The Hearts Behind the Silver Screen

10

“Should we get going?” I asked.

“Do you have another date I should know about?”

I laughed.

“No. But don't they get kind of mad if we just sit around after we're done eating?”

“Let's go to their lounge area over by the band. It's usually pretty empty.”

“Oh.... Ok.”

He took my hand and led me out on to the sand. It was so hard to walk in the shoes I wore, what the hell could I have been thinking wearing these?

“Are you ok?” He asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I'm not very graceful.”

“No need to be sorry. Here we are.”

There was a stage with a band. There was beautiful furniture spread out on the sand under the palm trees. There were lights strung overhead. It was so pretty. There was no one else in sight.

“This is so nice.” I said, taking in my surroundings.

“I love coming out here. Usually, I sit here alone and listen to the band play.”

“I can see why you enjoy coming all the way out here.”

“Let's sit here. That ok?”

“Yeah.”

He sat on the small couch, and I took the chair to its left.

He let out a slight laugh.

“You can sit by me, I don't bite... hard.”

I smiled and walked over to him.

“That's better. How else am I supposed to put the moves on you?” He said with a wink.

“Is that how this goes?”

“That's exactly how this goes.”

“Good to know.”

It was hard to contain the big, cheesy smile I wanted to flash. I sat quietly watching the band. He put his arm around me and I, bravely, put my head on his shoulder. He seemed to be OK with it.

We sat there quietly. It wasn't as awkward as it sounds, it was just a relaxing kind of quiet with music softly playing in the background. I felt him move, so I sat up...thinking I went too far with the head in the shoulder thing.

“Would you like to dance?” He asked.

“Oh, I don't know... I don't dance. Plus, I can barely walk in these shoes, let alone dance.”

“Take them off.”

“What?”

“Take your shoes off and come dance with me.”

“Fine, but you have been warned.”

He smiled at me.

“You'll be fine.”

I kicked my shoes off into the sand, and he helped me up from my seat. He took my hand and brought me closer to the stage. The music is the background started to pick up.

He spun me around and pulled me back into him. I stumbled, luckily he caught me. We both laughed. He was quite the dancer. I wish I could say the same about myself.

Dancing was so effortless for him. He spun me around like a rag doll. He made me look like a better dancer than I actually was.

The music slowed down into a nice, soft melody. Like something, you would hear at one of Jay Gatsby's parties. We stopped dancing and looked at each other.

“May I?” He asked.

I paused for a second.

“UMM... Yeah... Of course.”

He smiled at me. I tried not to make eye contact, knowing full well I would flash an idiotic, cheesy smile back at him. He put one hand on my lower back and grabbed my hand with the other.

I looked up at him and our eyes met. His eyes were so gorgeous, I could have stared into them forever. Who was I kidding? Everything about him was perfect.

He moved his hands onto my hips, I moved my hands onto his shoulders. Having him so close to me felt like the perfect mix of amazing and nerve wracking. I hadn't been this close to anyone for as long as I could remember.

“Still nervous?” He asked, obviously feeling the tension in my body.

“What gave it away?”

“The shivers down your spine.”

“Oh...You felt that? I'm sorry, it's just... new to me, I guess.”

“You've never slow danced before?”

“Not since prom.”

“Well then, you're overdue.”

“I guess you're right.”

“The music is lovely here, isn't it?”

“It's beautiful.”

“Not quite as beautiful as my present company.”

I looked down at me feet and smiled. I didn't want to look like a stupid, smiling idiot at him.

When I looked back up, his eyes were there waiting for mine.

My heart was pounding so loudly, I could no longer hear the music. He pulled me closer to him. I bravely decided to counter his move by wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him in even closer.

We both gradually stopped swaying to the music until it halted to a complete stop. I felt him pull back. I dropped my hands down to his arms, noticing his incredible biceps along the way. Maybe I had overstepped my boundaries? I prayed that I didn't just screw this up.

I was glancing up at him, waiting for him to say something. He just kept staring into my eyes without saying a word. My stomach was in knots.

He tilted his head slightly to the right and leaned in towards me. I leaned in a little closer. We both looked at each other, as if we were both silently asking for permission.

He leaned in and kissed me. Everything felt so right. His arms around me, his lips on mine, everything was perfect.