The Waiting One

Chapter 16- Goodbyes.....

Chapter 16- Goodbyes…..

The guys packed up their belongings, making sure to leave nothing behind, the festival marked the end of their visits to ContempArt. The whole situation was bittersweet. They were glad to be done with dancing, and able to get back to their manly football practices; but saying goodbye to the girls was the hard part. The team walked into the studio for the last time.

Zachary came through the door with Richard to his left and Jesse to his right. Kate almost immediately greeted Jesse with a huge hug. He picked her up and spun her around. He said, “If you lose touch with me I’m going to strangle you”, he joked. Kate laughed and replied, “Of course I’m going to keep up with you handsome, you better do the same, or we’re going to have problems!” As Zachary took a few more paces, he noticed a figure with silky brown hair approaching him. Upon glancing up, it was apparent that it was Sarah. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He lightly embraced her upper torso. “I hate to see you go”, she murmured. Zachary simply said, “You’re a cool girl, it was nice meeting you.” She looked up at him and said, “So what’s next, since all this dancing stuff is over?” He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know really, I guess I’ll see you around.” Sarah’s heart dropped as his lack of enthusiasm. “Well, you have my number Zack, use it. I’ll definitely be using yours.” He flashed a friendly smile and said, “Cool.” Zachary patted Sarah’s shoulder and went on about his way. She turned to watch him walk away.

Near the back window to the far left of the room, Serronie was staring off into space. Zachary approached her guardedly. His movements caught her attention and she focused on him and straightened her posture. She bit her lip and he stopped in front of her. “Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie. I can’t begin to tell you how much of an honor it was to dance with you.” Her response almost overlapped his, “Oh me too! It was great, no, more than great Zack. I never thought you had it in you, but you did so unbelievably well”, she praised. Zachary opened his mouth to say something then stopped. He smiled then spoke again, “You’re one of kind Ronnie, there’s not another like you around.” Scarlet started to stain her cheeks as she covered them with her hands. “You’re one of the most genuinely sweet people I’ve ever met. It’s been really fun,” Serronie added. Coach Vuela then called out, “Hey Zack, come on buddy, we have to get going.”

Zachary looked back at the coach, nodded his head, and hurriedly faced Serronie again. He noticed her face was red and her expressions shifted quickly. She was trying to keep from crying. Zachary hugged her tightly and she did the same. He studied her, seeing if she had more to say, and she didn’t speak. She gripped his torso tightly and deeply inhaled his scent. Serronie felt as though that was the last time she’d ever be that close to Zachary again. He pressed his hands gently to her shoulders and made distance between them. “I have to go Ronnie”, he whispered somberly. Zachary shut his eyes tightly as he revolved from Serronie to walk out of the door. She squeezed her lips tightly and blinked rapidly to thwart her tears. Everything Sarah said began to make sense. She was nothing more than his dance partner and this was the end of the road for them. She wanted him to say something more, but he didn’t. And she stared helplessly as he disappeared out of the door.

Serronie aversely hitched the duffle bag over her shoulder and glanced around the room. She caught Sarah smiling at her in triumph taunting her over Zachary. Serronie glared back for a few seconds and swallowed her anger. She didn’t want Zachary to leave. Deep in her heart, she knew that Sarah was lying about him saying those things. How would she ever know? Abruptly, she dropped her bag and sprinted out of the door. Once in the hallway, Zachary and the others were nowhere in sight. She continued up the hall through the double exit doors. The boys were making their way to the bus. Serronie mustered up a collection of breath and yelled, “Zachary, wait!” He halted and whipped around. When he saw Serronie, his heart rate skyrocketed, and his legs moved in her direction. She jogged to meet him halfway. Panting and out of breath she said,” Look…seeing you and talking to you almost every day for the past six months has become so ordinary to me. I may even be slightly codependent it now and the thought of that ending freaks me all the way out. I don’t know if you still feel the same way you did, but can we keep in touch?” She squeezed her palms together in a panicky manner.

Zachary was in awe. After all of Serronie’s hard-to-get behaviors she finally came around. His silence made her stomach churn. She was about to find out how much truth was in Sarah’s words. “Hell yeah we’re keeping in touch!” he yelled snatching her up in an overpowering hug and compressing his face into her neck. She was so overjoyed that her legs locked around his waist and her arms did the same around his neck. Serronie laughed jubilantly. “Damn Ronnie, I’m so glad you said something! I wanted the same thing, but you’ve shot me down so much, I thought you weren’t interested”, Zachary explained while rubbing her back. She leaned opposite from him and smiled so broadly that the sun glimmered off her retainer. “I just wanted to be sure you were genuine Zack, that’s all. Nobody wants to be a fool. You’ve completely proved yourself.”

The football players began hooping, hollering and clapping. Zachary and Serronie straightened up and separated their bodies. He reached in his back pocket and handed her his cell phone. Her hands jittered nervously as she entered her number into his contacts. She handed the phone back to him and sighed. Zachary stared down at her and fought the urge to encore the kiss from their performance.

“I’ll see you later Zachary Parker”, declared Serronie. She took his face in her hands, squashed her lips against his cheek, and stroked her face along his. He deeply inhaled, internalizing her vanilla scent, and then he retreated. Zachary seized her hand and kissed it, and then in parting he said, “You better get used to me. I’ll surely be seeing you again. I’m about to text you now. Bye Serronie Vaughn.” He flashed his suave smile and her blood pressure escalated. In the next instant, he was approaching the bus.