Atlanta City's Bad Boy

Chapter 30. Jack Of All Trades

Mia's POV

I wake up. I know I haven't been asleep long, it's still dark. Jesse isn't in bed. Curious, I get out of bed, go to his dresser and grab out one of his shirts to cover myself. I head down to the living room, and I don't hear or see anything. So I walk through to the kitchen, still nothing. I decide to head for the basement, which is in the dining room. Soon as I open the door, I can hear music. What in the world is he doing? I creep down the stairs as quietly as I can I peek through the doorway and see him.

He's playing an old acoustic guitar. Figures, this man I swear, is the jack of all trades. I watch him from the doorway. He still hasn't noticed me yet. I begin to realize what he is playing. He begins singing. It's an older rock song I've heard him play it in the Challenger before. Miss you in a heartbeat by Def Leppard. I continue to watch him, but then he looks at me and stops.

How could he possibly stop when it sounded so beautiful. "Did I wake you, love?" He asks me as I walk toward him. He's sitting on the couch.

He watches me as I grab a stool and sit in front of him. "No, keep playing." My eyes plead with his. 

"The song was about over anyway," He says.

"Then play another?" I ask.

He laughs. "What do you want to hear?"

I think about it for a moment. I actually really like Def Leppard mainly because of him. He plays it quite a bit, so they grew on me. "Play another Def Leppard song," I tell him. He thinks about it for a moment.

He sings and plays the song so perfectly. I'm a little dumbfounded. He keeps eye contact with me the entire time he plays it. As he slowly comes to an end, I have to ask him desperate now to know why he never mentioned this before.

"Why wouldn't you ever tell me before?" I ask him.

He sighs and runs one hand through his hair. "I've been playing guitar since I was four years old." My lips part and the air escapes my lungs. He laughs but continues. "My dad taught me. I was really good at it by the time I was eight. After he died, I quit playing. I even used to be able to play drums and bass. I just quit everything. I put the drums, guitars, bass's, and the amps all in the shed," He explains.

"So when did you decide to start playing again, tonight?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"No, I started again the night I met you. While you were asleep, I went out to the shed, grabbed the guitar came in and played for a couple of hours," He explains.

"And I'm just now catching you?" I ask. "Were you just planning on letting me find out on my own?"

"Well, you did find out on your own. I don't know it's not a big deal. I don't even know if I'll keep playing. It's been a long time I haven't even tried playing drums or bass. I'm sure if I did, it'd sound like shit. I was always better at playing guitar..." He trails off.

"Will you play another song?" I ask.

He starts laughing."You've already heard two. We should go on up to bed." He says. I pout. It works. He sighs and shakes his head at me, but he starts playing another song. It's a country song. I start smiling like an idiot when I hear it. I think he knows its one of my favorites. He doesn't care for country music too much. The way he looks at me while he sings it is making me blush terribly. I'm pretty sure if he weren't singing, he'd be laughing. "Alright no more tonight," he says sternly. He puts the guitar in the closet. I stand up, and we head back up the stairs.

Molly is whining in the kitchen in her dog kennel. I better take her potty. I grab her out and take her outside. After she finally goes potty, I tell her what a good girl she is. I carried Molly back inside and put her back in her kennel. I head upstairs. Jesse is already back in bed. I climb under the blankets and fall asleep in his arms.