Page 42 of The One I Love
“Do you remember this song?”
She nods against me. “Junior prom. I wasn’t going because I was sad Paul never asked me. Then you suggested we go together as friends. Wait! Was that a date?”
I laugh. “No. I was too scared. Friends seemed to be the perfect way for me to ask you without either of us freaking out.”
“Okay,” she says with relief. “This song…we got to prom and I was bummed I saw Paul dancing with Jessica. But you wouldn’t let me be sad. Instead, you took me by the hand, led me to the floor, and we danced to this song.”
“You’re right,” I say as I kiss the top of her head. “Except you left the last part out.”
She looks back up to me confused. “No, I didn’t. We danced to this song. Then for the rest of the night each of the guys danced with me to make Paul jealous. I remember because Simon decided to give me a lap dance, and that really set Paul off.”
“Again, you’re right, but you’re forgetting one thing. You really don’t remember?”
“Shane, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Think after the dance. When I took you home.”
I watch as the wheels turn in her mind. I can always tell when Amelia’s racking her brain. It’s like you can see the motors running. You can also tell the instant she remembers. Her eyes bulge out of her head. Her mouth forms an O-shape and she blinks so fast she could fly away.
“After the dance…”
I nod at her whispered response. “After the dance I drove you home and the radio was playing. This song came on again and I asked you for one more dance.”
“And I told you that you didn’t have to because I knew you didn’t like to dance.”
I push her out from my hold, only so I can spin her back in. “That was one of the few times I’ve ever lied to you. It wasn’t that I didn’t like dancing. It was that I only wanted to dance with you.”
“What are you saying?”
“Even back then I knew it was you, Amelia,” I say as the final words of the song begin to play. “No one interested me. No one made me want to dance. It was you. Only you. I would have danced with you all night. And every time I’ve heard this song, I’ve only ever thought of you.”
My words stun her for a few seconds, and I wonder if I’vegone too far. That’s until she reaches up and takes my face in her hands, pulling me down for a kiss that nearly knocks me on my ass.
Every time we’ve kissed, it’s been me who has initiated it. But this time? It’s hitting me in a way I wasn’t expecting. There’s no hesitation. No teasing. It’s all deliberate. Her mouth is seeking mine for something more. Something I’m desperate to give her.
We separate as the song ends, but neither of us step away from each other. I know I couldn’t if I tried.
“Let’s get out of here,” she says.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she says, biting her lip as she leads me off the dance floor. “Let’s go do something stupid.”
Chapter 13
Amelia
When I married Paul,I remember thinking how sweet it was that I was going to spend the rest of my life with the only man I’ve ever been with. That he was going to be my first, my last, and my only.
I was an idiot.
I know that now. I don’t blame past me for thinking that. I was eighteen, pregnant, and about to walk down a makeshift aisle of the courthouse. Of course I was going to try to find the silver lining in any way I could.
Back then I was naive and hopeful. Now I’m thirty-five, jaded, and nervous as hell as I stand in Shane’s living room. I know it was my idea to leave the bar. I wanted it when he picked me up. When he held my hand at the restaurant. When we were dancing like no one was watching.
But now that I’m here? I’m a very different person now. The small amount of liquid courage has gone away, and it’s been replaced by fear, insecurity, and the general remembrance of sex. Frankly, I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
I look around as Shane turns on the lights. I’ve been to his house dozens, if not hundreds, of times. But something is different tonight. He’s always been clean and tidy, so seeing a spotless living room isn’t out of the ordinary. He’s also always been a minimalist. Shane isn’t exactly the kind of guy to have throw pillows or blankets on his couch. The only decorations he’s ever had in his living room are three pictures on his mantle—one of him and his mom; another of him and his brother; and a picture of the five of us from his going-away party seventeen years ago.
