p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Lisa placed the last plate from the sink onto the rack to dry. The ranch house was quiet and the evening sun was casting long shadows across the kitchen. Drying her hands, in the silence Lisa heard the faint musings of a guitar drifting in from outside. So that's were he got to./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"She walked over to the window on her right to peer out. Jack was sitting on the steps of the porch, guitar in hand. The sun bathed the porch in warm light, creating an orange aura-like glow around Jack's seated form. Lisa smiled as he played, she could tell he was engrossed, oblivious to the world around him./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Not bothering to pick up her coat, Lisa stepped outside, as quietly as she could. She carefully shut the screen door behind her and leaned against the wooden beams of the house, letting the sound of the guitar wash over her./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"There was a lull in the music as Lisa shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The porch creaked and Jack turned to look. "Oh hey there, I didn't hear you come out," he said./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Lisa smiled and crossed the porch, she rested a hand on his shoulder, "I haven't seen you play in a while."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack nodded, looking back down at the guitar, "I'm a bit rusty, and it can be hard on the fingers... but I'm feeling limber today," he said, smiling up at her, amusement in his eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Lisa settled onto the porch step, to his right. "Keep going." she nodded encouragingly./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He returned his hands to the strings, then paused, "I have a better idea." He lifted the instrument from his lap and placed it onto hers. She flinched slightly in surprise and tentatively rested a hand on it to hold it upright./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Looking from the guitar to Jack, she frowned, "I can't play the guitar."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Well then it's about time you learned, isn't it?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Her frown relaxed into a smile, "I guess it is."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack took her left hand in his and placed it around the neck of the guitar, in front of him. "Loosen up a little, Lis, you're not trying to choke the thing."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Right, gotcha." she loosened her grip and Jack chuckled. He reached behind her and guided her right hand to the strings./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Now..." he returned his focus to her left hand. Lisa let his hand guide her fingers into position. "That's a C." she stared down at her hand and tried to commit the position to memory./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""You have to strum, Lis." Jack reminded her after a few moments of silence./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Right yes, like... this?" she ran her hand tentatively over the strings and looked to him for confirmation./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""More like..." he reached around to her right hand again and held it just above the wrist. "..this." He moved her hand over the strings in one smooth motion, emitting a soft sound that hung in the calm air around them. Lisa smiled indulgently./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He moved her fingers again, "Now an E-minor," she strummed again, this time without his guidance. "And a G... and back to C."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack sat back and watched as Lisa continued to play, slowly changing from chord to chord. She was biting her lip in concentration, focused on getting it right. A strand of hair fell loose over her shoulder and hung down past her jawline. Jack reached out and looped it back behind her ear. She smiled at the movement but didn't stop playing. The sun was beginning to dip below the trees in the distance and the dappled light danced around them. Watching Lisa in the changing light Jack smiled to himself. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, then her neck. Her fingers fumbled over the strings and the sound faltered and faded out. "Hey now, you're distracting me!" she protested./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Sorry." Jack murmured, but didn't move away. Abandoning attempts to continue playing, Lisa turned her face to meet his, her smile inches from his./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""So how am I doing?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I gotta say, you're a quick study."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I guess I have a good teacher-" she was interrupted with a kiss./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Pulling back Jack smiled, "That you do."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"They kissed again and this time Lisa pulled back. "Kay, but now will you play me something?" she lifted the guitar off her lap without breaking eye contact, raising her eyebrows in question./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I suppose I could... for you." He took the guitar from her hands, without looking down his fingers found the strings with practised ease, a confident sureness that he had no need to second guess, a far cry from Lisa's blundering movements, she noted to herself with a smile./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He began to strum out a slow and gentle tune, one Lisa vaguely recognised. After a few bars, it changed. Jack looked down now, concentration evident on his features as he began picking out a delicate melody on the strings with his fingers, something he hadn't done in quite some time. Lisa watched in silence as his fingers found a rhythm, slow but melodic. She leaned on his shoulder now that his arm was still, just his fingers moved across the strings./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"A light breeze swept across the porch, lifting the few leaves that remained of autumn and swirling them around the pair. Lisa shivered involuntarily in her light blouse and leaned