“I’m actually second cousins with Jori,” Duke said smoothly. “We used to play together as kids.”
“How nice!” Sandy yelled pleasantly at both of us. “You’re from South Africa, then?”
Duke blinked. I bit back a smile, suddenly catching the vision of immersing ourselves in our roles as wedding crashers. “Oh, he loved South Africa,“ I supplied, my hand on his arm. “He always tells the best stories about growing up there.” I nodded toward Sandy. “Tell her one, Duke!”
There was a brief pause before Duke sunk easily into his new role. “Oh, you mean that time you came to visit? And you ate the elephant dung? You tell it, honey. It’s funnier coming from you.”
A smile brimming at the edge of my lips threatened to expose us both, but I held it in. “That never happened, remember? Ialmosttook a bite. You thought it was some sort of medical cream and smeared it all over your bug bites.”
Sandy laughed a little too loud. “Jori always told us it was quite a volatile place.” Sandy wobbled a bit on her feet, her alcohol-addled head moving back and forth between us. Then her eyes turned to me. “Can I steal him away for a dance?”
Duke’s eyes widened at that, making me smile brightly at Sandy in return. “Of course you can! Helovesto dance.”
The look Duke shot me as I blew him a kiss and Sandy pulled him toward the dancers made the entire night worth it. A memory I would happily remember for the next decade of my life. Alcohol and vengeful glances at her ex-husband gave Sandy octopus arms. Duke did his best to hold her at a respectable distance, occasionally moving her hand back up to somewhere on the north end of his body, as needed. When he threw me a helpless glance, I could only turn away, hiding my laughter behind my Dr. Pepper.
The smell of alcohol and sweat filled the room of party-goers. More drinks consumed led to more dancers out on the dance floor. I eyed the impressive tower of partially full wine glasses in the corner of the room in concern, one drunk stumble away from disaster.
“I’ve been bad!” Sandy slurred, her voice in my ear causing me to jump. I turned as she pushed an amused Duke toward me. “I shouldn’t have taken this man away from his sweet wife. You two, full of love in your eyes.” At this point, she let go of Duke to squish my cheeks. “Go dance.” She stared at us in complete adoration in that hollow, glassy-eyed way of hers.
Duke’s forehead was glistening in sweat after his passionate dance with Sandy to a wedding classic, “Don’tCha”by the Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes. He held out his hand to me, his eyes glinting dangerously. “Hey, wife. Wanna dance?”
The wife comment sent actual waves of sensation up and down my spine. Or maybe it was the way the universe was spinning so randomly for us tonight, but I could not keep the smile from my face as I placed my hand in his and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor.
It was the second time that night I had held Duke’s hand. My mind wanted to go down the rabbit hole of acknowledging how crazy it was that I had only met him five hours earlier, but I forced it to stay in the present. The feel of his hand holding mine, the pounding in my chest as he pulled me close while dancing to “AnotherOneBitestheDust.” The songs from this wedding had a vibe all their own. The way the lights from the disco ball lit across his face was enough to consume me at the moment.
Showing up at a function where we only “knew” each other created a cozy sense of togetherness that I hadn’t been prepared for. It was hard to remember we had barely met by the way his eyes repeatedly found mine across the room, to the way he mouthed, “Helpme,” just before Sandy dipped him. Or when a balding, middle-aged man with sweaty hands approached me for a dance while Duke was in the restroom and Duke cut in to whisk me away twenty seconds later. Or the way he lightly stepped on my toe with his foot when Sandy stumbled up to us once more, asking another question about South Africa.
It was disconcerting. That was all. I was moving away. There would be no strings. It gave me leave to relax the tiniest bit. In his arms, knowing it was all pretend, I could imagine what it would be like to actually be with a guy like Duke. I could live in a romantic fantasy world like the best of them, and for tonight, I was Cinderella at the ball. The clock would eventually strike midnight, and there was a feeling of both relief and disappointment at the thought.
The fast song ended, and he held me close until the next one started. A slow song. I didn’t allow myself to process how it might be the most fitting song of the night—Tom Waits’ classic, “IHopeThatIDon’tFallinLoveWithYou.”
Duke adjusted his arms slung low around my waist, pulling me closer. “Hopefully this song will keep you in line. I saw you checking out my dance moves. You better keep your hands where I can see them.”
My head was turned into his shoulder, hiding the bliss on my face. “I think this song is the universe keepingyouon track.”
He pulled back to look at me. “Too late. You’re my wife now. Didn’t you hear Sandy?”
“You wish.”
“I’m starting to.”
I stiffened, swatting his shoulder. “Hey! We have rules.”
“It’s your fault. I only said it because your cheeks turn pink when I tease you. No man on this earth would be able to resist trying to make that happen over and over. Strings or no strings.”
I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were filled with sweetness and teasing, and combined with the raspy voice crooning above us, suddenly a flaming arrow of tingles erupted down my veins.
“Okay, time to go.” I pulled out of his arms and began walking toward the exit, snatching our coats off the backs of our chairs as I did so.
He hurried to catch up. “Why? The song was just getting to the good part.”
“You start breaking the rules, then we have to leave.”
He jumped ahead to fling open the door for me. The December evening was the perfect cool blast to the face we both needed.
We were silent, walking toward Duke’s car before he turned around, walking backward to face me. “You know what this means now, don’t you?”
I eyed him. “What?”
