I nod, still staring down at her, thrilled to be so close once again. She looked up at me once more, waiting for me to say something, but honestly, I’d lost all train of thought the moment our eyes locked. I’m not sure if she realized, but she had the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen. They reminded me of the golden-brown hue that stretched across the land on a cool Fall afternoon.
Everything about her was so attractive to me. From her puffy cheeks to the way she blushed and looked away. I noticed the two nose rings she had in and decided that they complemented her button nose perfectly. And as my eyes traveled down the length of her curvy body, I took in her style. This was only the third time I’d seen her in person, but I noticed that she was a big fan of baggy cargo pants, cropped graphic tees, and Converse. It suited her so well.
“Uh, Dawn?” She said, and I finally met her eyes once more. “You’re staring.”
“Just admiring how gorgeous you are,” I smirk, with a wink. Her cheeks flush once more, and I find it utterly endearing. I let her go and put some distance between us. “Sorry for being so straightforward, but everything about you is mesmerizing to me.”
“H-Huh?” she stutters, genuinely shocked by my confession.
“Is it that hard to believe that I-”
“Hey, Dawnie, who’s your friend?”
I turn around to see that Trelyn has come out of the room. Not gonna lie, I’d forgotten that she was even in there. I motion for her to come over, and when she does, she loops her arm with mine, flashing Raine a sweet smile. Raine doesn’t return it, and my eyebrows furrow. I was really good at reading people, and by the looks of Raine’s suddenly squared shoulders and absenceof a smile, she had put up her guard just that fast. Did she and Trelyn know each other?
Or was I reading too deeply into this?
“You gonna introduce us or?” Trelyn questions.
“Uh, oh, right,” I nod, shaking away the uneasy feeling. “Trelyn, this is Raine. She’s going to be the lead dancer for my upcoming tour. And Raine, this is a friend of mine, Trelyn. She’s also a dancer, but mostly does Broadway shows more than anything.”
“But I can throw it back in a music video, too! You know how I get down,” she chuckles, and I nod, because she definitely could. She extended her hand to Raine. “It’s nice to meet you, Raine. You know, you look really familiar. Did you, by chance, attend The Performing Arts Institute in Los Angeles?”
“Yeah, I did,” she replies, shaking her hand as well. Her expression was neutral, but I could tell that she was uncomfortable. “I graduated in 2019.”
“Oh, yes, of course! I knew you looked familiar!” she exclaimed. “I graduated in the same year! I think we may have taken a class or two together, right?”
Upon mention of that, Raine got a distant look in her eyes. She didn’t reply, but nodded as Trelyn continued to go on and on about stuff that I could only assume happened during their college days. Raine’s jaw tensed as if trying to hold her tongue. I noticed the way her eyes kept darting in my direction, quietly pleading to be saved from this conversation. I wasn’t sure why, but I got the overwhelming urge to pull her away, so I did.
“Uh, Tre, let’s catch up later, okay?” I say, cutting her off mid-sentence. She looked at me, cocking her head to the side as I gently took Raine’s hand in mine. “We’re late for a meeting, but text me later, and we can decide on the day that we wanna hit up the club.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied.
I toss her one last smile before escorting Raine away from where she stood. We walked for a while before getting to a secluded part of the building. The meeting we were supposed to attend didn’t start for another fifteen minutes, but I wanted to have her all to myself for a little while. Yes, to make sure she was okay, but I also just wanted some privacy away from prying eyes.
“Hey, you good?” I ask as I close the door behind us. She nods, and I invite her over to the sofa to have a seat. She sits, but keeps a few inches of space between us. “So, I’m assuming that you and Trelyn have some history, yeah?”
“Uh, yeah, something like that,” she nods. She takes a deep breath before glancing at me, a smile now on my face. “Honestly, could wenottalk about that? It’s nothing serious anyway.”
“Sure,” I shrug. “But just know that you can talk about whatever with me.”
“I appreciate that, but I also don’t really know you,” she states. “I hope this doesn’t come off as rude, but it’s not like we’re friends or anything, you know?”
“I get it,” I nod. I scoot closer to her, and her breath hitches once more as she stares up at me. “But I’d love to earn that title. I promise, I won’t bite…unless you want me to.”
“Are…Are you always this straightforward, or are you only like this with me?” she frowns, pushing me back gently. I oblige.
“Yes, I am. I don’t see any reason for beating around the bush,” I admit. “I believe in being up front with how I feel about people or certain things because the last thing I want is for people to misunderstand me or to think they can get over on me. If being in this industry has taught me anything, it’s that I should never be afraid to speak up for what…or who, I want.”
She doesn’t reply, but I watched in silence as her chest rose and fell at a quickened pace. I wasn’t trying to make her nervous, but I needed her to know that I meant what I said. I only did things with intention, and if that meant that I had to take thingsslow in my pursuit of her, I would, but it also meant that I wasn’t going to give up so easily.
But for now, I was going to let it go.
“So, how about we start over, yeah?” I ask, rising from the couch. She hesitantly stood as well. She was only about three or so inches shorter than me, but I loved the slight height difference. I extend my hand, and she places her soft hands into mine. “Hi, I’m Dawn Anderson, singer and songwriter, and I dance a bit occasionally. I’d love to get to know you more.”
She giggled and shook my hand, a small smile playing on her lips. “Nice to meet you, Dawn. I’m Raine Williams, content creator by day, dancer all the time, and I’d love that.”
We stood there for a few moments longer just enjoying the presence of one another. I could get used to being in the bubble of just us, and I hoped that she felt the same. There was so much that I wanted to know about Raine Williams, and I wasn’t going to stop until I knew it all.
