My body shivered at the puff of warm air from his mouth that sent goosebumps down my neck. I sighed, leaning into him and resting my hands on his chest. “That’s almost fatal.”
“One more thing. And this might be the worst of all.” He bent forward, placing his forehead on mine. “With the exception of the lift in the water, I absolutely hate the movieDirtyDancing.”
I laughed then, a sound of pure happiness surging out of me, when I felt his arms tighten around my waist, pulling me flush against his body. His face was millimeters from mine, his eyes dipping toward my mouth.
My arms moved to his shoulders as I nestled into his neck, a lightness surging out of my soul that I hadn’t dreamed of feeling. “With the exception of the last epic dance scene, minus the moment Patrick Swayze jumps off the stage and the camera has that super cheesy angle of his face, I also hate the movieDirtyDancing.”
He laughed, but only for a second, before his lips found mine. And I suddenly knew what heaven tasted like. It tasted like hope. It was light and giddy and left me teetering over the edge with dizziness. One of his hands skated up my arm to hold my cheek before getting lost at the nape of my neck. As for me, I pressed myself even tighter against him. I couldn’t get close enough. My fingers trailed along his shoulders and neck as his kiss worked a spell over me. My soul released a great sigh as our mouths began creating a dance. Our dance.
And it was perfect.
27
I wokeup the next morning with a smile on my face. By all accounts, the smile shouldn’t have been there. I had lost the job to Anita. Her marketing package for the dermatology office had been the perfect amount of chic and function. With one company in particular, she had won by a landslide. The disappointment that bloomed inside of me had felt muted. Dulled. It didn’t make any sense. This was everything I had been working toward for months—the past four years, really. Anita got it over me. And Shawn. I had seen his design, and the results had visibly stunned me. By all accounts, I should have been devastated. But…then Duke took me out to dinner and dessert. We were that couple sitting on one side of the table together because I discovered I would literally die if his hand wasn’t on my leg at all times—or caressing my cheek or tucking my hair behind my ear.
I had received a scorching blow regarding my career. Everything I thought I wanted had been taken away. Except, now I had a secret weapon on my side by way of a man who loved me for all my petty flaws and failures. Nothing else mattered beyond that. All the other senses had been dulled. Perhaps I was more like my mom than I thought. The only difference was that I had refused to settle on just anyone. Duke was the jackpot. Not the consolation prize.
I was jobless.
Degree-less.
And happier than I’d ever been in my entire life.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Duke:That was the longest six hours of sleep ever. When can I see you?
Me:Don’t you work today?
Duke:I took the day off. I heard there’s a pretty girl who loves me living in an apartment. I’d never get anything done at work.
Me: I’m about to pour myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. If you don’t already have breakfast plans…
Duke:I’ll be there. Should I bring some eggs and bacon?
Me:I think I have eggs here. Unrelated, but how long do eggs stay good for?
Duke:I’m bringing new eggs. Need anything else?
Me:Just you. And bacon.
I moved into the kitchen,the smile still on my face, and I made no attempt to wipe it away. How many years had I lived in fear of the one thing I had hoped for more than anything else? Now I wondered what might have happened if I had allowed myself to exchange numbers with Duke after the kiss-cam date. I’d kept myself so tightly guarded, and now it seemed like there was a whole world out there for me to explore. My heart felt like it had been trapped in a box for so long that all it wanted to do was dance.
Or…you know…something thatresembleddancing.
Hence the reason Mira’s mouth dropped open when she came home from working her night shift to find me shaking it to a pop song from one of my old playlists. I had made it a habit to listen to podcasts while working for Cathy, but today called for a happy love song.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my roommate?” she yelled, yanking my headphones off. “Did you get the job?”
“Nope!” I said, regretfully turning the music down. “Even better.”
“What?”
“Duke loves me.”
“Well, duh,” she said, throwing her purse on the couch. “Did you two make up?” She looked at me, and a big grin crossed her face. “Never mind. I already know the answer. Tell me everything.”
I quickly filled her in on the last twenty-four hours.
