Page 84 of Introvert

On that dance floor, there was no faking.

I allowed myself to feel every second.

Felix didn't say a word. Neither did I. We didn't have to.

Because with every heartbeat, every breath, every flex of our fingers, every brush of his lips against my cheek as he nuzzled closer,we understood each other. We were two hearts beating as one. In perfect harmony.

Slow dancing with Felix Cordova was bliss.

The song seemed to last forever but ended way too soon.

As we pulled apart, I looked up at Felix completely at a loss.

He looked a little lost as well.

Before either of us could recover, Santino came over and tapped Felix on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But Essie made a special request."

I vaguely registered him shooting me an apologetic look.

"She wants us to play that cover you did of Arctic Monkeys. You down for it?"

"Yeah," Felix said, still staring at me. "I'll be there in a second."

"Cool. The band said we can use their instruments."

"Sounds good."

Without further ado, Santino left, and Felix ran a hand through his hair.

"Princess, that was…"

"You better get up there," I cut in. "Wouldn't want to let the birthday girl down."

He tilted his head. "We'll talk about this later."

"Okay. But now, you have to play."

"See you in a few minutes."

"Can't wait," I said brightly.

Felix gave me a nod, and after he turned to start walking to the stage, it felt like my whole body deflated. Had I been holding my breath thewhole time? I wondered. Not physically possible, and I knew we'd exchanged words, so that was a no. But thedance seemed to fill me up,and his absence left me bereft. I returned to my corner, trying to reclaim the calm I'd found in the shadows. As Felix and HERS started playing a rendition ofArctic Monkeys'Do I Wanna Know?I thought I'd almost found it.

But then someone joined me.

"Hey," he said. It was a man in his30s, brown hair, average build, wearing a t-shirtshirt and jeans. I didn't think he was here for Essie's party. "How you doing?"

"Fine," I said.

"You here by yourself?"

"No, I'm here for a birthday."

"Is it yours?"

I shook my head.

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