The cellist's hands are strong, deft, and nimble. They move along the neck of her instrument with surety, and the cello answers lowing with the rhythm of her bow. I look at you, your face entranced, your mind full of her and the music. You want her, I know. She is beautiful in ways that I am not; her long hair red over her shoulders, her long legs wrapped around her cello in a firm embrace. She and I share a delicacy of face and feature, and our eyes are green to your brown. I imagine my eyes reflected in hers, two pools merging.
The concert ends and you rush us back stage to try and get closer, to get her name on a piece of paper to remember this night by. Your sincere praise and knowledge of her catalog gets us to her dressing room, and you stop before knocking, looking down at me. Your nervous smile brings me up and out of the music's thrall, and I smile back and nod. We're here together, your love for her has no bearing on me. I love that you feel this passion for such a person, moved first by the sounds she creates with her talent, second by the beauty of her self. I smile, and I raise my own small fist and knock.
She answers the door herself, and you begin to gush and flatter, talking of how wonderful her performance was, how many times you've listened to her recordings. Her smile is soft, and her eyes when they flicker to me are pleased. I realize she is aware of how you look at her, and is not offended. her smile to me is welcoming and inclusive. She asks us in, closes the door, gestures to chairs. Her place is beside her cello, resting in an open case, the wood glowing in the dim light. Leaning back in her seat, she asks lilting pleasantries, thanks us for coming. We talk of her tour, her recent stops abroad. She speaks of loving the shows, the sharing of music helping her to create new recordings-- but her pauses grow longer, and I begin to think we've overstayed our welcome. I ask her when last she was home, how often she got to see her family. Her beautiful face clouds, her hair a curtain of red falling around her. She is lonely, and lovely, and I am up and out of my chair, my arms going around her shoulders. In her softly accented voice she apologizes, but leans into me, her head on my chest. Her shoulders shake with a single tremor, and she looks up at me. Those long fingers press into my sides. I had not even felt her arms rise. her eyes ask me questions, her hands brush answers along my ribs, my spine. Her face is pale like mine, but her eyes are deeper green and I lean down to bring our faces together. Our noses brush and her breath on mine is warm and coming quickly. We blush together, the whiteness of our cheeks flaming. her lips are fuller than mine, i think, and then they are.