The Dream

Beauty

-Zain Danial-

Beautiful.

That was my first thought when I woke up the morning after. The view above me, the streaks of orange light that created gentle patterns on my ceiling. I don't think I had slept that well in so long. 

I reached for my phone from the bedstand next to me, letting the soft duvet slide off of my bare chest. It was 5 am which was a pretty standard time for me to wake up. I usually worked out in the morning but I hadn't seen a gym room yesterday and I doubted Carla was up to ask her so I decided I'd wander around instead, keep my body moving anyway. The house was big enough that walking around it would be a morning jog in itself. 

First off, I walked to the kitchen, grabbing myself a glass of water, gulping it down, washing the cup and putting it on the dry rack. I then looked up through the window that was by the sink, letting me see into the outdoor space. I don't know why but it made me smile. 

I then went towards the rooms that I hadn't been in yesterday. Most of the doors were wide open which was weird to see, I was used to people's homes being closed off all the time but then again, since Carla had been living here on her own she wouldn't need to be shutting anyone out. 

One of the rooms was a game room, a huge pool table set up in the middle of the room, darts in the corner, a deck of cards stacked on a table on the side. It seemed the only thing missing in here was champagne and a group of old rich men to play. 

I walked out of there and at some point walked past a room that seemed to gleam back at me. The room was open like all were so I walked in. The theme is possibly a modern Queen's room. The walls and bed sheet were a very light lavender, there was a vanity table with a round mirror and flowers decorating the bottom edges of it. Roses, seeming to be scattered around the room aesthetically. Diamonds too. In the centre of it all hung a chandelier one that at the moment was reflecting rainbows all over the room. 

It took a while of staring for me to notice that this was Carla's room. 

Holy shit. 

I quickly turned and walked out of her room. I definitely just invaded her personal space but more than that. Embarrassment surfaced and I covered my face with a hand because somehow, the only reason I knew this was her room was...the smell. 

It was a smell that I didn't even know I had memorised. A rose scent that no perfume could mimic. 

Fuck. 

I decided the best way to get rid of my embarrassment was to keep walking. After the passing of a few more doors, I suddenly started hearing some music fading in. My ears perked at the familiar beat. It was classical music. It drew my feet towards it unconsciously, the music pulsing up my body. 

The music led to a room with the door mostly closed but the curiosity got the best of me. I opened it and stood at the doorway. It was a dance studio that had mirrors on one side of the room, the floor wooden and in the middle of it was Carla. 

I had been so embarrassed by my action before that I failed to realise that Carla wasn't asleep and instead stumbled on her here. 

She was dancing the waltz on her own, shadowing a partner that may exist only in her thoughts. I watched as she took a wide step, her body flowing flawlessly, movement in time with the beat, back arched perfectly. 

She was dancing beautifully. 

She hadn't realised I was there yet, her eyes were closed and she was enjoying the music around her too much to notice. I wasn't thinking about anything at that point, I let my body move on its own. I walked up to her and when she paused, I fit myself into her hold. 

Her eyes flew opened and she saw me holding her hand and putting a hand on her back. I expected her to pull away and ask me what I was doing but she didn't. We stared at each other with the music in the background. When the beat commanded, we stepped. 

We synched. She followed my lead effortlessly. Every turn was swift, elegant. Her scent intoxicating me with how close we were. She seemed weightless in my arms, almost as if the more we danced, her body became a part of mine. 

It wasn't until the music stopped and we held our position, faces turned to each other, inches away. Our breaths were heavy but still in synch. Her hand was still in mine and until then, I hadn't realised how comfortably it fits. She fit. 

"I didn't know you could dance," she then said, still trying to regain her breath. 

I grinned down at her. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents," she laughed lightly, shaking her head which made me smile but then I sighed, making her look back up at me. "The truth is," I started, "My mother forced me to learn how to dance as a kid, but I could never get along with my partners, we could never sync. So, I stopped." I expected pity in her look but there was none. There was a light in her eyes that I couldn't recognise. "What about you? Are you a competitive dancer?" 

She gave me another one of her gentle smiles, one that made me feel as if she was getting prepared to tell me something that was going to shock me as she does. "I'm self-taught actually. My mother hated me dancing. You're the first person I've danced with." 

My facial expression darkened slightly. "Hated you dancing? You're beautiful at it." I said without hesitation and she looked back at me with shock on her own face, a little gasp escaping her lips too which I told myself to ignore and keep the focus on her eyes. 

Another song started playing then and I could tell that both of our bodies reacted to it. I pulled her closer to me and we began dancing again.

--

I wasn't wrong. She was amazing at what she could do. Even though we had danced for an hour, my body still tingled, wanting to carry on but she decided to stop for today, the smile back on her face again. 

I watched as she drank water on the side of the room, trying not to stare but ending up doing it anyway. 

Even as the day passed, I found my eyes darting to her more often. Whether it was while she cooked, while she looked through some work files with me, while she read her book, while we played blackjack in the game room and told me she doesn't drink alcohol, while she smiled, laughed, yawned, I realised that she-

She was beautiful.