It was too hard to focus on any particular face with the multicolored lights swirling around the room. Every face was a blur……….except one. I sighed in defeat and didn’t bother to stop myself from staring. It was AJ. As I watched him, I found myself being drawn in. The thin, red-headed, girl that he was dancing with was all over him. I’d seen her before, but didn’t know her by name. It didn’t look like they were romantically involved or anything, but they couldn’t have been strangers to one another. She’d hiked her dress up on both sides and dropped it like it was hot. As she stood back up, she made sure that there was full body contact. I couldn’t believe that none of the chaperones had put a stop to it. It was like watching a car crash; turning away wasn’t an option. AJ seemed less into it than the red-head was, but he didn’t stop her. The next thing I know, this chick was bent over in front of him carrying on like she was trying to make a baby. She was trying to break into the industry of soft porn right in the middle of the school gym. I rolled my eyes, but continued to watch of course. Does he like girls like that? I began to scold myself again for even caring enough to ask the question.
I felt like a peeping—Tom watching them, and when the song ended I realized I’d peeped just a little too long. AJ and I locked eyes when he looked up and caught me staring. Hoping that it wasn’t too late to turn my head and play it off, I pretended to be watching someone on the other side of the room. I waited a few seconds before turning back to see if he’d bought it. Of course he didn’t. We locked eyes again and I was surprised to see that he was smiling at me now. It would have been rude of me not to smile back, right? Right. So, I smiled shyly, not quite understanding why he was smiling. In that instant he shifted his weight and took a step toward the table where I was seated, leaving the red haired girl behind him on the dance floor with a look of frustration on her face.
Air rushed into my lungs as I took a deep breath and tried to ignore how good he looked in his suit. He had somehow still managed to pull off his carefully careless style in formal attire too. He wore a tie, but it hung loosely around his neck. The top button of his shirt was undone and he hadn’t bothered to tuck it into his pants. His hair was as it had been the day before when I’d seen him and he was wearing the intoxicating fragrance that I’d tried to forget. What is this boy trying to do to me?
As he approached me, his eyes never left my face. The steady pace of his feet matched my heartbeat as he inched toward me. I sighed deeply, releasing all the air from my lungs and didn’t breathe again until it was my turn to speak.
“Hey, Samantha,” he said politely.
“Hey…..Anthony.” My voice was shaky as I spoke.
“Just call me A. J…..That’s what all my friends call me.” Does he consider us to be friends now?
“Ok, but only if you call me Sam.”
“Sure, if you prefer it.” He didn’t say anything for a few seconds as he indiscreetly let his eyes skim over my figure before continuing. Feeling a little self-conscious, I tried to cover my chest again which made him smile. Just then, the music started back up and I admittedly felt a little disappointed that our short lived conversation would have to end. Assuming that he was getting ready to walk away, I gasped when he leaned down, hovering over me – both hands planted on the table at either side of me. The heat rolling off of his body hit me square in the face and I swear I could hear his heart beating over the music…..or maybe I could feel it. At that second, I was so gone that I don’t think I really cared whether or not Antonio walked up.