beautiful, irresistible voice. He had reappeared so suddenly by my side it had made me jump. I looked around in confusion.
“But your guitar – the money…”
“Neither are mine. Come on, I’ll explain,” he promised. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd, leading me back towards the cement stairway that led up to the street.
“So you’re a street performer?” I asked, lifting a skeptical brow at him. He laughed, his eyes twinkling in response.
“I wasn’t performing on the street,” he argued. “And like I said, neither instrument nor profit were mine – I was merely helping out the owner of both. He was pretty good himself, he was just having a hard time attracting a crowd so I offered to bring a few people over for him.” Sebastian looked at me sideways as he spoke, a joking smile on his face. I was powerless against his charm, automatically smiling back at him. He still held my hand, his grip warm and firm. I linked my fingers through his. The gesture felt familiar and thrilling all at the same time.
“You were amazing,” I told him, though I tried not to sound too impressed. “Your music certainly brought me over anyway. I might not have found you otherwise.”
“Yes, you would have,” he answered, confidently. He smoothly and casually extracted his fingers from mine as he spoke, stuffing his hand into the pocket of the leather jacket he wore. For a fleeting moment I felt a pang of rejection. As soon as I identified the feeling though, I almost laughed at myself. My thoughts and emotions were all mixed up today. Obviously, Sebastian was just a friend.
“You lied to me though,” I accused him, my voice taking on a teasing tone.
“I did?”
“I thought you were going to find me ,” I reminded him.
“Didn’t I?” he challenged. Though his expression was serious, his eyes were laughing at me.
“So are you going to show me today?” I asked. My thoughts were jumping around almost as fast as my emotions and I was making very little sense. Sebastian didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be quite amused and intrigued by my random questions.
“Show you what?” He paused at the top of the stairs to study me curiously.
“You really do forget a lot,” I teased. He seemed to find that very funny.
“I can’t deny it – but please be patient with an old fool.”
“You said you’d show me reality,” I reminded him. “So I’m here, I’m ready.” He grew more somber at
His dark eyes met mine the moment I broke through to the front of the crowd. I had been right about his fingers, they danced on the guitar, plucking the strings and tapping the frets in a rapid, mesmerizing rhythm. How he maintained such perfect concentration without ever looking was beyond me. And he certainly wasn’t looking at the guitar in his hands – his eyes were only on me. A slow, warm smile spread across his face as he saw me step forward. I flushed again, this time with pleasure, to be the cause of Sebastian’s joy.
His fingers slowed on the strings. The music came to a smooth stop, the last notes echoing magically in the salty, harbor air. The crowd erupted in applause. I clapped politely while butterflies erupted in my stomach. He was still staring only at me, his eyes intense beneath his thick, black lashes. People moved in between us, blocking me from his view as they went to drop money into the open guitar case in front of him.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Sebastian urged in his beautiful, irresistible voice. He had reappeared so suddenly by my side it had made me jump. I looked around in confusion.
“But your guitar – the money…”
“Neither are mine. Come on, I’ll explain,” he promised. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd, leading me back towards the cement stairway that led up to the street.
“So you’re a street performer?” I asked, lifting a skeptical brow at him. He laughed, his eyes twinkling in response.
“I wasn’t performing on the street,” he argued. “And like I said, neither instrument nor profit were mine – I was merely helping out the owner of both. He was pretty good himself, he was just having a hard time attracting a crowd so I offered to bring a few people over for him.” Sebastian looked at me sideways as he spoke, a joking smile on his face. I was powerless against his charm, automatically smiling back at him. He still held my hand, his grip warm and firm. I linked my fingers through his. The gesture felt familiar and thrilling all at the same time.
“You were amazing,” I told him, though I tried not to sound too impressed. “Your music certainly brought me over anyway. I might not have found you otherwise.”
“Yes, you would have,” he answered, confidently. He smoothly and casually extracted his fingers from mine as he spoke, stuffing his hand into the pocket of the leather jacket he wore. For a fleeting moment I felt a pang of rejection. As soon as I identified the feeling though, I almost laughed at myself. My thoughts and emotions were all mixed up today. Obviously, Sebastian was just a friend.
“You lied to me though,” I accused him, my voice taking on a teasing tone.
“I did?”
“I thought you were going to find me ,” I reminded him.
“Didn’t I?” he challenged. Though his expression was serious, his eyes were laughing at me.
“So are you going to show me today?” I asked. My thoughts were jumping around almost as fast as my emotions and I was making very little sense. Sebastian didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be quite amused and intrigued by my random questions.
“Show you what?” He paused at the top of the stairs to study me curiously.
“You really do forget a lot,” I teased. He seemed to find that very funny.
“I can’t deny it – but please be patient with an old fool.”
“You said you’d show me reality,” I reminded him. “So I’m here, I’m ready.” He grew more somber at
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