Felicity practically throws the bottle of wine in Chloe's face. "You have it! We have changed our plans," she slurs a little seductively before exiting the front door with Tane being pulled behind her. His grin is as big as Flick's. Chloe stares after them, not really knowing what to make of their quick exit but knowing she definitely doesn't want to know either.
The house to herself. Well, that's rare... Her eyes slip down to the bottle in her hands. And wine too... Maybe it is time for some self care. She hasn't let herself relax ever since Ari died.
Chloe runs her finger along the wine and pulls out the cork hesitantly. The loud and sudden bang forces her head back a little and she giggles to herself. Bella would be able to get it off of the bottle with far more ease. If only she could think of one simple thing without relating it back to Bella.
She glides over to the kitchen and pours her first glass of wine whilst her spare finger runs down Spotify pressing play on Dancing in the Moonlight. She puts her earphones in her ears just to get the full effect. The first glass downed, and her feet twirl around to the beat of the song, arms outstretching in a manner more gentle than the rhythm should allow.
Her eyes slip closed, but she knows the space around her. She is spinning, gliding from side to side, giggling to herself... And completely unaware of the creak that just came from the front door.
Bella's mouth falls open and her eyes grow even larger than usual. She watches as Chloe spins again, walking in a circle almost as if she's with another person. The shock slowly turns to a smile, a beam even. She can't take her eyes off of her and a small laugh escapes Bella's lips.
Then Chloe halts. Her previously animated arms grab the earphones from her ears and move to hide behind her back. "I-I," she tries to stutter, taking a step backwards to be closer to the comfort of the bottle of wine. She throws the earphones down on the kitchen counter.
"Don't let me stop you." Bella grins and crosses her arms across her ordinary, black t-shirt. There's Chloe dancing in a little black dress whilst she stands there in such a basic t-shirt and high-waisted jeans.
Chloe flicks her fringe away from her face. "How embarrassing." She's blushing and it's making it worse that Bella won't look away.
"Not at all," Bella tells her, taking a few slow steps closer. "I didn't know you could dance."
"Oh no, Bella. No, I can't," Chloe splutters.
"I do have eyes you know."
"I guess I picked a bit up from all of Felicity's garden parties. And...I...And the ballet from when I was a-"
Bella gasps. "You did ballet?!"
Chloe scratches the side of her head. "Oh not... maybe for a year, I don't really know..." Her words trail off, getting quieter and quieter. There's a tension in the air and she can feel it in her chest. Her heart is pounding. The woman she loves is staring at her, what is she supposed to do? How is she supposed to act? She gasps for air and slides around on her feet, her back to Bella whilst she gets another glass out of the cupboard. "You should have some wine," she tells her chirping, trying to hide the tremor in her voice. "Wait, no...Why are you here?" Now she's flustered. Even more flustered. Sometimes she forgets that Bella doesn't always come over just to see her.
Bella walks over to Chloe slowly. Chloe's heart feels like it's stopped, but it hasn't, it's grown faster if anything. Bella reaches out slowly and puts a ring down on the kitchen counter.
"I bought Nikau's ring back," she says, matter-of-factly.
Chloe's heartbeat slows down again. Hearing her cousin's name is a good distraction. The same effect as a cold shower.
"I still can't believe you said no to his proposal," Chloe says, her words comforting and slow. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Bella takes a deep breath and pours herself a drink in the glass that Chloe seems to have forgotten about. Chloe's eyes are too fixated on Bella now.
"I had to say no," Bella breathes out, ignoring Chloe's intense stare.
Chloe brings her shoulders into a confused shrug. "But why?" Still with no eye-contact, Bella moves her hand over to take Chloe's slender fingers in her own. She looks down at their intertwined movements and runs her fingers down Chloe's index finger. For moments it's like she has something to say, but she doesn't know how to say it. Then eventually that changes.
"Because there was somebody else, okay?" Suddenly, Bella's hand springs away again and she turns away from Chloe. She can't tell her in the close proximity. "And I wasn't sure. I didn't know either way. I didn't know if what I felt was real. Dean said it was probably just a phase. You know what I'm like, Chloe."
"I-I don't understand." Chloe looks away too, fixating her eyes on her wine glass.
"I didn't know for sure. I didn't know-. Until I walked through that door and I saw you. Just..." she grinds her teeth together and then looks back at Chloe, feeling a sudden outburst. "Dancing and singing like that. Enjoying yourself. Looking so, I don't know, free."
Chloe shakes her head. "You don't mean it." Their eyes snap to one another's, finally they can't tear them away.
"Except I do, Chloe! I've never meant anything more in my life."
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—— Notes: Firstly, I'm not Australian so please ignore any British words I use by accident. Secondly, I might write a I Don't Dance part 2 based off of a song that I stole the title from. 🤭
