Suddenly

Suddenly Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Missed Kisses

Monday morning and the sun seems brighter than it did before, I'm up and ready to go, Bryan Adams on the tip of my pink lips and a spring in my step, a warm cup of tea, cornflakes, almost dancing, I step out of the house.

The school dance was looming around the corner and I was never allowed to go dancing because it was against the Christian beliefs I was brought up with. I shied away from being involved with the dance directly. Teachers needed an equal number of males and females from our grade to perform a few dances on the day as part of the program of entertainment.

BE walked over to me, she stood close and threw her net of enticement, her eyes dazzled and her lips drew me in, sugary words dipped in honey flowed out of her beautiful mouth, she said, "I need a favor, would you be able to help my friend?"

I was stunned and momentarily paralyzed by her beauty and I hesitantly uttered, "I'd try my best to help with whatever you need me to" .Turns out her friend Zakiya needed a dance partner and I was the unsuspecting target. I knew my parents would not want me to attend a dance let alone be a willing participant, so the cavalry in the shape of the school principal had to be called in, he called my dad and got the necessary permission for me to be a part of the dance.

Zakiya was tall and model like in stature, she had flawless skin and a fun filled life size personality. It was hard to see how she'd not have a dance partner. I was sure guys would have been cuing up just to stand next to her, nevertheless Zakiya was indeed glad that I was her dance partner but I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, I wasn't even sure if BE was going to attend the dance. The good news was that my best friend Rick and his partner Buffy were going so I knew I won't be short of company. Rick and Buff made a cute couple and I was sure they'd end up married, growing old together and surrounded by kids and grand kids.

It was the day of the dance. School had ended early on that day. I had started grooming from 3pm that afternoon, I didn't want to admit it but I was just a tad bit excited about the night. A suit didn't seem like me, but I felt snug in it and strutted my stuff. I was half a glass full of optimism and the other half full with anxiety. All participants were asked to come in earlier than others so Dad had dropped me at the venue at 6pm.

The dance began like any other. Hoping I don't mess up my steps with everyone watching I walked with Zakiya off the stage and onto the dance floor. I was accustomed to having people laugh at me but tonight I didn't want to be anybody's punch line. It was over just as fast as it started and in a few minutes I was left to my own devices. The pageantry of the night seemed over and the festivities began, students and alumni rushed to the echoing floor displaying their dance skills, or not.

A few days earlier BE had mentioned that her date was going to accompany her to the dance. The notion of seeing her with another guy gave me an unwelcomed emptiness at the bottom of my gut. I was extremely jealous and protective over her but I knew I was going to have to accept whoever she was with, it was her choice and I had to respect that.

The lights sparkled and blinded me as the music pounded through walls of speakers on the dance floor. The glossy wooden oak floor was littered with talking bodies moving to the rhythm of the beat. I was having fun at last, I watched her, she was dancing too, she moved like nothing I'd seen before, her black dress shimmered in the intermittent light, and her bare arms never looked so beautiful. Her long black hair swam like lacy ribbons in a breeze. Her petite curves spoke out from beneath the twists and turns of her dress.

That's when he entered, he walked over to her and they embraced, my legs took over my body and I found myself standing outside on the outer courtyard, I couldn't bear to see her with him, the feeling inside me tore me into pieces. Rick and Buff followed me out, I demanded Rick to arrange for me to go home, I turned to Buff and told her to pass a message onto her, I said, "please tell her that I think her boyfriend is really handsome'.

The words were still hot on my lips when Buff dashed off to convey my message to her. Rick was finding some difficulty getting a call through to arrange a lift for me to leave, Buff returned like a trusted messenger dove and told me that BE said "tell him that I said I think he's handsome". Hearing those words I stood frozen in disbelief, why would she say that she thinks I'm handsome, especially with her boyfriend with her.

Bemused and highly confused I gingerly stepped back into the venue and toward the area that my class friends were around. From the robust thumping the music changed and romance filled the air waves, the mood swung from energetic agile dancers to graceful couples who remained on the wooden floor. I took Steff by the hand and lead her to the floor, why not? She was available and she seemed like she wanted to dance. A few seconds into the song she gets a tap on her shoulder, "may I cut in?" she said sweetly.

It felt unreal, like I had somehow fallen asleep during the dance and I was in one of my dreams. BE was holding me close, her charming face rested on my chest, her scent filled my lungs, I could feel her beating heart, her hands around my neck, my hands rested on her waistline. Something had changed, why was she dancing with me? I whispered to her, "what about the guy you were hugging a few minutes ago?" she replied that he was just a friend that she hadn't seen him in years, hence the embrace.

The song had ended and I unfastened my grip on her, but she held me tighter and gestured that we don't stop, so we danced a bit more as two more songs ordered the movement of our sensuous knitted bodies. At that moment I knew there was very little that I would experience that could compare to the feeling of those few minutes that we held each other. I asked her, "do you know something, I love you?" she replied in her still soft voice, "I know".

It crushed me to hear her not say those three words back, but I still had her in my arms, my lips rested on her bare shoulders, I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. The music changed again and we had the let go of our close embrace, I had missed my chance to kiss her, this missed chance would haunt me for years to come.