A Season of Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

familiarity of a lover over skin. A fast hush fell over the room. With each swell of the tune, his body shifted, his head dipped. His fingers taunted the ivory keys. He closed his eyes. His face drew taut. Beneath his beautiful hands the keys danced in melancholy strains that slowly inched up the scale to higher octaves of hope, before returning to full, deep lower chords that held, echoing off the walls.
     
    When he stopped, his fingers remained poised over the keys as if he wasn’t sure he was finished touching them.
     
    The sight caused a tremor deep inside of me. I wondered why he closed his eyes. What was he thinking about?
     
    The class was silent.
     
    “That is Aria in B Minor.” His reverent tone whispered through the air. The class still hadn’t made a sound. The piece was just as Mr. Christian had said, unforgettable. For the first time, I was excited about singing.
     

     

     
    •••
     
    I volunteered to collect the sheet music after class and took my time, hoping everybody would get out of there fast so I could have a few moments alone with him. I couldn’t believe some of the girls hung around. All giggles and smiles, I recognized their signs of flirting.
    “I love to sing,” one said.
     

     
    “You’re, like, going to be sooo good for this class,” another kissed up. “Our last teacher was so like lame.”
     
    “Uh-huh. We sang the dullest songs. That song was hot.”
     
    Mr. Christian busied himself with stacking sheet music on a nearby shelf. “I’m glad you like it.” He watched me bring the music over and smiled. “Thank you, Eden.”
     
    I hoped to touch his fingers again when the music passed from me to him, but didn’t. “You’re welcome.” I snuck a glance at his hands when he neatly slid the stack of music on the shelf.
     
    I shot the loitering girls a get-lost look behind his back and they took off. I had one minute before his next class came in.
     
    “That was a cool piece of music,” I said. “But what I heard you playing yesterday was even better. Was that one of your own?”
     
    He stopped fiddling with the sheet music and faced me. “Yes, it was.”
     
    “Will we get to sing it?”
     
    “Unlikely.”
     
    “Why? It’s so good.”
     
    “I’m not finished with it.”
     
    “You know best,” I said. He looked impressed by my comment. I wanted to continue to impress him. “What do you think about when you write music?”
     
    His mouth opened as if he was going to answer but the door flew open and a bunch of kids blustered in.
     
    “Excuse me,” he said, then squatted down to the boombox. Instantaneously, the same relaxing classical music he had played for our class quieted the rowdy students.
     
    “That really works,” I told him.
     

     
    He looked out over the students with a grin. His chin was firm, almost stubborn looking. Long, dark lashes framed his blue-green eyes. He had a masculine nose, sharp but not pointed. Again, I checked out his hands, now set casually on his hips. The graceful beauty of his fingers sent a flood of want through me.
     
    When I looked at his face, he was watching me. I swallowed a knot, embarrassed, not sure how much of my appraisal he’d witnessed. “I’d better go.”
     
    The green in his eyes flickered. “Yeah.”
     

     

     

     

Chapter Five
     
    “Why don’t you want to go to the plaza?” Brielle asked at lunch.
     
    “I need to talk to Mrs. Carlson.”
     
    “You’re not in trouble are you?”
     
    “No, of course not.”
     
    “Then why see your counselor?”
     
    I walked with her toward the student parking lot, anxious to get rid of her so I could double back to Mr. Christian’s classroom. I was hoping to catch him playing and singing again.
     
    “Where is everybody?” I asked. Matt, Josh and Tanner were nowhere in sight.
     
    “I told them I’d wait for you. They’re already at the plaza. This isn’t about Matt, is it?”
     
    “No way.”
     
    “I didn’t think