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Word Prompt: Whittle
Dialogue Flex: "Let the games begin!" he said.
"Let the games begin!" he says. Driving must be his thing. He's beaming like a seven-year-old in front of a birthday cake. It's totally goofy, but I like that he's not afraid to be himself with me. It takes the pressure off. I don't have worry about saying something stupid, because he's more likely to laugh with me than at me.
He shifts gears, and pulls away from the curb. It's no great feat to drive in Claremont, New Hampshire. The city is on the small side, like most in the area. It's certainly nothing compared to New York or LA, although it's very similar to my hometown.
"Are you from around here?" I ask.
"Born and raised in Claremont. You?"
"I'm from Washington State." I don't bother to mention the name of my city. No one's ever heard of Forks, unless they're in the timber industry, or perhaps a sport fisherman with a love of trout and salmon.
"You're a long way from home. Do you miss it?" He turns smoothly off my street and heads towards the Interstate.
"Not really. Washington is beautiful, but the constant rain can be monotonous. After a while you feel waterlogged." Like you're drowning, I think.
"How long have you been in Claremont?"
"Two weeks." With his iPhone in hand, I press the home button and slide my finger over the arrow to unlock it.
"What do you think of it so far?" he asks.
The screen illuminates. Before I can snoop around his apps, I notice the last song he was listening to. I'm kind of shocked because it's one of my favourites.
"I can't believe you know this song. It hooked me as soon as the piano began in the intro. I love it when a band uses piano in a song."
He glances at the screen and nods enthusiastically. "It's definitely an underused instrument in modern rock. I like how the build of the song washes over you almost immediately. It was such a simple technique to cycle through the melody using different keys, but it works brilliantly. Well that, and the strings."
"Oh my God, the strings! Exactly! But the emotion in the singer's voice adds just as much. It's like he's reaching into my chest and ripping out my heart."
"They found the perfect balance between the vocals and instrumentation during the mixing process. It threads you through the entire piece."
"Total eargasm," I say.
His eyes flash to mine, unprepared for my impromptu word choice. I half-expect a blush to flood his cheeks, but they stay conspicuously pale. The change comes when he speaks in a husky voice.
"Well, Ms. Swan, I bet you enjoy number five then."
I'm a shuffle kind of girl, so I attempt to remember the track listing order. He taps the steering wheel with his right hand, simulating the bass drum opening of the song he's referring to. It's nothing like the theatrical piece we've just discussed. It's bluesy, southern rock. Not only is it raw, it's unbelievably sexy. In it, the singer croons about surrendering to his animal instincts during sex because he doesn't have a heart to give.
The car suddenly feels ten degrees warmer.
"I bet we both do." There's no other reason for him to point it out to me, and I'm not about to deny it. If he can be cheeky, so can I.
He's half-chuckling when he says, "Oh, this is going to be fun."
A/N: Thank you to everyone who's supporting the story. Your reviews are much appreciated.
For anyone who's interested, the first song that I referred to in this chapter came up randomly on shuffle. It's by a band called The Cab, and is called Lovesick Fool. The second song, also by The Cab, and is called Animal. I inserted it intentionally, because it's sexy, and it worked to open the conversation. I'm not having luck with formatting tonight. If you add the Youtube address in front of the partial links below, you should be able to get to the songs.
watch?v=axzEX9DA6f4
watch?v=2FiagNMWcGQ
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