Seeming to understand the unfinished question, he held up one finger and stood. “Let me show you.”
As I stood from the sofa, walking over to my gun cabinet and punching in the keypad to unlock it, I chuckled.
So, she wants to know how I enjoy music.
She had no clue what she was in for. It was about to get really, really loud for her.
So, to protect her delicate, little ears I grabbed the box of earplugs, fishing out two. I didn’t need them, obviously, but I always kept them on hand, for when Brock and Tyler would come visit. My brother-in-law was a country boy through and through and he loved to head off into the woods and shoot off some rounds with me.
Alex had tolerated my guns, knowing my father was former military and I’d been trained properly, but I could never get her to go shooting with me. It was just one other area of our lives where she and I had agreed to disagree.
I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind, grabbing Archie’s Mutt Muffs and putting them on him. Next, I closed the gun cabinet and walked back over to the sofa, offering her the earplugs.
Tentatively, she held out her hand and accepted them. I motioned to my ears, telling her to put them in. Nodding skeptically, I could tell she was slightly trepidatious, but on board, and did as bid.
Turning, I flipped off the television set and connected my phone to my surround sound instead. For normal television watching, I always just kept the volume off. When I’d watch movies, I’d turn it up and connect it to feel the vibrations. It was the same reason I loved going to the theater with buddies, back when I used to be social. I’d always make sure to pick the Dolby Digital sound so I could feel every sound vibration through my body.
My hearing friends in high school and college were always shocked to find out how much I fucking loved music, especially going to concerts. I typically preferred hard rock, alternative, EDM, and rap. Anything that had loud bass and a strong beat to it. It always freaked my buddies out at college parties when I’d put my head right up next to a speaker and lay my body on it to feel the vibrations ripping through my core. Whatever. It wasn’t like I was gonna damage my ears. It was a fun party trick, and it felt so damn good.
And I was about to show her just how much I loved it.
I scrolled through my playlists, scratching my beard while trying to determine what song to play. My go-to was usually “Jekyll and Hyde” by Five Finger Death Punch, but I had a sinking suspicion that a song talking about a man with a demon inside him would freak her the fuck out.
Best to keep my own demons at bay in front of her as much as possible.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked over at her, waiting in anticipation for me to do something. Then it hit me. It was the first concert my parents took me to as a kid, when we were living in Jersey and I was around thirteen. I’d never heard music normally, but it was the last memory I had of hearing music in a somewhat traditional sense.
I leaned my ass on the arm of the sofa facing her, one foot on the cushion and one on the floor. Turning the volume up to a rattle-the-windows level, I flipped on a little “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi and tossed the phone down. The way her face lit up as I pumped my fists in time with the first two intro beats told me she knew exactly what song it was. Even with the earplugs, she could probably hear it at a normal level. For me, my ears didn’t catch much. A faint rumble now and again vibrating in my head, but I was feeling every beat of the drum and every strum of the bass through my core. “This ain’t a song for the brokenhearted.” I lipped the words from memory as I signed with an added passion and flair. And I knew every damn lyric in timing with the beats since I’d signed it a thousand times in my ASL Glee club. Not that I’d share that dorky tidbit of info, though.
Part of me feared putting myself out there, in front of this beautiful stranger, in such a raw, primal way. The other part of me didn’t give a shit because as the song said I wanted her to hear my voice when I shouted out loud, and ASL was my voice.
And I wanted this woman to see me. For so long, I’d felt invisible.
Apparently, G didn’t think it was ridiculous. In fact, she was loving it so much she couldn’t keep her ass on the sofa.
She stood and came over to me, trying to pull me up off the edge. When I didn’t move, she offered a pout then started pumping her fist in the air, shaking her cute little ass. Her hair fell out of her knot, curls bouncing on her shoulders, as she sang along to every word. Her smile was so damn wide and endearing when she broke out of her shell.
Again, she tried to pull me off the sofa to join her, but fuck no. I just shook my head and chuckled, then enjoyed watching her sway her hips. After her third try to woo me away from the sofa, I reluctantly stood and joined her, feeling like a fucking idiot. I couldn’t help it, though. She was quite persuasive and too damn adorable.
For the first time in three years, I felt alive.
The song finished, she pulled out the earplugs, and we both fell backwards, collapsing on the sofa sweaty, catching our breath. The backs of our knuckles grazed one another, and even though I was heated from our living room dance off, a shiver went right up my spine, every hair standing on end.
Turning my head, I glanced in her direction.
Curling her left arm under her head, she turned to her side, completely facing me. Slowly, she reached out her right hand and placed it on my cheek. She started speaking to me. With the low light and the back of the sofa casting a shadow over her face, it was growing harder for me to lipread her words, but as usual, I was able to fill in the blanks. “…amazing. More fun than…” she let out a breath “…long time. Thank you…sharing…….with me, Tanner.” A soft grin rested on her face and her eyes grew misty. She stared at me intently, the reflection of the fire adding beautiful orange and red hues to her warm, amber-brown eyes.
My heart pounded against my ribcage as her thumb gently stroked back and forth across my whiskers, and I honest to God didn’t know what my next move should be. Part of me wanted to lean into the tender moment and kiss her, but I wasn’t sure how she’d react to that, even though everything about this moment felt kiss worthy.
Testing the vibe, I placed my hand on top of hers, still on my cheek, giving it a squeeze. Her breath quickened as she licked her lips. My cock responded accordingly and all I could do was stare at her wet, plump bottom lip and think about how I wanted to taste it, suck it, nibble on it.
As I leaned in to go for it, Archie hopped up onto the sofa, pushing his way between the two of us. His tongue lapped across our cheeks as his tail thumped on our legs.
G laughed and giggled as she rubbed Archie’s fur, turning her head from side to side to avoid the dog kisses. I gave him a light slap on his backside and he turned his head to me. “Down!” I commanded, and he finally hopped off the sofa. He sat obediently next to the ottoman, staring up at us, glancing between G and myself.
Man’s best friend, my ass. Fucking cockblocker.
I sat there, staring him back down, resting my elbows on my knees, giving him a look that said, dude, you’re gonna get it later for this. Then G’s hand landed on my thigh and I turned my head to her.
“Eat?” She signed and pointed to Archie. Damn, did she remember that sign from this morning or was it one she already knew? I glanced at the time and yeah, it was pushing almost eight o’clock. I’d completely lost track of all time. This day had felt like a week.