Categories > Original > Romance > Dancing with Death
“So what’s your life story?” I asked, taking a sip of the water he’d gotten for me. “What are your deepest, darkest secrets?”
He gave me a you-don’t-want-to-know look. “I’ve made some serious mistakes, I guess.”
“Okay, out with it. Spill your guts. It won’t leave this room.”
“I really liked this girl. She died. And I messed up. End of story.”
I stared at him for a minute, knowing there was more to it, but also sensing it was a sore subject, and thus needed to be taken lightly. “What was her name?” I asked softly.
“Selena,” he murmured, staring at the table, obviously lost in his own mind.
“What happened?”
He was silent. I shoveled in another forkful of pasta, waiting for his answer. When he didn’t say anything, I had to say something. “Let me just say I’m only asking ‘cause I can’t find out anything about you, because you’re so guarded it’s like you’ve got all your info on lock-down. And now that I’ve decided you’re not so bad, I’m curious.”
He met my eyes then, the left corner of his lip stretching upward. “Not so bad, eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ve moved up on my list from ‘total jerk’ to ‘not so bad’. Don’t blow it.”
He smiled a full smile then. “Good to know.”
We finished the rest of the meal in silence. He got up, collecting my empty plate along with his own, tossing them in the sink and grabbing his car keys off the counter. I wordlessly followed him down the hall and out the front door, onto the lawn. Night had fallen around us. The stars dotted the sky around a beautiful full moon. I gazed up at it until Gerard called my attention back to earth.
“Hello?” he said.
I shook my head and met his eyes. “Yeah? Sorry. I was dozin’.”
He rolled his eyes. “I was saying, I’ll go over the project later, do some proof reading and stuff. Then we’ll have to meet to discuss how we’re gonna present it. After that, you won’t have an excuse to ever show up here again.”
I sighed. “’Cause that’s not harsh or anything.”
He laughed and climbed into the car. “Never.”
I got in next to him, gazing out the window, watching his amazing house fade into the distance. “I like your house.”
“I don’t,” he mumbled, more to himself than to me. The car went faster as we left the neighborhood. Soon we were parked in front of my house.
“Well, that was fun,” I joked.
He smirked. “I’ll go get something to wear to that stupid dance.”
“Excuse me, but you will be with me, and thus it cannot physically suck.”
He turned to me and smiled then, another genuine smile, as though I’d said something that he hadn’t heard in years. “Of course. Good night, Samantha.”
The way he said my name made me pause. It was as though he’d carefully thought about the word over and over again until finding out the perfect way to articulate each syllable. It was like he sang it. It almost made me smile. “Good night,” I muttered, climbing out of the car and going inside my house without looking back.
He gave me a you-don’t-want-to-know look. “I’ve made some serious mistakes, I guess.”
“Okay, out with it. Spill your guts. It won’t leave this room.”
“I really liked this girl. She died. And I messed up. End of story.”
I stared at him for a minute, knowing there was more to it, but also sensing it was a sore subject, and thus needed to be taken lightly. “What was her name?” I asked softly.
“Selena,” he murmured, staring at the table, obviously lost in his own mind.
“What happened?”
He was silent. I shoveled in another forkful of pasta, waiting for his answer. When he didn’t say anything, I had to say something. “Let me just say I’m only asking ‘cause I can’t find out anything about you, because you’re so guarded it’s like you’ve got all your info on lock-down. And now that I’ve decided you’re not so bad, I’m curious.”
He met my eyes then, the left corner of his lip stretching upward. “Not so bad, eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ve moved up on my list from ‘total jerk’ to ‘not so bad’. Don’t blow it.”
He smiled a full smile then. “Good to know.”
We finished the rest of the meal in silence. He got up, collecting my empty plate along with his own, tossing them in the sink and grabbing his car keys off the counter. I wordlessly followed him down the hall and out the front door, onto the lawn. Night had fallen around us. The stars dotted the sky around a beautiful full moon. I gazed up at it until Gerard called my attention back to earth.
“Hello?” he said.
I shook my head and met his eyes. “Yeah? Sorry. I was dozin’.”
He rolled his eyes. “I was saying, I’ll go over the project later, do some proof reading and stuff. Then we’ll have to meet to discuss how we’re gonna present it. After that, you won’t have an excuse to ever show up here again.”
I sighed. “’Cause that’s not harsh or anything.”
He laughed and climbed into the car. “Never.”
I got in next to him, gazing out the window, watching his amazing house fade into the distance. “I like your house.”
“I don’t,” he mumbled, more to himself than to me. The car went faster as we left the neighborhood. Soon we were parked in front of my house.
“Well, that was fun,” I joked.
He smirked. “I’ll go get something to wear to that stupid dance.”
“Excuse me, but you will be with me, and thus it cannot physically suck.”
He turned to me and smiled then, another genuine smile, as though I’d said something that he hadn’t heard in years. “Of course. Good night, Samantha.”
The way he said my name made me pause. It was as though he’d carefully thought about the word over and over again until finding out the perfect way to articulate each syllable. It was like he sang it. It almost made me smile. “Good night,” I muttered, climbing out of the car and going inside my house without looking back.
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