"You look gorgeous tonight,"I whispered, struggling to steady myself. I'd just had a few cups of Coke, but for some reason, it didn't feel anything like it.
She looked up from the floor, her eyes red-rimmed and her expression stoic. She made no effort to hide what she'd been feeling. I wanted to hurt whoever had made her look so upset.
"Thank you,"she said, sounding surprised. I didn't know why, though. It was evident that she was the most beautiful girl in the room. Her golden hair was let loose and was flowing down her back in waves. Her solid black dress complimented her pale skin, making it glow.
"Why do you sound surprised?"I asked. I definitely did not place Brynn in the insecure category. One of the things I liked best about her was the way she flaunted her beautiful features and was confident in her abilities. There's nothing a man loves more than a woman who can love herself before anyone else.
"Oh, I'm not,"she said, lifting her chin up. "I'm just surprised to hear it from you."
What was that supposed to mean? Did she think I was too shy for social interaction or something? Did she think that just because I was a nerd I was too afraid to approach her?
I noticed Ava and Riley trying to shoo people off the front porch by telling them to brood about elsewhere. I knew I should've been helping them out, but I had to seize my opportunity to make a move on Brynn. She was definitely the hardest to impress of the alters. Something at the back of my mind told me that it wasn't just her who needed to fall in love. It was me, too.
"You seem.. off,"I remarked, not knowing how she would respond. She scrunched her face up in disgust. "Stop acting like you care about me,"she said, and I could hear the sadness hiding behind the anger.
I couldn't help but look perplexed. "But I do care about you,"I said, not knowing how much of that was true. Ava said I had to treat the splits like they were five different people. When I saw them, they were just Holly playing dress-up. I knew that was wrong of me, but love tended to have that effect on me and my relationships.
In all honesty, I didn't care about Brynn nearly as much as I cared about Holly. Brynn rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word. Knowing full-well that we had no scope for conversation, I put my next strategy into action.
"Do you want to dance?"I asked, rising to my feet. I extended my hand, but she avoided eye contact. "Why are you doing this?"she asked softly. I almost didn't hear her, owing to the loud music.
"Because at a different time, in a different world, I am in love with you."
A few seconds passed. Her eyes were still locked on the floor and my hand was still desperately held out.
She rose to her feet after much hesitation. "I know you're going to break my heart, Will Henderson. But I'm giving it to you anyway."
The words hit me hard. Was she referring to Thea? If so, how did she know about it?
Fear dug a pit in my chest and I started to worry about how I was going to explain myself. I was intending to let Holly know when the time was right, but I didn't know when that time would come when what I was about to tell her was so wrong.
As a slow song poured out from the speakers and into ours ears, the mood in the room shifted. What was before a highly energetic, lively crowd, was now calm, loving and passionate.
I placed my left hand firmly, but gently on Brynn's hip. She securely wrapped her arms around me with her right hand intertwined in mine. We danced along to the rhythm of the music, and unlike what most people say, I didn't feel like we were the only people in the room. The crowd was watching our every move, fawning over our every step and our every twirl. We weren't the only ones in the room. We were the only ones worth watching.
I noticed Ralph and Emma throwing me bewildered looks from the corner of the room, but Thea was nowhere in sight. I smiled back at that, equally shocked that Brynn was dancing with me. Perhaps she wasn't as hard to get as we'd all thought. Maybe behind all that makeup and those fake smiles, there was just a broken girl who was looking for love.
There was an odd tension between us when we began, something like anger constantly flashing behind Brynn's eyes. I wondered what had made her feel so violated and distressed. But as we glided along the packed dance floor, her breathing became shallow and her movements eased alongside mine. As I looked into her eyes, a smile blossoming on my face, her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
I'd lost my balance a few times, but she'd always tightened her grip and caught me. It was like she needed to hold on to me just as much as I needed to hold onto her.
Our gazes locked on each other, our faces only inches apart, I felt something I knew I'd only felt with Holly before. We danced as if we'd known each other forever. Our synchronised movements told tales our lips never could.
On that dance floor, with her in my arms, I felt the urge to tell her how I felt. I knew I shouldn't, because it was true, we'd only just met. I wasn't going to let her slip away from me this time. I wasn't going to do her any more wrongs. I was hers now. Just hers.
I was only waiting for the day when she was mine.
. . .