Her fingertips touched his hand and she saw the burst of life flare in his eyes. It was those silent moments that made her feel like she was actually important.
“Dancing?”
“I thought it might be fun.”
“Anywhere with you is my kind of fun,” he said softly as she stepped down to stand beside him on the steps. Looking up at him, she saw that familiar scruff on his chin and her eyes traced his lips, recognizing that sweet smile that was all for her. He was everything to her and it hit her like a ton of bricks at that very moment – she truly wanted to be by his side, like this, for the rest of her life.
“Everything okay?” he asked, tenderly cupping her cheek.
“I just… well…”
Her eyes met his, unable to speak.
It was his confident smile that touched her and made her let out her breath nervously. Instead of saying a word, Dylan picked up her other hand and lay it on his chest, over his heart, eyeing her with his inquisitive eyes.
“Anything you could ever want, I will always give you. If my lady wants to dance the night away, then we’ll dance until our shoes fall right off our feet,” he teased, but there was something else beneath his words.
“I don’t want anything but this,” she admitted.
“Me too.”
“Let’s go get our boogie on,” he teased playfully, swallowing hard and trying to lighten the moment. He held her hand that was against his chest to his lips and kissed her fingertips, before moving to her palm and blowing a raspberry against it.
“Hey! That tickles!”
“I’ve gotta lighten the mood or I’ll be a blubbery, emotional mess puddled at your dainty, little feet,” he confessed, looking away. Eva almost said something about his statement, wanting to know more about what he meant by that – but let it drop. He was right and things were serious between them.
She was seriously in love with the man.
Walking hand-in-hand with Dylan inside the dance hall would be one of her most laughable moments in her life. They stuck out like sore thumbs and she had no idea what they were doing. Instead of backing out of the dance hall, Dylan turned and made a bow towards her, holding out his hand.
“Let’s get our jam on, gorgeous,” he teased, winking at her. He pulled her out onto the dancefloor as if they were regulars, coming there for years.
Eva was wearing black skinny jeans with a tank top, covered by a light sweater that was a little too sheer for her tastes to wear it without an undershirt. Dylan was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with an anime cartoon printed on the front of it. His hair was a little spikey, with his eyebrow piercing, and a pair of Asics sneakers.
The dance hall was dimly lit with a large stage, spotlighted at the back. Seeing all the wood inside, Eva wondered at how many trees it took to create the place. She wasn’t a die-hard environmentalist, but the sheer amount of wood was staggering. Wood beams on the rafters, the ceilings, the floors, the posts, the tables and chairs that were located off to the side… amazing… and all polished to a shine.
She could smell the wood, wax, and faint scent of food. The fact that they were surrounded by cowboys who’d looked like they’d been dancing professionally was the only daunting part – and it was a heady one!
Dylan tugged her right out into the crowd and within minutes, they were laughing at each other as they tried to keep up. They ended up backing slowly out of the crowd to keep from getting trampled. Line dancing was a lot harder than it looked and they were bumping into each other – and others.
“I’m terrible at this,” he admitted, chuckling.
“You are fine.”
“Don’t try to convince me differently, sweetheart – I’ve stepped on your feet three times. Are you okay?” he chided affectionately, pulling her into his arms. They swayed slowly, moving together to the music, towards an unoccupied part of the room. The dancers were about ten feet ahead of them, moving with the music, twirling, and slapping the bottom of their boots before dipping and clapping. There was a rhythm to it – the problem was that they had NO rhythm, whatsoever.
“Come here,” Dylan invited, curling his arms around her. It was so easy to step into his embrace as she lay her head onto his shoulder, winding her arms around his neck. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled his faint cologne and sighed happily.
“This is heaven.”
“Yeah, it is,” he whispered, caressing her hair and resting his hand on the back of her neck tenderly. They swayed softly for the longest time, regardless of the beat of the music. It didn’t matter if it was something peppy or a ballad – they danced like this off to the side for what felt like hours until she felt his stomach rumble against hers.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m getting there. Are you?”
“Famished,” she admitted shyly, “I’m just not ready for this to end.”
“How about we do something else?”
“Like what?”
“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise - now would it?” he said softly, his eyes dancing. She rolled her eyes and clapped her hand in his, pulling him to the exit.
Surprises were her absolute favorite thing.
With being alone, she hardly ever got surprised by anyone. There were simply not many people in her life to do something like that. Paula gave her a card for her birthday and she’d nearly cried, she was so touched. Oh yes, surprises were the ultimate temptation for her and she couldn’t stand it. In the car, she assaulted Dylan with questions that had him cracking up laughing.
“Solid, mineral, or liquid?”
“A little of everything?”
“Can I eat it?”
“I wouldn’t – but you could try if you wanted to.”
“Can I wear it?”
“I guess so, but again that depends on perspective.”
“Blue, red, green, purple, black, or white?”
“I think they are all there – well, maybe not purple? No wait, purple is there, too.”
