Free An Illicit Pursuit by Liv Bennett Page A

“You’re a
major asshole,” I say the last word in whisper and hurry down the
stairs.
    Back in the living room, I get sidetracked by
Grace, who asks me to play the piano. I nod, smiling, and sit on
the chair in front of the black Bösendorfer and start playing and
singing more songs. Eleanor comes with Adriana and both sit on the
couch beside their parents. A picture-perfect sight. The twins pull
chairs beside me and join me singing. Adam stands by the piano, his
eyes drilling holes in my face. It takes every bit of concentration
to keep playing and not get distracted by his captivating gaze.
    Large objects? Oh, dear god!
    After singing maybe seven songs, I grab a
chair with the twins in the backyard to show them some basics of
how to hold the guitar and hit a few strings. Adam joins us, too.
Of course he won’t neglect his duty of shadowing me throughout the
day.
    I help Nikki place her fingers on the neck of
the guitar and show her how to hold the pick. I notice her hands
shake but encourage her to continue trying, even though she doesn’t
bend the strings that well.
    Adam takes over the guitar after Nikki. I
help him only briefly for curling his fingers correctly on the
strings to keep our physical interaction to bare minimum. He
doesn’t try to seduce me with his eyes or words, instead genuinely
focuses on the guitar. Even so, the sounds coming from the guitar
when he hits the strings grate my ears to death, and I cringe. The
girls cover their ears and begin booing at him jokingly.
    Adam hands me back the guitar, looking every
bit defeated. “I guess you need to have sausage fingers to be able
to play it well,” he says, half serious, half joking.
    “Excuse me?” I glare. “Did you just call us
fat?”
    Nikki glares at him. “Fat? Us? Take a good
look at yourself. Your hair always looks greasy, even right after
the shower. Your eyebrows are too thick. You’ve got hair on your
chest, and your feet are too big.”
    I cover my mouth as I chuckle, but there is
no way to conceal my eyes roaming down to the wrinkled area under
his belt. It gets worse when my eyes widen at the sight of the
bulge outlined in his jeans.
    Oh, my!
    I close my eyes, as if they’ve been exposed
to hot steam, and turn away to hide my embarrassment, hoping at
least the girls didn’t notice my reaction because I know Adam did.
I didn’t miss how his eyes darkened at that brief glance before I
closed my eyes.
    “Yeah, go get a haircut or something. Your
hair is gross,” Brendie says, releasing the tension somewhat.
    “You girls are being rude.” Adam says. “I’ll
get something to drink. You want some, too, Pat?”
    I snap my eyes open but just gaze down at the
guitar in my lap. “What? Uh, no. I’m fine.”
    I’m so embarrassed for being caught glancing
at Adam’s crotch that I don’t even have the nerve to watch him go.
I take a deep breath and continue showing the girls some more basic
insights about playing guitar.
    When the twins start getting visibly bored, I
check the time on my phone. Five before five. How quickly the time
has flown away. I gather my guitar, place it inside its suitcase,
and head back inside the house with the girls.
    After I thank Grace for the invitation and
hug her—yeah, I love that lavender scent of hers—Adriana calls me
into the kitchen and hands me an envelope. “You made the party just
perfect. Thanks for coming to our rescue in the last minute.”
    I open the envelope to see a
five-hundred-dollar check. “I can’t accept this. It didn’t feel
like work at all. I came to the party as a friend of Adam. I really
can’t take this.”
    I attempt to give her back the envelope, but
she shoves my hand away. “Oh, please. Take it.”
    “You’re putting me in a terrible position. I
can’t. It’s too much money, anyway.”
    “Um, how about this? Would you consider
giving Nikki and Brendie guitar classes? They play basketball after
school, but some guitar lessons will really help them cope