Private Lessons

Chelsea

If I continued talking to Antonio, I swear I’d have whiplash. Going from sounding like he wanted me at his side over to making it sound like I was an inconvenience, I couldn’t tell what to think.

Sighing under my breath, I tried not to think about it. If I planned on hating the experience from the very beginning, the rest of this trip would be pure torture.

I’d prove him wrong. Through hard work and dedication, I’d show him he hadn’t made a mistake by picking me to be his partner.

After the rest of the awkward car ride, we eventually made it to the hotel we’d be staying at for the next few weeks. While the two of them worked on checking in, my eyes were taking in every inch of the place.

Did they always book rooms at such high-quality places? I could get used to being spoiled like this. Not like I’d ever be able to afford this kind of enjoyment on my own dime.

“Your key.”

Looking back, Antonio had a card waiting for me. Taking it from him, I tried to ignore the warmth of his fingers after accidentally brushing against them.

“We’re sharing a room. Try not to lose it.” Turning away, he put his attention back on Travis.

Sharing a room? What. How could he say something so nonchalantly? Before I could ask him what he was talking about, the two of them began moving. Grabbing my luggage, I struggled to keep up while my mind ran a mile a minute.

Once we were packed together into an elevator, I finally caught up with his words. “What do you mean we’re sharing a room?”

“If we want to get you where you need to be, we’ll need to spend as much time together as possible. There are two beds, don’t worry.” God, how could he not feel anything about the situation he’d put us in? How hard could it have been to ask for my opinion on the matter?

Sleeping in the same room would be absolutely impossible. After all, I dreamed about him. Had far too many naughty thoughts to count. Oh god.

“And what about Travis? Is he bunking with us too?” I wasn’t overreacting, right?

Travis looked down at my carrying case, eyeing my keyboard like it was the enemy. “I have my own room. You two would keep me up all night. I need my beauty sleep.”

So that was that, huh?

These two were definitely going to drive me insane.

Pairing our rooms next to each other, I hoped the guy heard me through the walls. With an expensive place like this, I assumed the rooms were soundproofed. Damn it.

Reaching our rooms, Travis slipped into his own while I followed Antonio into ours. I’d admit, the room looked perfect. Open. At least I wouldn’t feel squashed in with him.

I plopped my stuff down onto the bed I claimed as my own.

Sitting down, I watched him abandon his suitcases before going to the window. Blasting the curtains to the side, light flooded inside. Hard to be mad at him when that light reflected nicely on his face.

“So I gotta ask,” I started off. “You sure I can be the kind of player you wanted?” This way I could get an actual answer rather than trying to guess.

I didn’t expect him to spin around so quickly.

He stalked up to me, looking down with a huff. “I have faith in you. While I might struggle to say it, I know we can get you to where you need to be.” Before I could sigh in response, he turned his gaze to my case. “Go on, let me see what you work with.”

Doing as he asked, I pulled out my keyboard. Every second his eyes were on me, I felt less confident.

“How often do you play on a piano?” he asked next, interviewing me.

“If we’re talking about the real deal, around once a week with my teacher. Otherwise, I play my keyboard.” Not sure where he was going with it, I stiffened when he reached down, touching my baby. “It’s not plugged in–”

He shushed me. Pressing a key, his forehead creased. Going from white to black, he looked more bothered.

Standing so close, my head spun. Each breath I took in was filled with his faded cologne. Or maybe it was more of a natural scent. I didn’t know. My face felt hot and my heart threatened to give away my feelings for him. Then he opened his mouth and ruined it.

“No wonder you slipped up. You aren’t used to playing a piano. This is…”

“If you insult my keyboard, you are within reach for a kick,” I warned half-jokingly. My keyboard was precious to me.

Antonio did something I did not expect. He snorted. Despite the fact he didn’t take my threat seriously, he felt amused by it? After pulling his hand away, his body straightened. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

He abandoned me, walking over to a desk against the wall. Grabbing the chair, he dragged it across the room and set it in the middle. Tapping the back with his fingers, he caught my gaze. “Get set up. Let’s begin.”

“Already? We just got here.”

Clicking his tongue, he shook his head. “We have two weeks. That is a very limited amount of time.” He was serious. “Come on. Play me the song you were practicing on the plane.”

“Yes sir,” I murmured as I grabbed the stand from the case. Lessons were already beginning and I never imagined how frustrating my new teacher would be. Between wanting to get close to him and kick him, the whiplash sensation started all over again.

While setting up, he abandoned the chair and took a seat on the second bed. Rather than relaxing like a normal person did, his face remained serious.

I bet after looking that way for a few weeks, the look just stuck. After a few months, he lost the ability to look happy.

“What is it?”

Smiling to myself, I abandoned the setup long enough to fetch my tablet. “Thinking that you’d look less scary if you didn’t frown as much.”

He scoffed as if I’d insulted him. “I am not scary.”