by Reina Torres
Laura nudged him and he turned to look at her.
“Close your mouth before the flies get it.”
He shook himself. “How is that grandpa?”
Rolling her eyes much like Juliet would have, Laura moved her hand in front of her face. “Makeup.”
“He looks like… I mean, he’s so…”
“Okay, Laura?”
Laura’s smile told him he probably wasn’t going to like what was going to happen next.
“Here!”
Adrienne turned toward her and slipped her hand through grandpa’s arm. “You and granny will cross the room to greet this lovely family.” Adrienne took Laura’s hands and nodded as Laura curtsied. “While the ladies are greeting each other, the men will shake hands.
Adrienne stepped to the side. “And then granny will move along to the next family as grandpa-”
Matthew stood there in shock as grandpa tore his hand out of the friendly greeting and took the hand that Laura held out.
“Well hello, beautiful.”
Laura stood there and nodded her greeting as gracefully as she had done the moment before.
But unlike grandmother, who had continued around the arc of waiting families, grandpa wasn’t quite ready to leave.
Instead, he bowed over her hand a second time.
Matthew waited for grandpa to step aside, but the bow only deepened and the male dancer placed a kiss on the back of her hand.
Matthew looked at Adrienne who was nodding along.
“And then he steps closer,” Adrienne continued, “kiss on the wrist.”
The man seemed only too happy to comply.
“And then up, higher, the middle of the forearm.”
The dancer did just as instructed, but the look in his eyes as he gazed up at Laura really rankled in Matthew’s gut.
“And… Jonathan?” Adrienne had her hand in the air waving in circles. “Hello, Jonathan?”
A little commotion and a spate of laughter across the room was followed by a cough and a shuffle of sound. “I’m here, sorry, I was just-”
“Save the explanation for later Jonathan. Now come save your father here because I think Juliet’s father might take care of the issue and lay your father out on the floor if he gets another kiss from Laura.”
Oh.
Okay.
It was all part of the scene.
Right.
Sure.
He understood.
But his heart was still pounding in his chest Like a whole drum line at a competition.
As soon as Jonathan walked away with grandpa, going to get grandma so they could dance for the party, Adrienne stepped up to the ‘family’ with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Taking Juliet by her shoulder, she pulled the little girl in close until she could only see a wall of purple stomach before her. Adrienne covered Juliet’s ears with her hands and leaned in between him and Laura.
“Okay,” she winked at him, “what’s the story?”
“Story?” Matthew looked back at Adrienne hoping the floor would open up under his feet and suck him down into the basement.
The redhead looked at him like she was a scientist and he was a little bug.
“You got all growly and protective. Is that method acting or…”
He really didn’t want to answer that question. He really wanted everyone to forget it ever happened.
“Okay,” Laura stepped in and gently removed Adrienne’s hands from Juliet’s head, “that’s quite enough. Don’t make him uncomfortable. He was just being a stand-up guy. There aren’t nearly enough of them in the world.” She tucked Juliet up against her side and smoothed her hand over the dark hair that was partially down around her shoulders. “Don’t you have something to do, hmmm?”
Adrienne narrowed her eyes at Laura, but thankfully she let it go and with a look that said it wasn’t over, she walked away.
“Well,” Juliet looked up at him and Laura, “what do you think, Dad? Wasn’t that the coolest?”
“Uh, I’m not so sure that-”
“Dad,” Juliet stared at him like he’d grown a second head, “we get to be the funny family!”
He stared right back at his daughter. “The funny family?”
“Everyone laughs when Clara’s grandpa tries to flirt with one of the mom’s! It’s totally cool!”
“Totally cool.” He repeated the words and managed to look over at Laura. “Is that right?”
She shrugged. “It’s a thing.” She gave a half shrug and gave Juliet a smile. “Hey, you better go and listen in to Miss Adrienne. I think they’re about to start the first kids section.”
Juliet looked confused. “But they haven’t done the grandparents’ dance.”
Laura leaned down. “That’s a variation dance like the Toy Soldier, Rag Doll, and Harlequin. They’ll have those rehearsals separately.”
Adrienne’s voice cut through the rehearsal space. “Girls!”
With a little squeal, Juliet reached out and wrapped her free arm around her dad’s waist and pulled him close. “This is so exciting! Bye!”
And she was gone.
But now he was standing face to face with Laura. Barely a handful of inches between them.
Laura looked up at him, her cheeks flushed pink. “Wow, she’s energetic.”
He looked down at her and tried to ignore the pounding of his heart that sent blood rushing through his ears. “You don’t know the half of it. Why? She didn’t talk your ears off during class?”
Laura shook her head. “She was a little younger and we don’t allow the girls to chat during class.”
“Ah,” he nodded, “sounds great. Do you think it would work now?”
Together, they looked across the room and saw Juliet staring up at Adrienne in rapt attention.
He leaned closer, whispering into her ear. “I’m thinking the only thing keeping her attention is that she doesn’t know the dance inside and out. Once that happens-”
“Once that happens,” Laura turned and went silent.
