AllFreeNovel
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I give him my best flirty eyes. “If you need some liquid courage first, don’t let me stop you,” I tease as I approach the guitar. “May I?”
“Sure.”
I sit down on the couch. Setting my handbag on the floor by my feet, I take the moment to look over my new surroundings ashe fetches two beers from the refrigerator. “I didn’t even know this place existed down here,” I say as I pick up the guitar and balance it on my knee.
“It didn’t,” Riley answers. “This was all storage space until Jake had it renovated. He meant to live here himself, but decided to rent it out instead. Or, that’s what he told me, anyway.”
Riley approaches the couch and offers me a beer. I take it with a nod, sipping once before setting it down and giving the guitar strings a brief strum.
“It’s nice,” I say, glancing around. “Really nice, actually.”
“I thought so. Cheap, too.”
“Noisy, though?”
“Eh...” He shrugs. “Not too bad.”
I strum the guitar again. “Awesome.”
Riley sips his beer, then nods at the guitar. “Do you play?”
“Oh, no,” I answer, happy to hand it over. “I just sing.”
He takes the instrument from me, magically producing a pick from his pocket as he rests the guitar over his knee. He strums it twice, the sound far more pleasing to the ear than when I did it, and begins plucking the strings.
“Can you sing this song?” he asks.
I nod, instantly recognizing the notes. “Not my favorite track by him, but I can sing it.”
Riley furrows a brow, his sharp eyes studying me for a brief second before his hand shifts position along the fret, abruptly ending the song. He begins a different song by the same artist.
“Ah,” I say, grinning. “That’s more like it.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” he says, playing the intro.
“You’re supposed to be singingmea song,” I point out.
“And I will,” he says. “Humor me for a moment while my liquid courage sinks in.”
I smile. So does he, as I sit up tall and clear my throat. Together, we enter the first verse. I sing softly and he plays even softer, matching my intensity as the chorus approaches.
As we reach it, Riley parts his lips and I nearly gasp when his voice rises to meet mine. We sing together, our lyrics syncing as he strums, our voices blending in the most perfect way. His, a low and sexy baritone. Mine, a more mezzo-soprano sound. Together, in perfect, breathtaking harmony.
We play out the rest of the song, Riley ending it with a soft strum that echoes into the silence.
“Wow,” I say, swallowing hard. “You sing beautifully, Riley.”
“Not as well as you do,” he says.
“No, that was...fuck!”
He chuckles, looking down. “It was all right.”
“And you play...” I shake my head. “That was incredible. You’re really talented.”
“Eh, anyone can cover a song.” He glances at me and smiles. “We sound good together, though.”
I nod, barely breathing. “Yeah. We do.”
