The Inevitable

Chapter 23

*** Picture: The Chandelier ***

I link my arm with Blaze's once more as we make our way towards the celebration hall. When we get there, my jaw drops open as I scan the hall, and everyone in it. I have never seen anything so beautiful, and so big. The dance floor itself is bigger than my o apartment, with a glowing golden chandelier hanging above it. There's a band playing, two people on a cello, a young woman on a piano, and a man singing, his voice smooth and calming as it radiates the entire room. There are a few couples slow dancing on the dance floor, while others are mingling with the rest of the guests, or sitting on the grand tables surrounding the hall.

I'm not sure when Blaze started staring at me, but when I'm finally out of my stupor, I turn my head to see him smiling down at me, his emerald green eyes glowing under the bright light of the chandeliers, I could stare into them for days, and easily lose track of time and sensibility.

"Like what you see?" He finally says, raising one of his eyebrows, challenging me.

I scoff, "Nope," I lie, but he doesn't need to know that. His smile broadens, probably knowing that I wasn't being honest, but I'd die before admitting it to him.

"Lexi," I turn my head to see Nick limping towards us, without his crutches. He's smiling, but it doesn't reach his eyes the way it usually does, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he's hiding something behind that smile. He takes my hand and kisses it, "You look absolutely beautiful, I'm so glad you came."

I smile back at him, studying his tux, which looks similar to the one Blaze is wearing. If only it were that simple for girls to get dressed, but I'm pretty sure they'd all pull each other's hair out if they all came wearing the same dress, which wouldn't be all that lame to watch. "You look great too, Nick, you should consider wearing a tux more often." I say, while winking at him. And he really did look good in it, his blonde hair is neatly patted to the same side it's usually in, but he looks more buff than usual.

Nick looks at Blaze and nods his head once, "Thank you for escorting her, I can take it from here." I unlink my arm from Blaze's and take Nick's instead. Blaze hesitates for a moment, but walks away without saying anything else, what's up with him lately?

"Decided to lose the crutches?" I ask, as we walk around the massive hall.

Nick laughs, "Yeah, they were killing my look. Thought I'd man up for the night." We walk in silence for a few moments, and I notice that he's been struggling to tell me something for a while now. Finally, he stops and turns to face me, as he straightens his back and takes a deep breath, "Lexi Hafner, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

I bite my bottom lip and look down at my feet, I should've known this was going to happen, why didn't I warn him sooner? When I don't answer, he clears his throat before speaking, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We can find a table and stuff food in our pockets for the rest of the night if you want."

I look up at him and laugh, "No, it's nothing like that. Well...it's just that, I don't know how to dance," I admit, still unable to meet his eyes.

Nick puts his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to meet his stare, "It's really easy, just follow my lead. Come on, it'll be fun."

I smile at him and sigh, "Fine, but if I amputate one of your toes, don't say I didn't want you."

He laughs, "Consider me warned," he takes my arm, links it with his, then leads me towards the dance floor.

There are more couples dancing now, which takes a lot of the attention away from us, and that instantly relaxes me. Nick stands in front of me, for a moment, I start to feel anxious, because I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but thankfully, he takes my left hand, puts it on his right shoulder, then links my right hand with his left as he slips his other hand behind my back. He keeps a far distance between us, probably knowing that him getting any closer to me would instantly spook me. He starts to move to the beat of the music, leading me to move at his pace. I stare at our feet, surprised that I'm able to move at all.