“Do I have to feed it?”
“Part of it, you absolutely should feed.”
“Do I have to wash it?”
“Same answer.”
“Do I need to…”
“We are here,” Dylan said quietly, turning off the car. Eva looked up and glanced back at him to see he was already outside of the vehicle.
“Where are we?”
“My place,” he admitted, watching her.
Eva looked back at the house in surprise and wonder. The little ranch house was adorable from what she could tell in the darkness. It was on a busy street full of parked vehicles lined with old streetlights that hung heavily over the road, shaped like candy canes.
“I thought you were still staying with Ethan?”
“No. He and Daisy are trying to settle on a date finally for their wedding. I really needed a place of my own eventually anyhow. What do you think?”
“It’s really nice,” she admitted, staring at the house. “I like the landscaping. The bushes lined in front I bet are really cute in the sunlight and I’m a little jealous you have a driveway with a garage. I’ve always hated carrying groceries in when its pouring down rain.”
“I hate that too. Everything gets soggy so quickly.”
“Right? It’s the little things.”
“Would you like to come in?”
“Oh, I don’t have to,” she stammered, feeling nervous. “If you need to get something, you go ahead.”
“I’m inviting you in,” he asked shyly, taking her hand, and pulling her towards the doorway. Dylan’s hand was trembling in hers at an alarming rate.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine – and that’s your one time to ask that question, sweetheart,” he said as a reminder. He released her hand to fish out the keys from his jeans.
“I know, I know,” she bantered, rolling her eyes.
Eva turned to look around the neighborhood in the darkness and glare from the streetlights. It looked like it was a qu
iet street. There was no one walking around, no cars driving by, and no children riding bicycles in the evening. She remembered being an absolute hoodlum, sneaking out of her room at the home, and riding her bike at all times of the evening whenever the mood struck her.
Blinking away the memory, she yelped as Dylan picked her up bodily, scooping her up in his arms. Eva threw her arms around his neck for fear that he might drop her if he was trembling so much.
“What are you doing? Was there a spider or a snake? Are we…”
Her voice trailed off as she looked at his intense expression and then at the living room. She never would have pictured a man having a living room that looked so utterly cozy or invitingly warm.
The walls were a faint grey with a hint of lilac to them. Calling it purple seemed too intense of a description. It was like the palest shade of what she imagined the fog would look like with the sun setting over the mountains. A murky grey with just a hint of purple color to it.
“Ohhhh Dylan,” she breathed reverently, “this is wonderful.”
He didn’t say anything behind her as he set her down on her feet. Eva was drawn into the room, stepping down into the sunken living room and marveling at the details of the older home. As she stepped forward, she peeked over her shoulder at him and hesitated, flushing with embarrassment.
“It’s beautiful,” she admitted.
“Keep looking around,” he offered, shutting the front door.
Eva took that moment to peek into the tiny bathroom. The penny-tile floor was gorgeous and looked like it had been just laid. The grout was sparkling white instead of dulled with age. A pedestal sink was flanked by a hanging plant that looked like it might be real, as well as a large framed mirror.
Stepping into the kitchen, she noticed that he’d been hard at work apparently - or someone had! Bright white countertops were lined with glass tiles. A massive curved faucet and a deep single sink were eye-catching just as she saw the sunburst clock above the sink.
Smiling, Eva looked at Dylan.
“What made you want to… oh!”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The countertop pushed against her back, but Eva didn’t care. She wound her arms around his body, her hands caressing his back as he poured every bit of emotion into that kiss. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment before standing up straight.
“Remember when I said I’d dance with you until our shoes fell off?” Dylan said huskily, touching her cheek. “I didn’t finish my sentence. I’d dance with you barefoot in the grass, on a sandy beach, in the middle of our living room – just anywhere to have you look up at me with that same expression.”
“I don’t think I could look at you any other way,” she admitted in a whisper, as his words washed over her. “Meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”
“I feel the same way,” he said, swallowing hard, taking her hand in his and kneeling on the tile floor. She felt his hands trembling to hold hers and realized that he was shaking with nervousness, not due to his condition. He was scared and it nearly broke her heart to think that such a wonderful man could… wait!
He was… kneeling?
“Eva, I want to carry you over the threshold every chance I get – or at least on every anniversary until I break a hip when I’m old and decrepit. When that happens, we’ll put a ramp out there and you can ride into the house on my wheelchair,” he winced and smiled apologetically.
“That wasn’t what I wanted to say but it’s just kinda falling out of my mouth. I, ah, I wanted to tell you that I know I’m messed up – I mean - I’m messing this up and…”
“SHHH!”
Eva and Dylan’s heads both turned immediately towards the sound of voices nearby. Her eyes slid back to where Dylan was still kneeling, holding her hand and realized what was going on. He was proposing and someone was in another room nearby.
“Oh my gosh…” Eva breathed, stunned, staring at Dylan’s mortified face as he obviously realized that all his carefully laid plans were unravelling before his very eyes.
