“We should go out there and show them how it’s really done,” she joked, knowing good and well that she didn’t have an ounce of rhythm.
Dancing was the furthest thing from my mind, but I didn’t know how to tell her that. At the moment, I was fighting off the barrage of feelings – some new, some familiar – that had basically just fallen into my lap. Either way, I couldn’t seem to control it.
“Come on,” she insisted when another slow song came on.
Trailing behind a bit, I went.
We stopped in the middle of the floor and Kira’s arms came to rest on my shoulders as she laced her fingers at the back of my neck. A long breath helped to center my thoughts somewhat. Well…kind of.
‘Don’t even look over there’, played on repeat over and over again in my thoughts like a chant.
“Your heart feels like it’s about to leap through your shirt,” Kira commented, staring at my chest curiously.
I peered down at her and hid behind a smile. “That tends to happen when I dance with a beautiful woman.”
She deemed that an acceptable answer, although I knew there was more to my elevated pulse than the fact that I was holding Kira. On cue, I let myself steal one more look. When I did, Sam and her guy were coming out to dance too. They were way on the other side of the floor, but I still had a clear view of the two of them. He held her waist and pulled her in close. Real close. She held his shoulders and leaned her head over slightly when he placed a kiss on the side of her neck, followed by another, and another….
“What do you say we get out of here?”
Kira looked up into my eyes when the question flew from my mouth like a bullet.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked.
No, not anymore.
“Yeah, I’m cool. Just kinda tired. Besides, all the important stuff is out the way. No real point in sticking around.” My blood was practically boiling and I couldn’t even put my finger on why.
Kira watched me for a few seconds, and then finally shrugged. “Okay…if that’s what you wanna do.”
I nodded to confirm, and then looked for Terrell. When I approached him, Kira hung back a little. Tension crossed my shoulders and neck.
“Hey, look, I think I’m gonna take off,” I announced, shoving my hands inside my pants pockets.
Terrell looked me over. “Something happen?”
“No, everything’s fine,” I assured him. “It’s just been a long day.”
There was a slight look of disappointment that flashed across his face, but he didn’t let it linger. “Alright, man. Take it easy, then. Y’all still coming to the breakfast tomorrow, right?”
I almost cursed out loud – I’d forgotten about that part.
“Uh…yeah! We’ll be there,” I said, forcing enthusiasm. Truth was, I wanted to be back home in D.C. and back to the way my things were before coming here.
Terrell eyed me again. “You sure everything’s cool.”
I nodded. “Positive. See you in the morning, man.”
He stopped questioning me and eventually went back to talking to his uncle like he was before I interrupted. Kira smiled when she took my arm and I escorted her to the car.
“Did you have a good time at least?” Her voice rang out into the silence.
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Umm, yeah. Everything was nice.”
In my peripheral, I noticed a smile on her face.
“There was the cutest old couple sitting at my table,” she started. “The man pulled his wife’s chair out for her whenever she got up, she shared her water with him when his was empty – you could just feel how much they love each other.” Kira reached across the console and gripped my hand. “That’s how I want us to be fifty years from now.”
I smiled back but didn’t respond.
“I really like the way the turquoise accents looked that Maisha picked out. I mean, I know we can’t do the same colors as them, but it gave me a few ideas.”
“Whatever you want,” I said out of habit.