Love Is a Losing Game // Joel Pimentel

38 | Different

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Blu's POV

At first I didn't register what it was that was making people glance over at me, or what was causing Yoandri to steer me away from the other guys that were at the ball. It only dawned upon me when I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror and saw a ghost of who I was only two hours ago.

I looked so different.

My cheeks were flushed a soft pink, my eyes were glittering gently under the fluorescent lights of the bathroom. I raise a hand to my hair that was soft and defined against the shape of my face before smiling softly to myself. I glance at myself one last time before reapplying my lipgloss and squishing my cheeks.

I turn to the exit to my right and walk out, careful not to trip on the dress that was apparently causing a commotion against my fellow peers. It was a red dress that accentuated every curve of my body and emphasized the color of my skin; The material was soft enough to fall elegantly but heavy enough to not slip around.

My eyes look up to see Yoandri with a genuine smile on his face, his eyes glittering under the soft light of the venue. "Wanna dance?" he asks as he extends a hand, a toothy grin spreading across his face. I nod happily and he then leads me to the dance floor just as one of my favorite bachatas comes on. I smile and we begin to move in unison, our bodies moving in a language only they seemed to be able to speak.

Throughout the dance, I feel myself losing myself in the music, reality melting away around me. Yoandri's hand comes to my waist and leads me into a spin but just as I'm about to turn back to him, another pair of hands meet mine and my body warms as the person moves me so our chests are pressed together. My leg finds a place in between their own and we begin to take steps in this position until I finally look up.

Joel smiles down at me warmly and I return the gesture before losing myself yet again. Our steps are synchronized, every movement one that doesn't require thinking or thought for that matter. We move step by step and he gives me one last spin before dipping me down gently, his fingers touching the bare skin exposed by my dress. At the simple brush of skin, I feel myself warm and when I come back and take a breath, our eyes meet. His nose nudges mine and our foreheads touch. "Care for another dance?" he exhales sounding as breathless as I felt.

At the same time he asks one of the classic salsas I listened to growing up comes on and I give him a toothy smile before nodding. He smiles with dangerous intent as one of my hands slips into his, and the other meets his shoulder. We begin our dance slowly, the music just beginning to slip into my system. It felt so easy to succumb to his touch because with every movement I was already there ready for his next instruction.

It comes so naturally, I think to myself.

My eyes close and I let his body lead me, the only feelings in my senses being him and all that he stood for. He spins me so my back is facing his chest and I lean into his touch, our bodies releasing a breath we didn't realize we were holding. Just as quickly he flips me back over so that our faces meet.

Our eyes open at the same time and we begin to dance more carefully, more sensually. Joel leans down into my ear as if to whisper something and I shiver at his fingers caress the dip in my back, while his other hand comes up to tuck a curl away from my face. "You look so beautiful," he says before kissing my earlobe softly.

His hand brushes against my arm and he turns me once more, this time so every move is against his chest. I sigh as our bodies fold together almost as if they knew this is where they truly belonged. Silence echoes in my ear and it's then that I get snapped back into reality. I take a breath and remove myself from the warmth of his chest, his eyes meeting mine in the middle of all the chaos around us.

We take a minute to look at each other and realize the grave mistake we had just committed. For not only had we abandoned our dates, we had fallen deeper into the forbidden hole of which was our sentiments towards each other. I feel my heart tug and don't bother to question its needs this time.

***

"Oh, a slow dance," Yoandri smiles at me. I smile back and we walk onto the now full dance floor just as John Legend's voice begins to float through the speakers. Yoandri's brown eyes peer down into mine and I don't hesitate to lay my head down onto his chest. We begin to sway softly, the music lulling everyone into a type of daze.

My eyes glance over to Joel who had Payton on his chest but had his gaze trained on me, a smile on his face that seemed to say I'm happy that you're happy but when I looked into his eyes the story was drastically different.

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a/n

i'm sick NDJANIXJS