Turning toward her, he saw why. His nose was less than an inch from hers.“Laura. I, uh-”
“You know-”
Matthew turned toward the interruption and couldn’t decide if he should be grateful for it or more than a little upset that the interruption was the handsome male dancer he’d seen before.
“I’ve been curious.”
Laura cleared her throat. “You’re being nosey, Elias.”
He leaned in with a predatory gleam in his eyes. “You know my name.”
Rolling her eyes like a pro, Matthew felt Laura link her arm with his. “I follow the local dance scene.”
“Seriously?”
Elias moved a little closer and Matthew was extremely aware of how tall the younger man was. And how good looking.
“Have you seen me dance?”
She nodded, but she didn’t let go of his arm. “Sure. I went to Art in the Park during the summer. You did a variation with a couple of the young demi-soloists and-”
“Do you know their names?”
Laura sighed and shook her head. “No, sorry to say I don’t.”
Matthew watched the younger male dancer bask in her answer like sunlight.
“So, I’m going out after rehearsal to this dance club. You want to go with me?”
Matthew felt her pause beside him. She didn’t look up at him, but she didn’t immediately jump at Elias’ offer either.
He wanted to think… no, he wanted to believe that Laura didn’t want to go with Elias. But even more than that, he wanted her to want to be with him.
It wasn’t logical and it certainly wasn’t rational, but it just was.
When he saw Elias take in a breath, Matthew knew he had to make a decision. He couldn’t escape the idea that what he wanted to do had more repercussions than just one evening.
And surprisingly, it felt right.
“Actually,” he gave Elias a smile as he covered Laura’s hand on his arm, “Lau
ra’s coming to our house this evening.” He turned to look down at her and was pleased to see that she didn’t seem upset that he’d cut in on Elias’ offer. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to change your mind and come over another night.”
There.
He’d left the door open, but he hoped he wouldn’t regret the gesture later.
Laura squeezed his arm, under the cover of his hand. Looking up into his eyes she smiled.
“I was really looking forward to tonight.” He saw the becoming blush on her cheeks. “As long as you and Juliet aren’t too tired from the rehearsal.” Together they turned to watch as Juliet and the other party girls as they glided around in a circle holding hands. Juliet’s face was incandescent with joy.
“She’s got a bright future ahead of her.”
Laura had whispered the words, but he heard them loud and clear.
Matthew worked to clear the knot from his throat. “I think I have you to thank for her love of dance.”
He felt her shake her head beside him.
“Loving dance is in her heart, Matthew. Her talent is in her very soul. I was just pleased to have a chance to show her the tiniest bit of the beauty she had inside her.”
He could barely breathe.
His heart was up in his throat, but his lungs weren’t starved at all. Holding onto her hand, he was suddenly sure he could fight off a dragon single handedly.
Or at least a lanky male dancer with an overly-healthy ego.
Straightening, he turned to talk to Elias and found him missing.
“Hey,” he wondered aloud, “did you see where he went?”
Laura looked up at him with a little smirk on her lips. “Missing him already?”
“I just didn’t see him walk away.”
Tilting her head to the other wall, Laura gave Matthew a sideways look. “I didn’t realize you were so fond of him. If you’d like I can ask him to come back.”
Matthew laughed under his breathe. “Has anyone ever told you that you know just what buttons to push?”
“Buttons?” Laura’s tone was soft and her laugh sent shivers all over his skin. “I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t,” he tried to reassure her. “I’m just not used to someone who keeps me on my toes.”
Laughter burst from her lips and Laura clapped a hand over her mouth to try to keep from disturbing the rehearsal.
Still, when Matthew turned to look at the rest of the room, they saw nearly every pair of eyes on them. Including Juliet.
Adrienne cleared her throat. “You two,” she had her hands on her hips and a serious glare in her eyes, but her lips were smiling, “troublemakers, both of you!”
“Sorry, our bad! We’ll be good, we promise.” Laura lifted her free hand and he couldn’t help but smile down at her.
“You’ll be good, ha!” Adrienne pointed at them across the room. “Girls, don’t you think Miss Laura should be a better example for you young impressionable dancers?”
The little girls hadn’t stopped laughing but they managed to nod their heads and call out in chorus, “Yes, Miss Adrienne!”
The elegant and yet outlandish dancer clapped her hands. “One more time from the top.” As the girls rushed to the upstage side of the dance floor, Adrienne gave Laura and Matthew a pointed look. “Behave.”
They both bowed and when they straightened up, Adrienne was looking at them with a strange quizzical smile.
“You two are going to be the end of me.” She held up her hand before either one could speak. “Just make sure I look fabulous in my coffin!” With a dramatic wave of her hand, she walked off to join the girls.
“Well,” Laura’s voice was laced with laughter, “she certainly told us.”
“That she did.” He had to stop himself from moving closer to her. He realized he was still holding her hand and he certainly didn’t want to let it go. “You know,” he cleared his throat, “I only mentioned you coming over in case you wanted an excuse not to go to the club.”
“That was quick thinking.”
He was happy that she didn’t sound the least bit upset.
“So, you don’t have to come over if you’d rather go home, Juliet and I can take you home so you don’t have to use the train.”
