I stopped myself before I said too much, embarrassed by my own outburst. She doesn’t say anything, and I can feel my heart fighting against my chest. I wasn’t usually this straightforward, but my friend downstairs was crying for her like she had been since that day in her dressing room.
“Hi! Sorry for the hold up,” someone says, and my eyes snap open to see that our waiter had returned. He places our drinks on the table before pulling out his notepad. “What can I get started for you guys?”
“You mind if I order for you?” Dawn asks me as if I hadn’t just embarrassed myself a few seconds ago. I nod, hesitantly. She winks before turning her attention back towards the waiter.
I busy myself with calming down my raging hormones as she begins to order our food, which seemed to be all for nothing because as soon as she began to speak in another language, I was back to square one. I wasn’t too sure, but I think it was Portuguese. I mean, it made sense since we were at a Brazilian restaurant.
“Muito obrigado,” She finishes off, and the waiter smiles and nods before leaving the room with our order. She turns to me and raises an eyebrow at my shocked expression. “What?”
“You speak Portuguese?”
“Eh, a little bit,” she shrugged. “I went to college in Brazil for a couple of years to play volleyball before transferring to UT Austin to play there. So, I picked up some here and there. I still have a lot of friends there, though, so every time we talk, it’s another chance for me to freshen up on my skills. I also know a bit of Spanish.”
“Whoa, I feel like there’s still so much that I haven’t learned about you,” I replied in amazement.
“And you have plenty of time to get to learn it all, so I hope you’re ready,” she smiles, and I nod. “Good, because I’m ready to learn everything about you as well. Starting with what exactly it was you were gonna do once you dragged me into the bathroom.”
I don’t reply, but stare at her as she stares right back at me. My heart was back thumping rapidly again as the room grew hotter and hotter. If I weren’t so scared of the waiter coming back in and catching us, I’d be between her legs right now, showing her just how much I wanted her.
The waiter returned, breaking the silence and the intense staring contest we were deep in the middle of. I was thankful because one more minute alone with her would have me tossing all of my decency out of the window. As we sat there and ate dinner, I realized that Dawn wasn’t the type to make a move unless the other person made it clear they were on the same page.
I felt it in the way that she always asked me before doing certain things, like pouring me a fresh glass of wine, or wiping the crumbs off my face, or sweeping my loose locs behind my ears. She was so gentle and observant, and although she continued to flirt with me throughout dinner, she would always check to make sure I was enjoying everything.
Which I was, of course.
“So, tonight has been great,” I admitted after we’d exited the restaurant. We decided to take a stroll downtown and enjoy the breeze for a bit. “Thanks so much for inviting me out. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, but you’ve made it feel so memorable.”
“Eh, I try,” she chuckles with a shrug. “So, are you ready for your second week of tour rehearsals? Still nervous?”
“Honestly, I should be asking you that since it isyourtour,” I point out with a laugh.
“I’m always a little nervous,” she admits. “I just wanted to make sure you were good, though, because I know this past week was hectic as hell.”
She wasn’t wrong. This past week was the first of three weeks of rehearsal, and my patience and professionalism were tested at every turn. Not only was I busy creating new choreography, but I also had to teach this dance to fifteen other dancers. It was only supposed to be fourteen other dancers, but somehow Trelyn wormed her way into the lineup. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to let her ruin my mood every day.
I also had to watch my back, because I knew exactly how she could get. Did I think that she would risk sabotaging Dawn’s tour? No, but I did know that she wouldn’t stop until she made my life miserable. It’d happened in the past, and I wasn’t naive enough to think that it wouldn’t happen again. Except this time, I was not letting her off the hook if she did try something.
“It has been,” I nod, finally bringing myself back to the conversation at hand. “This will be my first time doing something on this scale. I’m just praying that everything goes well and I don’t mess anything up.”
“You won’t,” she assures me. We stop under a big tree, and she pulls me closer by the waist. I wrap my arms around her neck and look up at her. “You’re so damn talented, and every dancer that got in should be honored to be able to work with you.Like I keep telling you, stop selling yourself short. You’re Raine freakin’ Williams, badass dancer who can memorize moves in 2.3 seconds.”
“Now, that’s an exaggeration if I ever heard one,” I laugh, a full belly laugh that warmed me up from the inside out. That plus the way she was looking at me as if I were the only person who mattered right now…it was heavenly. “Thank you, though. You’ve been speaking nothing but light and positivity into me since we started talking, and it’s something that I didn’t know I needed until I started experiencing it. So, again, thank you.”
“Anytime, baby,” she smiles, bringing her right hand up to cup my cheek. We stare into each other’s eyes for a bit before she finally asks, “Is it okay if I kiss you?”
“It’s more than okay,” I tell her. “You have my permission to kiss me whenever.”
Her lips connect with mine, and I feel like I’m right in the middle of the fireworks show they have on the levee downtown every year. My stomach was on fire. The way my tongue danced with hers, and then the way she sucked my lower lip, was enough to have me moaning into her mouth. I could feel her smile against my lips in between kisses, and I knew then that I was going to become addicted to kissing her.
“You better chill out before I be the one draggingyouinto the nearest bathroom,” she teased once we broke apart to catch our breath. I could feel my cheeks warm, but she cupped them in her hands and placed a few more sweet kisses against my puckered lips. “I’ll never get tired of kissing you, though. I’m so happy to have that privilege. You’re all mine, baby, and I plan on showering you with all the love and affection that you deserve for as long as you allow me, okay?”
“Okay,” I nod, still caught under her spell.
“Good,” she says. “Now, let me take you home so you can be well rested for tomorrow.”
“Well, aren’t you the gentlewoman?” I giggle, taking her hands as we walk back towards her car.
“You know how I do,” She smirks, brushing off her shoulders.
