FOUR
We both jumped when we heard the door click open behind us, and an elegant, angular-jawed man with gorgeous, perfectly coiffed silver hair, leaned in through the door frame. His pillowy lips formed a wide smile and his eyes disappeared as he took in the sight of us sitting so close together.
Yoongi scooted himself over on the bench, creating some space between us and cleared his throat.
"Hey Jimin," he looked up, "...'bout time you showed up."
"I got stuck in traffic.."
"Jimin, I live in the middle of the countryside. There is no traffic."
Jimin stepped forward into the sunroom laughing, pushing back his open camel pea coat to slide his hands into the pockets of his black pants. He was dressed more formally, more like how I'd dressed, which was a huge relief.
"Don't we have a rehearsal to attend?" I stood up and walked over to extend my arm to Jimin, "I'm Faye. Nice to meet you, Jimin."
As the first run-through of rehearsal began, the familiar intro chords of At Last began to fill the room, the wooden floors beneath my feet vibrating with the sudden rush of sound. I was so distracted by the lush instrumentals that I almost missed my cue...
"At last..."
I sang, trying to give the best performance I could. I wanted to impress these guys and hopefully be invited back, so I paid close attention to my pitch and accuracy. After a rotation of instrumental solos, the music tapered off to an unexpected stop. I searched the sheet music, knowing the song usually didn't stop at that point, but then I heard Yoongi's fingers start to move.
He began to play the most beautiful, lush, intricate piano cadenza. His head bowed down and swayed, following his fingers as they danced across the keys. It really was breathtaking to see.
He looked so effortless, so at peace with his instrument. His technique was flawless. As the last note of his solo rang out, Yoongi looked up and nodded, cueing everyone to join back in for the final section.
I felt a rush of emotions wash over me. I had never heard such a beautiful version of this song before. The arrangement was unlike anything I'd ever heard. It's incredibly difficult to make changes to a classic, but whoever wrote this arrangement was a genius.
I felt so moved by the music that I forgot all about how nervous I had been earlier. My voice loosened up and I finished the performance out really strong. When the song ended, I quickly flipped to the front page of the music to see who wrote the arrangement. I was dying to see who was responsible for this masterpiece.
I looked over at Yoongi, who was already looking at me. Everyone was.
"This is your arrangement?" I asked him.
"It is..." he replied, seeming unsure of what I was going to say next. He looked down at his fingers on the keys.
"Yoongi, it's incredible..." I started.
"Don't feed his ego!" Hobi let out a hearty laugh as he threw his guitar pick playfully over at Yoongi, then looked back to me, "I'm joking. I mean, he is a musical prodigy. But in all seriousness, he's the last one to admit it. He thinks none of it is a big deal. Meanwhile the rest of us struggle to keep up. And we're professionals!" he laughed.
Hobi seemed like such a nice person. He certainly had a way of lightening the mood in moments of awkwardness.
"Forget him...." Taehyung said, adjusting the neck of his sax and motioning over towards me with his head, "She's incredible. Where the hell have you been?"
"And you've never sung jazz before?" Kookie chimed in from behind the drumset.
"I told you, guys. She's the perfect fit," Jin said, grinning ear to ear with an accompanying "I told ya so" gleam in his eye.
I looked at Kookie, "No, this is my first time. I mean, I have musical theater experience, some of it with jazz in the score, but that's not quite the same. I really enjoyed this though. I hope I can join you all again."
"Oh, please do," Namjoon said with a slight pleading in his voice.
"Well... alright," I said, playfully feigning hesitation.
We all shared a laugh and continued on with our rehearsal. When it ended and everyone was putting away their equipment, I walked into the kitchen to refill my water bottle. The singing was a lot of fun, but I felt a bit dehydrated and fatigued.
I turned off the faucet and turned around, startled to see Yoongi standing with his back against the adjacent counter. His arms were folded across his chest, his right leg casually crossed over his left as he smirked at me.
"Ooh!" I blurted out in surprise, "You scared me!" His eyes crinkled shut and he burst into an adorable, almost inaudible laugh that was breathy and hardly a laugh at all.
"It's not funny..." I smiled, looking down. I could feel my cheeks turning red.
Stop that. If you think about your blushing, you're only going to blush more.
"It's a little funny. Why are you blushing?" he asked, still grinning, amused at how I was slowly melting into a puddle right here in front of him. He shifted his weight and cocked his head to the side inquisitively.
"You make me so nervous..." I said, suddenly feeling a rush of butterflies in my core, "I'm not afraid, but I feel like something is happening between us..."
He suddenly stepped forward, dropping his arms. As he crossed the short space separating us, I turned and instinctively backed up against the cabinets behind me, resting my elbows on the countertop.
Yoongi slowed his steps as his chest moved closer to mine, but he kept an inch or two of space in between us. I held my breath as his hands raised from his sides, moving towards my hips. I watched his fingers ever-so-slightly touch the fabric of my shirt, right around my hip bones, and I anticipated him touching me, hugging me... something.
Instead, he took a step backwards, away from me. His eyes were heavy with lust. The tension between us was undoubtedly building.
What the hell is this feeling? I just met this guy...
"Can you stay for awhile?" he asked suddenly. He paused at the doorway, seeming hopeful, but I could tell that he wasn't sure how I'd answer.
I gave him a shy grin and nodded before we both headed out to say goodbye to everyone for the night.
