Page 103 of From Drummer to Gamer

I licked my lips, blushing. “I do too,” I whispered. “Now, do I get my personal concert?”

“Yes.” His lips twitched before he ruffled my hair and pressed a kiss on my head. “And, you ma’am, sit right here.” He pushed me down onto the stool before he padded to the throne seat on the pitch-black drum kit with gold accents.

I couldn’t keep the beaming smile on my lips as I leaned closer and propped my chin on my fist.

My inner fangirl was dancing on top of the roof right now.

“Ready?” he asked, rolling the drumsticks in his hands like a well-versed magician as he slid a glance my way, fixing me with his piercing greens.

My breath hitched as I nodded, my throat suddenly dry.

A knowing smile lifted his lips before the sticks met the drums in a rhythmic pattern over and over again like the crash of the waves, the notes striking the air, creating the most beautiful sounds that floated through the room, swallowing my soul.

I was mesmerized just watching him.

The tight roll of his upper lip, the serious glint in his eyes, and the focused lines over the creases of his eyes made him breathtakingly beautiful.

I didn’t know how the time slipped, but it was over thirty minutes when he finished with the last beat, which cracked right through my heart like a hot knife.

“That was beautiful,” I whispered.

“Come here.” He gestured with a nod.

“Okay,” I muttered, skipping to his side with glee.

His hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me into his lap, facing the kit.

My arms looped around his for support as I lifted my chin at him over my shoulder. “What are we doing?” I quipped, wiggling my brows. “Am I going to be the next member of the Four Foxes?”

“If you want to be, you little fox,” he teased.

“Give me that.” My lips tugged into a mischievous grin as I stole one of the drumsticks from him and banged it on the shiny plate-like thing for a few beats, and a high-pitched sound slithered through the room like a jarring door hinge. “Do I qualify?” I raised a brow.

“No.”

I pouted, batting my eyelashes.

“As adorable as you are.” He bit the shell of my ear, picking up my fingers. “And as beautiful and talented as these fingers are, that was horrible.”

“You can’t say things like that to your girlfriend.”

With a slight shake of his head, he closed his hand over mine and maneuvered it over the drums. “I’ll teach you,” he mumbled, hitting them in a sequence. “One, two, three, four on the high hat,” he instructed, hitting the same shiny plate I had hit, but his sound was more measured and softer. “Then, the snare on every second and fourth beat and the bass with your feet on every first and third.”

And I watched intently, giving it all my focus. I wasn’t one to pay attention to class, but this class, you bet all your money I’m going to get an A+.

He slowly demonstrated it one more time, and for some reason, my brain captured the pattern with ease.

“You try?” He nudged the sticks toward me.

I nodded, taking it as I retraced the pattern in my head.

“Like this?” I asked, biting my lip as my hands worked through the rhythm, counting the beats exactly like he told me.

Maybe it was years of gaming practice or building strategies with my mind, but I got hold of the beat pretty easily, and my brain coordinated with the sound in perfect sync.

A proud glint coated his eyes as he regarded me. “My girl playing the drums is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” He traced his nose along the side of my neck. “Keep going,” he urged, his palms splaying over the small of my waist.

They were so big and warm that they swallowed me completely.