Laura looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. “I can’t quite figure you out.”
“Me?”
“I’m certainly not talking to Elias.”
He groaned. “Thank God.”
She giggled softly, her shoulders shaking.
“What do you want to know about me?” He waited until she met his eyes again. “Ask me, and I’ll tell you.”
The offer made her smile widen. “I could ask so many things, but I’ll focus on the one question I need to know the answer to today.”
That intrigued him. “Today?”
“Yep.” She nodded. “Your offer to go over to your house. Was that real or just to help me escape Elias’ offer to go clubbing?”
He couldn’t help but smile when he heard the distasteful tone of her voice at the end of her question.
He looked down at his hand covering hers and smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand. “I may have blurted the words out because I was just a little bit jealous that he asked you out before I could.”
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes spoke volumes. And he liked what he saw.
“Even though I hadn’t planned to ask you when I saw you today, the offer is very much real. I just have one confession to make.”
She winced a little. “Confession?”
He nodded, his expression stone cold serious. “The house might be a little messy.”
Laura burst into laughter, softer than the last time, but her eyes were shining.
And Matthew realized, yet again, that he was in deep trouble with this amazing woman.
Chapter 5
If Laura had been worrying about what to say on the ride to their home, she realized very quickly that the only thing she had to do was listen as Juliet recounted every moment of the rehearsal.
At one point, she saw Matthew mulling over whether or not to interrupt his daughter. Leaning closer to him with her arm braced on the center console, she whispered. “Do you need to ask her a question?”
He shook his head and quickly replied. “Just thought you might want to get a word in.”
She’d waved off the idea. “She’s excited. Let her get it out. How long can she go?”
In the shadowy interior of the car she thought she saw a strange twist at the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t answer.
Well, that was fine with her because when she was a little girl her mother always encouraged her to get her own answers. Doing something, she explained, would ingrain the lesson like muscle memory in dance.
It was the same reason she had always encouraged her students to do everything with full energy, even a rehearsal because if you practiced things any other way, you made bad habits.
And it seemed that part of that lessons had stuck with Juliet.
When she decided to recount the day, she did it… in full detail.
So much so that even when they arrived at the house, any possible awkwardness was smoothed over as Juliet kept up her recitation while Matthew picked up the few items that were on the floor and refolded the blanket on the back of the couch.
When Juliet came up for air, Matthew asked her what she wanted to eat and Juliet pulled her answer right from the pre-teen handbook, adding a winsome smile and a ‘pretty, pretty please.”
They ordered a few deep-dish pizzas straight from Lou Malnati’s and an order of Bruschetta that was so good, the girls fought over the last piece.
And ended up cutting it in half when Matthew threatened to eat it himself.
After the food was inhaled by the hungry trio, Laura was surprised when Juliet turned on the couch and laid her head on Laura’s leg. Looking up at her, Juliet took Laura’s hand and set it on her head, smoothing it over the crown and down to
the side. Her hopeful little smile was the end of Laura’s resistance.
Slowly, Laura began to stroke Juliet’s hair, combing her fingers through the long silky strands.
After awhile she saw Juliet’s eyes begin to close and still, she couldn’t stop combing through her hair, speaking softly to her.
She was only partly aware of Matthew on the other end of the couch with Juliet’s feet propped up on his leg.
“Miss Laura?”
Juliet’s soft and sleepy voice caught Laura’s attention. ‘What is it, sweetie?”
Smiling at the endearment, Juliet sighed and turned on her side until her cheek was pillowed on Laura’s leg. “I wish you’d stay.”
The words touched her in a part of her heart that had gone dormant a long time ago.
“But you’ll be asleep soon, so what would I do?”
Juliet groaned a little and snuggled closer, tucking one hand under her cheek and the other hand tunneled under the blanket her father had spread over her. “You could watch movies with my dad.”
Laura trailed the backs of her fingers down Juliet’s cheek. “We’ve all had a long day, sweetie. I think after you get into bed, I’m going to go home so your dad can get some rest, too.”
“He doesn’t need as much sleep as I do.” Juliet yawned and stretched before curling up in the center of the couch. “He should take you home.”
“Now I know you’re exhausted, young lady, but there’s no way that either one of us would leave you alone here by yourself.”
“I’m gonna be a grown up soon,” Juliet reminded them and Laura couldn’t help the grin that spread slowly across her lips. “You can leave me here by myself.”
She punctuated the sentence with a big, gaping yawn.
“I’ll put her to bed and then I’ll be back, okay? Do you need anything before I go?”
She grinned at him when she saw the worry in his expression.
“Not unless you’re going to be gone for several hours. But if you are, I can call for a search party.”
That seemed to ease the tension in his shoulders. As he gently lifted Juliet’s feet from his leg, Laura watched every little movement with rapt attention. So many times over the years she’d thought of what it would be like to have her own family. Most of her friends had married and lost contact with her. Children, they’d explain with a shrug as if that said everything. But, having her experience with children limited to a few hours here and there with each one, she really had no idea what it meant on a day to day basis.