The Dance

Chapter 43 Starting Over

Bam consoled Lila reassuring her they would figure things out. He wiped the tears from her cheeks. With all the hopefulness he could muster, he said to her, "You fell in love with me once before. Maybe that can happen again."

"You're like a stranger to me." The words cut Bam hard. "You know everything about me and I don't remember anything about you."

"Then we can start right now. How about a walk, just you and me? I think the fresh air will do us both some good."

Bam stood up and grabbed a sweater from the coat rack and handed it to Lila. He followed her out the door. His first reaction was to reach for her hand but he hesitated not wanting to overstep his boundaries or force feelings she didn't have. Baby steps, he kept repeating to himself, baby steps.

The night air felt cool on Lila's face. "How did we meet?" She asked Bam in a quiet voice.

The fact that Lila asked the question was a good sign. She was open to the knowledge of their story. Bam proceeded to answer her question. "We met at a dance. Kay and Kenny brought you and I spotted you as soon as you walked in the door. God, you were so beautiful that night."

Lila blushed when he called her beautiful. "Do you remember what I was wearing?"

Bam stopped walking as Lila continued ahead of him. "I remember everything from that night." She turned to look at him and saw the sentiment in his words.

"Matt claimed you as his future wife and snagged the first dance with you."
Lila was surprised by the comment. "I waited until you were alone and followed you to the patio. The heel of your shoe got stuck in between the planks and I helped you get it unstuck. That's how we met."

"What happened to Matt that night?"

"I never gave him another opportunity to dance with you." Bam continued sharing their story with Lila. "After the dance, I volunteered to walk you back to the hotel and you invited me to your room."

Lila gave him a funny look. "I did?"

"Yeah, you were a little forward back then." Bam laughed. "I'm just kidding.
But you did invite me to your room to look at your photography portfolio. I fell asleep in your room and the rest was history."

Did we...ummm...?"

"No, that didn't come until I visited you in Juneau." Now Bam felt his cheeks tinge with color recalling their first night together.

Lila and Bam found themselves by the fair. Music blared from the dance going on inside the building. Bam asked her if she wanted to go inside. Lila shook her head no. "I'm just not up for crowds of people tonight."

"It's a shame to let this music go to waste." Bam extended his hand towards Lila and asked, "Lila J, may I have this dance?"

"What did you just call me?" Lila asked.

"I called you Lila." He responded.

"No, you called me Lila J. Only my dad called me Lila J."

Lila slowly reached for Bam's hand as he pulled her closer to his chest and danced slowly with her under the light of the moon.

After the music ended, Lila stared into Bam's eyes for a long time searching for something that would click in her mind. She quickly dropped his hand and announced, "We should go back."

Bam didn't push the issue. The fact that she let him hold her while they danced was comfort enough. It was a small victory for him. As they approached the house, Bam stopped her before they went in. "I'm not going to push you to remember Lila but if you have more questions, I'd like to answer them for you."

Lila placed her hand on Bam's chest and thanked him for his patience. She was more confused. The man she once called an ass was the man that was now helping her piece together her memories of him. She walked inside and went to bed. Bam sat on the porch and waited for Kay, Kenny and Matt to return.