Page 53 of Conquest

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The sound of a piano floated up from downstairs. Jesse bolted upright, instantly awake, and saw the bed empty beside him. He jumped out, snatched his boxers off the floor, hopping toward the door on one foot, then the other as he struggled to put them on and dashed down the stairs. The music grew louder as he neared the bottom. He sprinted across the entrance room, through the family room, and slid to a halt in the doorway of the music room.

Sitting shirtless in his black running pants, Evan’s fingers glided over the keys of the ebony grand in his classically inspired ballad “One More Time” from his fourth album of the same title. The morning sun fell over him, the gold and copper streaks in his hair shone against the backdrop of darker chestnut. Though his eyes were closed, his fingers never touched a wrong note. He took a breath and began to sing,

“I walk alone,

Still feeling the warmth

Of your body close to mine.

The seasons change,

Night turns to day,

But I remain the same.

My tears chill my skin,

Imitations of the ones

I caused in your eyes

The night I said goodbye.

Despite all the tears I’ve cried,

And all the pain they’ve brought,

I’d shed them all one more time

To see you smile again.

If seeing me hurt pleases you,

Then I’ll cherish this pain forever.

I’ll never ask you to forgive me.

How could I after all I’ve done?

But before my body leaves this world

I beg for the gift of your smile one more time.

One more time,

That’s all I ask.

One more time,

That’s all I need.

It’ll be my greatest treasure forever,

To see you smile one more time.

One more time,