One Last Dance | R. Grayson

[11] Special

After breakfast, they spent the day exploring Bludhaven as Erica took him to most of her favorite spots in the city. He followed and saw that city through her perspective, viewing each place as something close to her heart.

The park where she went for her morning walk, the art gallery that she helped arrange events in and sometimes put her work on display too, and all those little spots that he had overlooked because he hadn't gotten the time to visit earlier.

There were a lot many places like that in Gotham too that held importance to him. The Gotham Theater where he had performed a play once, that small bookstore in Alleytown from where he used to buy all his books, the gymnasium and swimming pool that he had a membership in to practice swimming and basketball. 

Just like Erica was showing him around Bludhaven, he could show her around Gotham if he got the chance.

As soon as that thought fluttered in his mind, he paused. He hadn't even thought of going back to Gotham himself yet he could picture himself walking the cobblestoned streets with Erica, her hand held in his as he took her to the rare places that offered him warmth and comfort.

Could things between them reach a point where he would end up taking her to Gotham? Could he show her all the darkness in his life that he was hesitant to bring up so far?

"Richard, is everything alright?"

He was startled out of his thoughts by her voice and turned to face her, finding her eyes locked on him in concern. "I'm fine, I was just thinking..."

"Care to share your thoughts?" She asked with a soft smile playing upon her lips.

"You will say that I am being philosophical," he remarked with a slight chuckle, his eyes nervously shifting to connect with her light blue irises.

Those eyes looked even more alluring up close, he thought, it was almost as if he was looking into a maze beckoning him to fall deep within.

"How can you know when you don't tell me?" She shrugged, the smile on her features widening as well, "And you forget, you're talking to an artist. We love philosophy."

He looked up at the sky that was darkening to a deep shade of blue from the clear azure of early evening. Dusk was about to fall and after that, the city would be engulfed in the realms of night. The night was a fearsome phase in Gotham but in Bludhaven, things were getting better. 

"I was just thinking," he began, his voice carrying a thoughtful tone, "about how wonderful it is to see Bludhaven through your eyes. Each place you've shown me holds a piece of your heart, and it has made me appreciate this city in a whole new way. It made me realize how much we connect with places that hold significance in our lives."

"That's good to know," she replied in her gentle voice, "It's always nice to share the things that matter to us with someone special."

Special.

A word that he had used for Erica earlier and she too reciprocated at the moment. A word that could have meanings including one that they were yet to accept.

"Maybe someday if I decide to go back to Gotham and you come to visit, I will show you around all the places that were a part of my life growing up," he mumbled, his voice lowered to not break the comfortable tranquility that settled around them. 

"I'd love that, I have never been to Gotham so I would definitely need a guide for the first time," she replied and he smiled at that remark but there was a lot he left unsaid. 

Erica couldn't help but notice the emotions written clearly across his features. His eyes held a trace of nostalgia, glistening with all the memories that had coursed through him in that brief instant. She could see that he missed his city and the family that he had left behind. But something was holding him back from reaching out to them again.

They had started walking back to the car by then, parked on the side of the street. A streetlamp shone right above it, making it visible for far even. 

The city streets were lapsing into the calm of that time between dusk and nightfall, with the Central District being much more crowded than other places such as the quiet avenue they had come to visit the first gallery Erica had displayed her work in.

Not many cars were on the road and very few people were visible outside. The lights in the houses along the street showed that almost everyone had retreated to have dinner or unwind after a busy day in their homely comfort.

It was time for them to go back too and Richard's last day off from work was coming to an end.

They reached the car and Erica knew he would open the door for her as it was a habit that he couldn't let go of so easily. So she stood against the door handle, turning to face him with a playful smile lighting up her face.

Richard laughed, the nostalgia from earlier dissolving as he saw that she was intentionally not shifting to let him open the door.

His hands came to rest on either side of her but she still didn't move, her bright eyes looking up in his. The yellow light from the streetlamp engulfed them now, making his eyes seem much more dazzling than usual.

He couldn't open the door because she was blocking the door handle and she couldn't shift aside because his arms were enclosing her.

They hadn't realized how close they were until they did, a faint pink reaching up to dust both their cheeks.

It felt incredibly cramped all of a sudden as if they had been pushed much closer to each other. A small space with two beating hearts that seemed to beat louder in the silence around them. It felt strangely exhilarating as if they were both thinking the same thing but not voicing it out yet.

The next few minutes seemed to tick by like a spell had been in the air, entrapping them in its hold. Perhaps it was the charm of the moment or the yellow light and the night sky accentuating the need for a connection deeper than the smiles they shared so often.

Before they could pull apart or the spell of the moment could be broken, their lips connected delicately, achieving that connection their hearts had wanted to get synchronized to. 

As soon as Erica felt Richard's lips touch hers, she knew that what she had with him was special, something she couldn't compare to the times she had fallen in and out of love with in her past.

He was sweet, caring and very considerate. She didn't know which one of them started that kiss but she didn't object, letting herself melt in the moment. Her eyes fluttered shut, trusting him as she let herself relax in his arms that had pulled her closer and his lips that tenderly fastened upon hers.

The whirlwind of thoughts in Richard's head had come to a peaceful halt too as he could only focus on Erica and the unexpected turn their evening had taken. He could only focus on the way it felt to kiss her sweet pink lips, to weave his fingertips through her blonde hair and to feel her hands resting over his chest, able to sense each beat of his heart.

For both Erica and Richard, there was no other word to describe that moment but special.

***