“Faith? Is it really you?”
She turned to face me, her face warm and friendly and so familiar even after years of not having seen it. She looked utterly beautiful; I knew I had completely lost my breath. Then, she threw herself in my arms. I held her for a moment and then slowly ran my arms down hers as we separated. My eyes took her in from head to toe and back again. She was beaming.
“Liam! I can’t believe you are here. You look terrific.”
“I could say the same thing. You have imposed such a strict schedule on yourself, I’m surprised to see you out.”
Faith’s smile brightened.
“It’s nice to be out. It really is so good to see you.”
Another person caught my attention. He seemed far too interested in our interaction and I realized it must be her date. Her date seemed to just be standing there like a fool, but Isabella slid up next to me.
“Oh, Faith, this is Isabella.”
I wondered if I should have introduced her as my girlfriend. I mean, we were supposed to be a couple, but if there was even the slightest possibility that Faith was up for grabs, I might have no choice. The sparks were loud and clear with her. When I saw Isabella flinch, I knew I should have made her seem more important. Which she was, really.
“It’s so nice to meet you. Oh… and this is … well, um, this is…”
“I swear to God, if you say I’m a social experiment, I’m never going to speak to you again…”
I looked to Faith, but she just giggled.
“It’s an inside joke. Don’t worry about it.”
I was still waiting for a real introduction when I noticed that Isabella had a smile on her face that I had never seen before. Was she fake smiling? At Faith? I had never seen her fake smile at anyone. After I heard her voice float through the air, though, I knew for sure it was fake. Her voice was like at least two octaves higher than usual.
“How do you two know each other?”
I felt my cheeks grow red, but before I could stop her, Faith responded, “He used to be my dance partner. Years ago, really.”
“You dance?”
Ah, so the guy could do more than mumble. Faith crinkled her brow at him, but I laughed.
“Not anymore. It was a long time ago.”
Faith reached out and squeezed my arm.
“You’re still the best partner I ever had.”
Snapping my fingers, I smiled.
“You were the other dance couple, weren’t you!”
“Pardon?”
I grinned.
“We did a dance pose when we did our pictures and the camera guy said only one other couple did a dance pose. I should have known it was you.”
Blushing, Faith laughed.
“I did an arabesque while kissing his cheek. What did you go with?”
“Ending tango move. You know, with her leg wrapped around me.”
“Ah, that’s hot.”