closer to the heat of Jack's body. Jack continued to play without hesitation, the notes mixing sweetly with the air around them, enclosing them in their own little world./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"She walked over to the window on her right to peer out. Jack was sitting on the steps of the porch, guitar in hand. The sun bathed the porch in warm light, creating an orange aura-like glow around Jack's seated form. Lisa smiled as he played, she could tell he was engrossed, oblivious to the world around him./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Not bothering to pick up her coat, Lisa stepped outside, as quietly as she could. She carefully shut the screen door behind her and leaned against the wooden beams of the house, letting the sound of the guitar wash over her./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"There was a lull in the music as Lisa shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The porch creaked and Jack turned to look. "Oh hey there, I didn't hear you come out," he said./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Lisa smiled and crossed the porch, she rested a hand on his shoulder, "I haven't seen you play in a while."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack nodded, looking back down at the guitar, "I'm a bit rusty, and it can be hard on the fingers... but I'm feeling limber today," he said, smiling up at her, amusement in his eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Lisa settled onto the porch step, to his right. "Keep going." she nodded encouragingly./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He returned his hands to the strings, then paused, "I have a better idea." He lifted the instrument from his lap and placed it onto hers. She flinched slightly in surprise and tentatively rested a hand on it to hold it upright./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Looking from the guitar to Jack, she frowned, "I can't play the guitar."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Well then it's about time you learned, isn't it?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Her frown relaxed into a smile, "I guess it is."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack took her left hand in his and placed it around the neck of the guitar, in front of him. "Loosen up a little, Lis, you're not trying to choke the thing."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Right, gotcha." she loosened her grip and Jack chuckled. He reached behind her and guided her right hand to the strings./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Now..." he returned his focus to her left hand. Lisa let his hand guide her fingers into position. "That's a C." she stared down at her hand and tried to commit the position to memory./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""You have to strum, Lis." Jack reminded her after a few moments of silence./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Right yes, like... this?" she ran her hand tentatively over the strings and looked to him for confirmation./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""More like..." he reached around to her right hand again and held it just above the wrist. "..this." He moved her hand over the strings in one smooth motion, emitting a soft sound that hung in the calm air around them. Lisa smiled indulgently./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He moved her fingers again, "Now an E-minor," she strummed again, this time without his guidance. "And a G... and back to C."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Jack sat back and watched as Lisa continued to play, slowly changing from chord to chord. She was biting her lip in concentration, focused on getting it right. A strand of hair fell loose over her shoulder and hung down past her jawline. Jack reached out and looped it back behind her ear. She smiled at the movement but didn't stop playing. The sun was beginning to dip below the trees in the distance and the dappled light danced around them. Watching Lisa in the changing light Jack smiled to himself. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, then her neck. Her fingers fumbled over the strings and the sound faltered and faded out. "Hey now, you're distracting me!" she protested./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""Sorry." Jack murmured, but didn't move away. Abandoning attempts to continue playing, Lisa turned her face to meet his, her smile inches from his./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""So how am I doing?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I gotta say, you're a quick study."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I guess I have a good teacher-" she was interrupted with a kiss./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"Pulling back Jack smiled, "That you do."/p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"They kissed again and this time Lisa pulled back. "Kay, but now will you play me something?" she lifted the guitar off her lap without breaking eye contact, raising her eyebrows in question./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;""I suppose I could... for you." He took the guitar from her hands, without looking down his fingers found the strings with practised ease, a confident sureness that he had no need to second guess, a far cry from Lisa's blundering movements, she noted to herself with a smile./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"He began to strum out a slow and gentle tune, one Lisa vaguely recognised. After a few bars, it changed. Jack looked down now, concentration evident on his features as he began picking out a delicate melody on the strings with his fingers, something he hadn't done in quite some time. Lisa watched in silence as his fingers found a rhythm, slow but melodic. She leaned on his shoulder now that his arm was still, just his fingers moved across the strings./p
p style="margin-bottom: .08in;"A light breeze swept across the porch, lifting the few leaves that remained of autumn and swirling them around the pair. Lisa shivered involuntarily in her light blouse and leaned closer to the heat of Jack's body. Jack continued to play without hesitation, the notes mixing sweetly with the air around them, enclosing them in their own little world./p