Page 36 of Something New

"I enjoyed that dance. That's how I feel right now."

My heart began to beat faster when he said that. I felt like he was willing to forgive me. "You enjoyed it? Do you want to dance more? To a different song, maybe? This is the third or fourth time this one played."

"I could get this one off repeat and try one more," he said.

"I would love that," I said, smiling and feeling relieved that he still wanted to be near me.

He grabbed his phone and pushed a button. "I’m just taking it off of repeat and playing the next song. Midnight Train to Georgia," he added, looking at the title before he put his phone down.

I smiled, hearing the music. "I know this song," I said. "I recognized it right when it came on."

"Is this an okay song to dance to?" he asked, coming over to me.

I nodded and took hold of him, moving to the beat. "Any song is good to dance to," I said, sliding in next to him and twirling around a little. I was good at finding the beat, and I easily moved in a fluid motion that switched direction in time with the music. My body melded to him in the way that I would meld to any dance partner. Okay, maybe this was a little more than that. Our contact was light, though, and it was a friendly dance.

I didn't know what he was feeling, but as for me, I did my best to concentrate on dancing and not the burning electric sensation that happened in the places where my body touched his.

The song ended and another one started. It wasn't one I recognized, and I didn't really care. It was a slower one, and I stepped closer to him, leaning into him lightly and resting my head on the front of his chest, near his shoulder.

We slow danced. We didn’t say a word, we just held each other and swayed for an entire song. I had never been so attracted to a man or so affected by a dance in my life. That dance gave me time to feel and appreciate the electric sensation. His movements were perfect, his skin was perfect, and the tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife—at least it was on my end. The song finished and a faster one came on, drawing me from the dazed state.

I pulled away and smiled at him. "That was fun," I said. "See?"

"Yeah, I do see," he said with a grin.

Chapter 13

A month later

"Why didn't you go to Atlanta? You should have been there. Exciting things happened." It was the first thing my friend, Jonathan, said to me when we met up that day. He was sitting at a table in a coffee shop, waiting for me, and he stood to hug me when I walked up. His hair was green today—it changed all the time.

"I worked with my brothers on Friday, and then I babysat on Saturday," I said, answering his question.

"You babysat?" he asked, looking at me like he was stunned. "Again? That's like the fifth time you've done that lately. Who is this baby? Did Phillip have a kid?"

"No."

"Salem?"

"No, he's not my nephew. He's just a friend's kid."

"Well, you missed it Saturday night. Freaking Deadpan was there. He played for two hours."

"Oh, whoa, I didn't know he was going."

"No one did. It was a surprise appearance. Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah, it is," I said, thinking about it.

"You don't look like you're freaking out about it."

"Why would I freak out? Hang on they called my name for my coffee."

I left Jonathan and walked over to the counter to pick up my coffee.

Jonathan was staring at me when I returned with the paper cup in my hand.

"You should be freaking out about Deadpan because he was asking about you!" His eyes were bulging out of his head, and he stared at me like he had been waiting all day to tell me that one thing.

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