“He’s butchering it!”
“Shut up, Mike. No one is as smooth with the girls like you are.”
“I love you, Cora.”
“If you two don’t shut your yaps…”
“Lily? You are getting louder than…”
“Then what, John? Do you hear your friend?”
“Nothing, dear. I love you.”
“Dang, is she always like that, John?”
“OWWWW!”
“Don’t you lay a finger on Colin, Lily!”
“I’m not saying a word.”
“Ethan, you are the best, you know that?”
“Daisy, I’m just glad that you already said ‘yes’ to me.”
“Of course, I did – she’ll say yes too. Just watch.”
“He’s not going to ask if he keeps stuttering and screwing this up.”
“It’s sweet. Girl’s like sweet stuff.”
“So, you’d have married me if I said I was messed up like he did? Have you ever known Luka to be this far off his game? It’s really sad.”
“Always. He’s all show on the outside. Lucky the guy got a pretty face when he was born or he’d be in real trouble. Eva has more game than he does!”
“You know the camera is still running and recording this, right?”
“They are just sitting there staring at the door.”
“Oh no –do you think they can hear us?”
“YES!” Dylan bit out loudly and sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat as he looked up at Eva. She saw his horrified and embarrassed expression, unable to help the smile that came to her face.
It was obvious his friends were having quite the discussion in the other room about their soon-to-be engagement. He’d gone through all this trouble, inviting his friends, and recording it so they would have something to look back on later. Eva gave him a regal smile and wiped her eyes.
“Relax and do it again,” she advised, “We’ll crop them out, and show people later the clip of you proposing and me saying a definitive yes.”
“Yes?”
“Oh yes… yes… yes… yes!” she breathed tenderly as she leaned down to kiss him where he knelt. “I love you so much, Dylan.”
He wiped his palms on his jeans and smiled at how badly his hands were shaking before taking her hand in his again. This time, he pulled the solitaire from his pocket and winked at her.
“Take two! Quiet on the set!” Eva yelped over his shoulder and smiled at Dylan. “Go ahead, sweetheart.”
“Gosh, I love you,” he breathed, grinning up at her.
“Do your thing, hot stuff. I’m waiting,” she teased, feeling her eyes fill with tears at the love in his gaze.
“Yes ma’am.”
It was so extremely quiet in the house that it was almost uncanny. Eva could not look away from Dylan’s beloved face as he looked up at her.
“Eva, ever since I met you, I have been struck by how beautiful a person you are. Your soul seems to fit perfectly with mine and I treasure each second I get to spend with you. When you smile, the days seem brighter and my whole world feels complete. I need that. I need you in my life more than I ever could have realized. Having you with me is like drinking water or breathing air…”
“… or insulin?” Eva quipped, as she noticed his eyes were watering and Adam’s apple was bobbing as he swallowed several times. She wanted him to treasure this moment like she would, forever etched in her soul. She winked at him, because she saw he was close to breaking down again, only to hear him giggle in a nervous fashion.
“See? No game with the chicks…”
“SHADDUP MIKE!”
“He’s right,” Dylan whispered painfully.
“Keep going, you are doing spectacular,” she urged.
“I want to be your family. I want to protect you, love you, and give you a home, as well as my heart. I want us to have a family of our own someday. I want to scream you
r name proudly when you walk across the stage at graduation and for us to give Sweet’NLow a place to live. I love you so much, and want our lives to begin when you are ready, but I’m going to do everything in my power…”
“Jeez is he finished yet?”
“Mike, if you don’t hush - Luka is going to…”
“Luka is gonna come crack some skulls,” Dylan bit out in warning, glancing over his shoulder hotly before looking at Eva.
“As I was saying? …I will do everything in my power to make sure you never regret a moment of your life with me. Eva Morrison, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I promise I will love you and cherish you so long as I draw breath – and Mike won’t be there when we get married.”
“Hey! That really hurts, man!”
Eva heard the grown man pouting from the other room and realized that taking Dylan as her husband meant she would be blessed with an automatic group of friends close enough to be considered family. This sweet man was giving her heart’s every wish, every desire – and she couldn’t love him more.
“Yes.”
Dylan slid the ring on her finger, getting to his feet and crushing her in his arms in a massive hug before kissing her once again. They were surrounded almost immediately by a throng of people, all smiling and clapping them on the back happily.
Epilogue
Two years later…
Eva sat primly in the folding chairs among the sea of black robes surrounding her. The dull roar of the massive auditorium was almost deafening as the crowd cheered even when they weren’t supposed to. They were all supposed to wait until the end of the names being read out so that way they could get through them quickly and in a timely fashion.
She just couldn’t believe this day was finally here.
As she looked back over the faceless crowd, she hoped that she might spot Dylan somewhere in the group. Her row of chairs got to their feet and made their way towards the stage. Dylan had been her everything. Her biggest supporter, her strongest advocate, her best friend.
Remember Courage Page 9