Dancing Away With My Heart (An Academy Fanfic)

Part 11

Owen’s POV

        When Luke suggested a line dance, Gabriel jumped up to join them in the middle of the living room, leaving the laptop on the couch. I moved over and picked up the laptop. Sitting next to Sean, I opened the laptop and began doing a search.

         “Oy! Don’t close out those tabs!”

         ‘I will not roll my eyes at him.’ I repeated to myself. “I’ll be careful, Mr. Coleman.” A quick search found what I was looking for, so I closed the laptop and set it down.

         “So, how do you think this is going?” Sean asked, an intentionally blank look on his face.

         “Miss Sorenson is a quick study.” What else was I supposed to say?

         He grinned. We watched in silence as Luke and Gabriel taught Sang the basics of a line dance that, honestly, even I could do given a minute or two of observation.

         “She’s having fun, isn’t she?” Sean seemed relieved.

         I watched as she giggled as Gabriel tried showing her how to do a one and a quarter turn. She tried it and began to fall over. Luke caught her and returned her upright. She tried again and almost got it. I hadn’t thought her smile could get bigger, but it did.

        “She does seem to be enjoying herself.”

         “Can one of you play Stomp, please?” Luke asked, looking over at us. [NOTE: url - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Rr_7eq2Zw ]

         Sean looked at me, standing up. “I’m going to dance. You’re the DJ.”

         I nodded, picking up the laptop. It took me a moment to find the right tab among all of the cowboy boot sites he had opened.

         The music started, and Luke counted off. They all began moving, Sang’s movement hesitant at first. Within a sequence or two, I saw her relax. She laughed as Luke and Gabriel changed the basic steps into the more complicated moves some people do at clubs. She tried doing one of the turns, giggled, and shook her head. “No way! I’m not ready for that yet!” They continued the sequences until the song ended.

         “You got it, or do we need to go again?” Gabriel asked Sang.

         “I think I got it.”

         Luke looked around. “Do we have time for the Cotton Eyed Joe, or is it getting late?”

         I checked my cell phone. Time for a moment more of me-time with Sang. “It is getting late. You can teach her that tomorrow. You were planning a shopping trip right after school, right, Mr. Coleman?”

         He smiled and nodded excitedly. While I knew he enjoyed shopping anyway, the thought of shopping for Sang made him even more excited than you. I needed to remind Victor to keep some control over them tomorrow.

         “That being said, I’m going to ask Miss Sorenson to indulge me for just a moment.” I stood and handed Sean the laptop. I looked at him. “You’ll know which one.” He looked quite curious as he took the laptop from me. I walked over to Sang.

         “Mr. Blackbourne?” She seemed confused and a little nervous.

          “No need to worry, Miss Sorenson. You’ve had ample opportunity to practice the 2-Step, and you mastered the Cupid Shuffle in no time. I was wondering if you’d allow me the chance to practice my country waltz one more time.” I held out my hand to her.

         “You know there probably won’t be a single waltz played at that club, right?” Luke smirked.

         Sang gave him a look that would have made his brother proud. She looked back to me and took my hand. “I would love to. I probably need to practice more, as well.” The smile on her face lit up the room.

         “I hope you don’t mind the song. As Mr. Taylor pointed out, country waltz songs are usually quite depressing.”

         She blushed. “I’m sure whatever you found will be fine.”

         I looked over, and Gabriel was looking over Sean’s shoulder. He nodded at me, smiling. Nice to know he approved of my choice. I nodded once, and he nudged Sean.

         The music began, and I pulled Sang into my arms. She closed her eyes, seeming to take in the music for a moment. She opened her eyes and smiled, nodding that she was ready. As we danced around the room, everything else faded away until there was only her and I. The lyrics wandered through my mind, and I pulled Sang as close as I could without worrying her somehow.

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, The more I get of you, The stranger it feels, yeah.
And now that your rose is in bloom. A light hits the gloom on the gray.

There is so much a man can tell you, So much he can say.
You remain, My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby

To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

But did you know, That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.

         When I heard this song a few days ago, it spoke to me. I hadn’t even considered that it was a waltz- I only knew that it described Sang in a wonderfully artistic way that I could never match on my own. Now, I could only hope that dancing with her to this song might begin to help her understand how deeply she had touched me- touched all of us.

         As the music drew to an end, I became aware once again of our surroundings. I loosened my hold on Sang, and I looked again into those beautiful green eyes. They were alive with a joy I had seen far too infrequently for my liking. If I had my way, my brothers and I would insure that that merriment never left her.

         The sound of clapping invaded our moment. Sang’s cheeks turned a bright pink and she turned to our audience. I turned, as well, to see Nathan standing in the doorway. Nathan was clapping, his face a mix of emotions. That reminded me that I still hadn’t had the conversation with Nathan that Victor insisted I have right away. From the look on his face, Victor might have been onto something.

         “Having fun, Peanut?”