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Jenna can't really recall ever feeling so awkward and uncoordinated. She shakes her wrist out again, lifting her chin up to smile at Peter apologetically.
"It's alright, take your time," Peter says, genuinely, smiling back at her, as if they just started and haven't been trying this chord progression for the better part of thirty minutes already.
Jenna looks down again at her hands, shifts a bit where she's perched on the stool, hugging the instrument a little closer as she tries placing her fingers to the strings on the fretboard again.
"I just... how do you..." Jenna trails off, and makes a vague noise of frustration.
Peter nearly laughs, but not mockingly so. "Your fingers," he declares, taking Jenna's hand in both of his own, "are shorter than mine." He starts placing them, one by one, where they belong against the strings, and Jenna tries to relax. "It just takes a little bit of time to train them. There."
Jenna strums and it sounds off, buzzing, and she scrunches her face up and looks up at Peter again.
"Almost," Peter says, leaning closer, gazing at Jenna's hand, touching her ring finger. "Relax that one, press harder with the others."
Jenna tries again, and the sound is different, maybe better, but still not quite there.
Peter smiles without looking up, tapping at Jenna's ring finger again. "No, relax that one," he reiterates.
"It is relaxed!" Jenna laughs, feeling silly. "Just," she smiles, shaking her head and looking down, letting the instrument slip a bit. "Never mind."
"No way, you're so close, here," Peter says, quickly hopping off his own seat, lifting it up and stepping around and behind Jenna, asking, "Is this alright?" as he sits down again right behind Jenna, and his arms slide around either side of Jenna's body, until his chest is pressed flush to Jenna's back.
Jenna doesn't quite know what to do with her arms now, and her heart skips a bit as Peter's chin hooks onto her shoulder, looking over, taking the guitar.
"Here, watch," Peter mutters softly, and his hands land on the frets and the body, and he hauls the guitar a little closer, and Jenna looks down and her cheek presses against Peter's. "See? Like that." Peter's fingers shift easily, changing chords back and forth a couple of times, and he breathes softly, almost humming. "Your turn."
Jenna takes the guitar back carefully, Peter's hands lingering and brushing against hers, and then at her wrists where they peek out from the sleeves of her sweater. Peter is warm against her and tilts his chin up a bit before settling it back on Jenna's shoulder, and Jenna is almost afraid to move too much, to lose any of the contact, even the faint tickling of Peter's hair where it brushes at her cheek.
When Jenna positions her fingers once more, Peter helps her, taking hold of each of them in succession. Peter leans into Jenna's body and Jenna has to lean back to keep her balance until Peter's other hand curls firmly at Jenna's waist, high on her hip.
"There you go," Peter says softly, patiently, his voice buzzing in Jenna's ear. "You've got it. Now push hard."
Jenna can hardly concentrate, her heart thudding in her chest, so insistent that she's sure Peter can feel it, and she has to fight to keep her eyes from drifting shut at the closeness of Peter's body and the soft, warm press of his hand. Jenna exhales quietly and the strings are sharp against her fingertips as she presses as hard as she can, strumming once, then again, testing out the sound, and it's not perfect, but it's better. She stares at her own fingers and Peter's face slides against her a tiny bit, and Jenna moves to the next chord, a little awkwardly, but without too much of a pause, and she strums again.
Jenna smiles, and Peter's hand squeezes at her waist, and Peter's voice is still soft but more excited, "That's it, you've got it," and Jenna can tell he's smiling. "Again, try it again," Peter encourages.
She's still not sure of the positioning of her fingers for the first chord, and Peter lifts his hand to help just before Jenna finds it, and this time the change is even more fluid, Jenna's fingertips sliding along the strings as they move. Peter brings his hand down to rest on Jenna's thigh, just on the outside, and Jenna switches between the two chords, again and again, committing them to memory.
"See?" Peter mutters, still enthusiastic. "You're amazing."
Jenna's hand slips as she smiles wide, nearly laughing with the clanging sound the guitar makes. "Yeah, right."
"You are," Peter replies immediately, and his hand flattens against Jenna's waist, warm and insistent. "You are," Peter says again, but it's different this time, clearer, intentional.
Jenna's smile fades as her breath catches and she can't keep her eyes open anymore, just holds on to the guitar and feels Peter's hand twitching slightly at her waist, and then the other one slipping an inch or so at her thigh. Jenna's heart rate soars and her senses pull into sharp focus, the feel of Peter's body, the sound of his breath, and the weight of his chin on Jenna's shoulder.
"You're like," Peter begins softly, and Jenna shivers deeply, and doesn't think she imagines the way Peter's voice wavers. "Two-thirds of the way to playing every Green Day song ever."
Jenna doesn't quite laugh, but it's enough to get her to relax a little, tension falling from her shoulders. She turns her head toward Peter's, just a fraction, and Peter shifts slightly, his arm encircling Jenna's waist even more, and there's a brief, suspended moment in which Jenna knows they're going to kiss. They linger in it, turning a little, reaching, tilting and adjusting to align in tiny increments. Just as anticipation makes Jenna's heart catch in her throat, there's only Peter's mouth, warm and soft on her own, attuned and perfect on the very first try.