Page 55 of We'll Meet Again

His eyebrows started a slow retreat back up his forehead and he took her hand. “You’ll like this, it’s a classic.Any Man of Mineby Shania Twain.”

“That one, I have heard before,” she teased.

“And it involves a lot of stomping, which I know you’re good at.”

Pushing the picture to the back of her mind, she followed his lead once more, carefully copying each step he showed her. She did, in fact, enjoy the stomping and ease of the movements. But the best part by far, from that song and into the next, was the elated look on Ethan’s face. Nothing else mattered in the world. Not her worry about looking foolish, not the strange visions and feelings - none of it was as important as seeing him grinning like he was in that photo with his mother. She had brought him a little piece of home.

Finally, there was a song that was a partner dance. Ethan shot her a look at the switch, but she let him know she was fine with a nod. He took her hands and led her to the outside of the floor so they could go at their own pace. He showed her a basic rock step and triple step, and with that, she would have the tools to make it through the song.

“I’m trusting you,” she said.

“Lucky for you, I’m the best dancer in the Premier League,” he joked.

For a moment, the breath left her lungs, and she stood rooted to the spot. “What did you say?”

“I’m sorry, do you know a better one?” he asked. “I was just kidding.”

“Of course, I just…” she said, trailing off. “Never mind.”

He didn’t press her for more as the song took off at full swing, and he held her hand.

“Give me a bit of resistance here,” he called over the music. “It’ll help me lead you!”

“Alright!”

With some tension in her arm, she obeyed. It came quite naturally to them, dancing together this way. She wondered if it had anything to do with the dreamlike images she kept seeing, but since she wasn’t even sure if they were real, she couldn’t totally accredit it to that. Maybe it was just…them.

As the song reached a high note - literally, as the singer held out the line“Norma Jean Riley’s gonna marry me!”- Ethan spun Billie into his arms. She turned to look at him. He held her closer, his arms linking firmly around her waist. Their eyes met, and she knew right then that he was going to kiss her.

And holy shit, did he kiss her.

His soft lips met hers, and immediately, she thought she might melt into a puddle. Her heart hammered against her ribcage, ready to fling itself into Ethan’s waiting hands. He moved his mouth expertly with hers, as if they had been kissing for decades. As if he was born to kiss her, and she him. The music, the crowd, and even her own thoughts, were gone. All that existed, hanging in that moment, was Ethan’s kiss.

When he pulled away, she whimpered, her lips tingling for more of his already. His hand on her cheek was only a brief placation.

“Thank you for doing this tonight,” he said. “It’s the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

Her brain was still scrambled from the kiss. Hell, her whole body was on fire for him. And all he’d had to do was kiss her. Hastily, she tried to form a reply. “Yeah, of course.”

“You wanna get some fresh air?”

No, I’d literally suffocate for more of your mouth, was what she wanted to say, but she knew she couldn’t. They were taking it slow after all.

The bar had a back patio, and the cold air admittedly felt good on Billie’s hot and sweaty skin. Though whether it felt like that because of the dancing or the kissing was hard to tell. He turned her to face him.

“You good?”

She shook her head. “Kiss me again.”

He happily obliged. His hands came to either side of her face and he backed her up into the brick wall of the building. Her arms coiled around his neck, pulling him closer, closer. She needed him pressed all the way up against her. His tongue licked at her lower lip and she opened for him. He moaned right into her mouth. Her knees gave out, but it didn’t matter because he pulled her up until she was wrapping her legs around his waist. Her lower belly churned with fresh, white-hot desire.

“Ethan, please,” she breathed as his lips made their way to the tender skin of her neck.

“Please what, darlin’?”

“More, I need you.”

To her immense displeasure, he pulled away. “We gotta have a talk first.”

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