“Please,” Julia said, this time her expression more serious. “I really want to see you do this, since it’s something I know you enjoy.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll show you. But...” he reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to standing and into his arms “...I’m not doing this alone.”
“No, no, no. I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I got you,” Tae said into her ear.
He pulled out his phone, connected it to the Bluetooth speaker he’d set up and opened Spotify. He selected an upbeatsong from their earlier days and pressed Play. The song’s choreography had body rolls that would make Julia blush. But instead, he put his hands on Julia’s hips and simply pushed them side to side, letting her find the beat. Facing her, he mimicked the motion. It felt intimate, the two of them moving in tandem.
“Breathe, Julia,” Tae said.
“Sorry I’m not better at this,” she whispered.
He took both her hands and put them on his shoulders while his remained on her hips. “You’re doing great. Now, don’t look at your feet. Look at me.”
She raised her eyes to meet his, and he pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He’d lost track of the song. He’d forgotten where they were. All Tae could focus on was Julia, in his arms, moving with him.
At some point their bodies moved closer till there was almost no space between them. Tae gently pulled her flush to him.
Julia gasped at the contact.
He wanted to capture that gasp with his mouth and kiss her.
He hadn’t meant for it to get this heated. He wasn’t trying to make a move on her. But here, under these lights, with her smelling and feeling so good, he couldn’t help himself.
“The music stopped,” she whispered.
Tae hadn’t noticed.
He reached back and reluctantly took her hands from his neck. As she released him, he twirled her around and held her waist ready to dip her.
But Julia was so caught off guard, she went dead weight in his arms. So as Tae tried to lower her, her feet lifted from the ground. He wasn’t ready for her full body weight to crash into his one arm. He lost all balance and braced himself for the fall.
“We’re going down,” he heard Julia squeal. Which was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
He stretched out his arms so he wouldn’t crush her as he landed. The two of them were wrapped-up arms and legs, elbowsjabbing, knees knocking, hands grabbing. Both laughing so hard, Tae couldn’t breathe.
“Thanks for the commentary,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
When Tae opened his eyes, two doelike eyes looked up at him. The fairy lights hanging above them sparkled in her eyes, and Tae couldn’t stop looking. The laughter had died down, but the smiles remained.
Tae heard the hitch of Julia’s breath as she slightly arched her back, putting their bodies in closer contact.
“Wow, Taehyung-ah, you did such a good job decorating out here. It’s beautiful.”
Tae scrambled his body off Julia’s, and she jackknifed herself up into a seated position. Impressive core strength. Just as he’d worried about in his nightmares, his parents walking in on him with a guest. As if he was seventeen trying to get lucky on prom night, only now he was a grown-ass adult, making it a hundred times worse.
“Annyeonghaseyo,” Julia said, getting to her feet, bowing greetings to Tae’s dad as he walked out into the backyard.
“Hi, Julia. Wow, it looks so pretty here. Tae worked hard all day to get this ready for you.”
Julia snuck a glance at Tae and then tucked her hair behind her ear as she lowered her eyes. “It’s amazing. I’m so grateful.”
“Oh, Tae loves sharing K-pop with people, especially BTS. You’d think he was being paid by the company.” His dad laughed, and Tae noticed how it sounded heartier and healthier than it had in a long time.
“Okay, Appa, how about we don’t embarrass me in front of our friends?” Tae said.
“Julia is more than just a friend,” his dad answered. “She’s family.”
