Page 28 of Uncharted Desires
He spun her around as if they were slow dancing at a school dance, and Kat’s heart flipped.
“I mean it, Kat. You look so free and at peace. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone be so alive before. The way your hips move, the way you hear sounds and feel the island as if it’s alive.”
Well, she couldn’t stay mad if he said things like that.
“It is alive. This island is full of life.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck as they swayed to nature’s song—the music that only they heard made by the waves, the rustling of the trees, and the songs of the island’s birds. It was their song.
“Do you hear music in your head a lot?”
She shook her head, looking out to the ocean. “No, not in a long time.” She tried to hide the emotion in her voice but failed.
“When did you first fall in love with music?” he asked.
“When did you?” She tilted her head back, and gazed up at him.
“Now who’s deflecting?” His hands moved up and down her back as they continued to sway. Kat thought back to her senior prom with Archie Llewellyn, the once thespian now finance guy for some hedge fund. Her first boyfriend, and the first guy to break her heart. The one who taught her it was easier to be alone. West probably never did pedestrian things like going to a high school prom. What would prom have been like with him if he had?
“Kat?” he asked, bringing her back to the moment.
“I don’t think I have a single instance. It’s always been a part of me. It controls my moods, it creates my memories, and it’s the soundtrack for each stage of my life. I can go back and listen to different playlists from times in my life and it brings back memories as if they were yesterday. Music is just a part of who I am. I went to a”—she smirked at him—“Fall Out Boy concert when I was fourteen, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
“What? Be in a band?”
“Yeah, make music for a living. Have people singing my music back at me. Make art, make a difference through that art.”
His brow furrowed, and the look only enhanced his appearance. Kat needed to back away. “You never struck me as the rock type,” he said.
She laughed, pulling away from him, her hand gliding along his arm before they broke contact. “Are you kidding? I was such an emo kid. Fall Out Boy, My Chem, AFI, Taking Back Sunday . . . the list goes on forever.”
“That’s not even close to the type of music you play.”
“I won’t lie and say I didn’t have Something Corporate, Prince, Tori Amos and even Billy Joel on repeat too. I have eclectic tastes. I was even in an emo band with some friends for quite a while. I played the piano and sang backing vocals.”
He pulled her closer again, his hands coming to rest on her hips, a confused look on his face. A look that was entirely too cute on him. Her heart flipped. “You are not meant to be playing keys in someone else’s emo band.”
She laughed, shaking her head at the irony of his statement. “I learned to play the piano at six, then I learned the flute and saxophone. I tried the guitar, but it was an epic failure, so fronting a rock band was a little out of the question.”
“Guitar isn’t that hard; you just have to stick with it.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re amazing at it.”
“That’s what four-hour music lessons a day will do for you.”
“Was it all that bad though? You’re an amazing musician. You have a talent people would kill for.”
He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. “How do you still smell so good? We’ve been on an island for like—what is this, our fifth day now?”
She pulled away, looking up at him, disentangling her hands from his neck. “Now you’re deflecting again.” He refused to let his armor down with her, and while it shouldn’t annoy her, it did. He couldn’t be the sweet man with the sweet words who danced and caressed her, and then turned cold whenever she asked him anything personal.
He ran his hand through his too-long hair, frustration written on his face. “What do you want me to say, Kat? That I didn’t have a typical childhood? Of course I didn’t. My dad was traveling all over the world. Tutors taught me everything from music theory to reading, writing, and history. But I barely know half the book smart shit everyone else knows, so I hope to never get recruited to Celebrity Jeopardy!.”
“I wish my parents could have afforded all those music lessons.” They’d worked hard just to get her piano lessons.
“You think I’m not aware of that privilege? All I wanted was a normal life. I wanted to go to school, play sports, and have normal friends.”
Kat blinked, processing that information. She’d placed West in a box with the rest of the Beverly Hills scene he hung out with, but he continued to surprise her at every turn.