A Beautiful Instrument

30: A Great Friend

Jeremy and I stay up talking half the night. The other half...well, some make-up sex was in order, for sure.

In terms of our relationship, we decided we likely took things too fast and needed to maintain some semblance of ourselves as individuals. So while staying the night was okay some of the time it didn't need to be an all the time thing. He could do his things and I could do my things without concern that we were somehow avoiding each other.

Secondly, we would disclose our relationship to Aldridge and the people Jeremy knew we could trust like Maxwell and Grace. Lastly, we would not rely on the fake relationship with Marcus to keep Friedrich at bay. Furthermore, I needed to clarify with Marcus the nature of our relationship.

And Keith? Well, we just rolled our eyes, knowing that ship has sailed.

Jeremy suggested we let this all die down and focus on the debut this week. I couldn't agree more. He's so thoughtful in wanting to make sure all this drama doesn't sour my orchestra experiences.

We are laying in bed together early the next morning. I need to start getting ready for my meeting with Ava and Friedrich, but I can't bring myself to leave his arms just yet.

"So how do you want to celebrate the night you debut? Lavish party? Dinner with all your friends? A more intimate affair?" He asks.

"We don't have to do anything special." I insist.

"Your adrenaline will be pumping. We should absolutely do something." He challenges me.

"I can think of something intimate I'd like to do with you, mister." I proclaim.

He chuckles. "Alright, but you need to get going now. Don't piss Friedrich off."

"Says the man who skipped a performance yesterday." I poke at him.

Jeremy sighs and falls back onto the pillow. I get up and start getting ready. When I come out of the bathroom, Jeremy has changed into his clothes from last night and started the coffee maker. He fixes his gaze on me. "So, Operation Slow & Steady goes into effect today?"

"Yep, an evening apart. I'll see you for practice the next several days, though, and we have that event on Tuesday night." I point out.

"Do you want to stay over Tuesday then?" He suggests.

"I'll look forward to it." I say, honestly.

Jeremy checks. "And we can still call and text all we want, right?"

"Yes, baby, but remember the point of this was not to put more pressure on ourselves. We just let things transpire more slowly is all." I reassert.

He chuckles nervously. "I feel like an addict. I'm going to be jonesing for a hit."

"Which is exactly why we need to take a step back." I remind him. I fill us both a travel mug of coffee and we head out. He gives me lingering kiss after lingering kiss as we say goodbye. He's on his way to make amends with his sister.

Once at the concert hall, I feel nervous. I haven't seen anyone since Marcus roughed up Friedrich. In hindsight, maybe this whole Marcus thing wasn't a good idea. What if it gave other people the wrong idea about me and the type of people I keep company with?

"Analeigh. Hi, dear. How are you this morning?" Ava meets me in the hallway. She looks tired.

"I'm good, enjoying my last few days of unrestricted freedom. I got your message late otherwise I would have called last night." I tell her.

She drops her voice low as she steps closer to me. "He called a few minutes before the start. Sounded like hell. I trust he's feeling better today?" Her kind blue eyes mirror her concerned tone.