Page 30 of Planning on Happily Ever After

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Holly

Holly slipped intothe downtown dance studio unnoticed, and after removing her coat, she sat down in an empty folding chair and watched as the instructor flitted around the room, setting up music and clearing away what looked to be props from an earlier class. The dance lessons had been Trish’s idea, one Holly was happy to go along with but didn’t know what to expect. She’d never booked dancing lessons for local clients before, but when Trish had mentioned it had been a long time since she had danced and didn’t want to look foolish in front of her friends, Holly knew she’d be setting something up.

Normally, she would just book them for the couple and stay home, but Trish insisted on having Holly’s opinion and said she would feel more comfortable with her there. Holly was touched by Trish’s honesty, so of course she’d agreed to come. The fact that she also wanted to make a good impression on her since she was dating the woman’s son might have also played a part.Are you even dating, though?Holly didn’t love that they still hadn’t defined their relationship, but she was trying to take things as they came, not push, and remain open to all possibilities, even if it was driving her a little bit crazy.

As more people filed into the studio, Holly kept her eyes peeled for Ben and Trish, finally relaxing when they came in from the cold, laughing and chatting easily with one another. It looked like whatever rift had formed the last time she saw them was repaired, and she was happy to see it. Standing, Holly adjusted the blue, cap sleeve swing dress she’d purchased what felt like a lifetime ago when someone had taken her on a date to a swing dancing bar. That night had been a failure of epic proportions, with Holly stepping on her partners toes countless times and after being thrown around so much, vomiting on him as well. The dress looked great on her though, so she kept it despite the bad memories associated with it.

Ben smiled at her as he approached and leaned down to kiss her cheek once he got to her. “Holly, you look beautiful as always.”

Holly could feel the blush spreading across her face and she smiled shyly at him. “Thanks. You look nice, too.”

Absolutely yummy would have been a much better descriptor, but Holly wasn’t going to say that in front of his mom. Ben had taken off his coat, so Holly got an unobstructed view of gray slacks and a blue button down with the sleeves rolled up enough to expose his sinewy forearms. He was like a business casual dream come true, and Holly was very tempted to put him to work or better yet, get her hands on him, but she managed to restrain herself.

Instead of groping the man in front of her, she stepped over to Trish to give her a hug. “Trish, you look fantastic. Is that a flapper dress?”

Ben’s mom had removed her coat to reveal a vintage, dark green flapper dress complete with beading and tassels. “Oh, this old thing,” she said with a laugh as she did a little twist, the tassels flinging up around her like they were waving hello. “It was a Halloween costume a few years back and I figured, why not? If I’m going dancing, I should look the part.”

“Well, it’s gorgeous, and I love that you wore it.” Holly smiled, hoping she retained her sense of whimsy as she aged as much as Ben’s mom had seemed to.

“Thank you, dear,” Trish said with a smile. “And thank you for coming tonight. I know this isn’t normally your thing, but I love having your opinion on just about everything.”

“Of course.” Holly was happy to be here for her client, and even happier to be back in Ben’s orbit. Even the small periods of time they spent apart were too much, but she reminded herself to take a breath, take a beat, and not push. Ben had quickly become someone very important to her, and she couldn’t lose him.

Before they could speak any further, the instructor was clapping his hands together, calling everyone to attention. “Good evening, ladies and gentleman. I am Fritz and I will be your instructor for this evening. Now, come to the floor with your partner and we shall begin.”

“Have fun.” Holly waved off Ben and Trish as they made their way to the floor and started to sit down, but her head snapped up when she heard a voice calling to her.

“You. You there in the blue dress. Where is your partner?” the instructor called out.

Holly looked around the room, mildly panicked. “Oh, um. I’m just a spectator.”

Fritz shook his head in disgust. “No, no, no. There are no spectators in my class.” His eyes wandered the space for all of two seconds before he walked up to her, grabbed her arm, and dragged her over to a man standing alone in the middle of the room. “You two are now partners.”

“Uh.” Holly’s weak protest was cut off by the man who was now her new dancing partner.

“Hi. I’m Tom.” His voice was friendly enough and when he offered her his hand, she took it, not wanting to be rude. “I appreciate you taking pity on me. I promised my brother I would take lessons for his wedding, but I had no idea I would need a partner.”

Holly shook his hand and smiled politely, wishing she were back in her folding chair. Just because the man seemed like a nice guy didn’t mean she wanted to spend the evening dancing with him, but she was never one to make a stink. “No worries. I’m Holly.”

Tom returned her smile, and as conventionally attractive as he was, it did nothing for her. Holly’s eyes wandered to Ben, the scowl on his face a welcome sight. She wasn’t sure why he was upset, but she needed the familiarity to feel better about her current predicament. Visions of her last foray into formal dancing flashed before her eyes, and she couldn’t seem to blink them away.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Holly.” They didn’t get any further into their conversation because Fritz was back in the center of the room, barking instructions for a basic box step.

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