Little March

Chapter 5 pt 2. Trust Me, Darling

     We twirl together dance after dance, me laughing as we switch partners and partake in several different country-style dances that involve a lot of jumping and spinning. When the dances slow down and become more intimate, we take a break, walking over to get punch.

"This is the most fun I've had all week," Sawyer laughs, not even haven broken a sweat from the excitement of dancing. "Thanks for hanging out with me, Lily."

"No prob—" I start, and turn from the punch table to look at him, but my eyes have caught on a figure entering the room, and all of a sudden I'm breathless. He wasn't even supposed to come. Sawyer hear's my sharp inhale, and glances behind himself at the door.

Laurie.

    He hasn't seen me yet, and I'm glad, because the look on my face would probably give away absolutely everything I'm feeling. He looks so—and he's wearing a suit, and his tie is a little bit loose to give off that care-free sort of vibe, and his hair is a bit tousled in the way it gets when he—and oh he's looking at me now.

I'm frozen.

"Hello, Lil'..." Laurie begins, having made it across the ballroom in only a few long-legged strides. The warm smile on his face drops a bit once he's by my side, and he stares Sawyer down with an odd look in his eyes. "And who might you be?"

"Sawyer," my newly acquired friend sticks his hand out eagerly, ever the bubble of energy. He either doesn't notice the territorial sheen in Laurie's eyes or he doesn't care. "Lillian here was just begging me to accompany her," he gives me a conspiratorial wink, as if we're sharing some private joke. "and now that you're here, I must be off. Lovely to meet you though, and lovely dancing with you, madam. I'm off to see if my brother showed up or not." Sawyer gives me another wink and bows dramatically, before sweeping away in a whirlwind of kinetic energy and pearly-white teethed grins.

The moment we're alone, Laurie turns to me, seeming to have decided Sawyer wasn't a threat. The smug look on his face turns into an expression of awe as he fully takes me in, not even bothering to hide that he's giving me a once-over.

"You look..." he begins, and then shakes his head, blinking slowly.

"You too," I offer quietly, and his eyes, warm and hazel, find mine with a smile. "Why didn't you say you were coming?"

He rocks back on his heels and shrugs, carding one set of fingers absently through his hair.

"I..wanted to surprise you." He smiles bashfully, and I can't stop the beat my heart skips from missing. "Even though I'm a bit disappointed to find I'm not your first dance of the night, may I be your next?" He asks, a note of shyness overlapping the amusement in his tone.

I nod slowly, and when he holds out his hand, I take it, allowing him to pull me out onto the floor. The musicians are playing a slow song, and only couples are dancing, the light from the oncoming sunset casting the room in a sort of orange glow.

One of Laurie's hands holds my own, and the other is feather soft on my waist. My other hand is on his shoulder, and as we sway to the music, I feel nostalgic of the first night we danced together.

"I meant to say you look beautiful," Laurie murmurs, his voice gentle and warm next to my ear, leaving a shiver rolling down my spine.

As if he felt it, he brings my body a bit closer to his, his hand moving to press gently against my lower back, urging me to stay close. Our faces are near, and I close my eyes blissfully, breathing in the gentle scent of him as it wraps around my senses.

"I'm glad you came," I mumble, and I feel his chest rise, then a slow exhale from above my own head.

"Me too," Laurie breathes, and holds me closer still. "I bet Amy would've loved this."