After everyone was gone and Yoongi was in the kitchen making us some tea, I walked around the practice space, looking at the equipment, noticing all of the scattered sheet music in stacks around the room. Next to the piano, on a little marble-top end table was a piece of music that had so many revisions scratched across it, it looked like the tooth of the paper might not be able to withstand anymore.
I sat down at the piano and started sight-reading the music. The chords were written in unusual inversions, in a progression I hadn't heard before. I could feel such sadness in the descending bass line, and as my fingers carefully navigated through the measures, I felt deep empathy welling up inside me. The final chord rang out, and I was surprised to feel the start of tears in my eyes.
"Wow..." I whispered to myself.
"It's unfinished," Yoongi startled me... again.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, turning on the piano bench to face him. He was standing in the doorway with a tray of tea and mugs.
"For nearly the whole song," he answered, turning to slide the tray onto a credenza by the door.
"Does it have a name?" I asked, standing up to walk over to him.
He handed me a mug of tea, "Not yet, but I'm probably going to scrap it anyway."
"What? Why would you do that? It's brilliant."
"I wouldn't say that... It's a mess... as is its source of inspiration, but that's a story for another day," he said, avoiding talking about it any further. It was clear that this was a sensitive subject, so I let it go.
"Thanks for the tea. And for asking me to stay. I'll admit, I've had a lot of fun with you today." I said, hoping to change the subject.
I could see the relief wash over Yoongi's face as he sighed and flashed me his adorable gummy smile. He carried his mug and took a seat on the leather couch, slouching back and resting his head. He let out a long breath, patting the cushion next to him and smiling up at me. My thoughts were racing, but I moved towards him anyway.
What is he thinking about right now?
I kicked off my heels and slid my legs up onto the couch, getting comfortable beside him. I was starting to feel butterflies creeping up on me again, feeling his eyes on me as I looked down at the mug of tea clutched in my hands.
"I had a great time today, too. I didn't want the day to end, if I'm being honest," he said, laughing a little at the absurdity of all of this. We hardly knew each other and yet there we were, feeling... things.
"It doesn't have to..." I said, suddenly feeling a bit bold. I don't know what it was about him, but I felt like I knew him already.
He shifted his weight on the couch, turning to face me, and reached over to gently trace his finger down my cheek.
"It is getting increasingly difficult to stop myself from touching you..." he said, as his finger moved from my cheek to my jawline. He turned his palm over and ran his open hand up under my hair and to the nape of my neck, leaning in closer to my face.
I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips, anticipation bubbling up inside me.
"Why are you stopping yourself?" I whispered, gently tickling his lower lip with mine, making him let out a tiny sip of air.
And that was all it took before he pressed his lips into mine, snaking his fingers into my hair and pulling me over to straddle his lap with his other arm.
"Well, hello..." I giggled, pulling away for a breath, but before I could make another move, he had me laying on my back and he was on top of me, trailing kisses down my jawline and neck.
"We're... moving... so fast..." I said breathlessly, in between kisses.
He stopped kissing me to look down into my eyes, combing back the hair around my forehead with his fingers.
"I can stop..." he started to say, but I grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him into my lips again, our kisses becoming feverish and needy.
I was completely lost in him. I felt his fingers slide around my hips and behind my back, pulling my pelvis into his. My legs opened around him and I felt his kisses turn to little nips of his teeth down my neck. His fingers slipped up under the hem of my shirt and I felt them gently sliding up my stomach and to the sides of my ribcage, just below my bra.
I slid my hands away from his shoulders and looked up at him as I started slowly unbuttoning my shirt.
He looked down at me with heavy eyes, biting his lower lip and watching my fingers release the final buttons of my shirt. The black silk slid down my ribs and pooled at my sides, leaving my black lace bra exposed.
"Mm-mm-mmm," he grumbled as he buried his face in my neck and started kissing down my chest. I arched my back and his fingers firmly gripped my hips. I could feel him getting aroused and used my legs to pull him down against me, making him let out a deep sigh of primal desire.
"You're something else..." he said, almost warning me.
His lips trailed down my stomach, nibbling on my skin as he reached the waist of my pants. He looked up at me with his hands on the button of my pants, pausing.
I nodded down at him, and with that, his fingers flicked open the button to my pants and he was sliding them off my legs. His palms slid back up the length of my legs and he hooked his fingers into the sides of my panties before deeply kissing me again.
"Can I taste you?" he asked.
"Please do..." I whispered, smirking. And I felt him slink down in between my legs, his hot breath against the outside of my black lace panties. I could feel myself getting more and more aroused.
His hand slid down over the outside of my panties, tickling my clit and gently tracing the outside of my pussy. He hooked his finger into my panties, pulling them to the side. He slid his finger up and down my soft folds, and I felt myself opening around his fingers before he slid two of them into me. I felt him expertly curl his fingers inside me as he wrapped his lips around my clit. The way he swirled his tongue and suckled on me was already amazing, but his fingers inside me intensified my pleasure to the point where I thought I was going to cum right then and there.
Responding to my accelerating breathing, he increased the speed and intensity of his tongue. He started thrusting his fingers into me rapidly, and I arched myself off the couch, losing myself in my nearing orgasm. Just as I was about to cum, he slid a third finger inside me. I let out a whiny moan, my orgasm crashing around his fingers still inside me.
And just like that, he was back on top of me, kissing me deeply. He let my panties slide back over to their proper place and then sat up next to me.
"It's getting late. I'll give you a ride home," he said, catching his breath and wiping his lips with his fingers as I buttoned up my shirt.
"This was nice..." I said as he threw me a playful grin in response, "Let's do it again sometime."
And we did the next night. And the next.