Just A Moment

Rewards

The next morning, Joe woke up with the sunlight shining through his window onto his face. He moaned and rubbed a hand over his face. Thrusting his hands through his hair and stretching, he rolled into a seated position.

And then he saw the bright light coming from his laptop screen.

At the same time, Hope was cleaning a table in the café. She had been up for hours but was very tired after her late night with Joe. She wasn't paying attention very well, and her Aunt had upbraided her on it twice already.

As the café was relatively empty and she was the only waitress on shift, Hope decided to make herself a strong cup of coffee to wake herself up.

She had just turned to the coffee machine when the door swung open with a loud ringing of bells. As the door banged against the glass window, Hope cringed.

'Be careful with the door.' She called over her shoulder. 'You'll break it.'

'Hope.' Joe said urgently, leaning over the counter towards her.

Hope turned around in surprise. 'Joe, what are you...?'

In his still-shaking hands, Joe held his laptop. And on his laptop screen were the words:

We would like you both to come down to our studio for a meeting to discuss your demo and the concert.

Hope exclaimed, clamping her hands to her mouth. 'Are you serious?' She whispered.

Joe nodded with a radiant smile.

Hope dropped the coffee grinder to the floor with a clang as she ran around the counter and threw herself into Joe's arms. Joe pulled Hope off the floor in his excitement and spun her around in the air.

'We did it!' He said as he put her down, as if they were the only people in the room.

'We did.' Hope smiled. 'I can't believe it, but we did.'

That afternoon once Hope had finished work, the pair went out shopping to buy appropriate outfits for their meeting on the Friday morning. Hope had to rearrange a few work shifts to make up for the meeting. After discussing what would be appropriate, they decided that they would both go for a business look.

Once furnished with a new dress and her first pair of heels, Hope felt more suited up for the interview. Joe claimed to already have a work suit in his wardrobe.

As they walked away from the shops, Joe turned to Hope. 'You know, I still can't believe you've never had a pair of heels before. What kind of girl are you?'

Hope slapped him across the arm playfully. 'The kind of girl who doesn't mind teaching a guy not to mock her.'

Joe laughed. 'Ok, appropriately chastised. Note to self: don't make comments on her dress sense.'

Hope laughed. 'In all honesty though, I've just never had the occasion to go somewhere and wear heels.'

'What about prom?'

Hope shrugged. 'I left school at 16, and no one wanted to take me, so I didn't go.'

'That's awful. Everyone should have the opportunity to go to their own prom. It's like a rite of passage.'

Hope smiled. 'I've never been into that sort of stuff. I didn't feel I was missing anything.'

'Well, it just proves that you needed me as much as I needed you.' Joe winked.

'In what way?' Hope asked, smiling up at him.

'I needed a partner; you needed a prom date.'

Hope laughed. 'Well if you wanted to take me to prom, I hate to tell you, but you're a bit late.'

'I'm sure I can find some kind of dance to take you to so that I can spin you around in that pretty dress and watch you smile on the dance floor.' Joe took Hope's hand gently.

Hope looked down at their intertwined fingers. 'I'm not much of a dancer really. I'd probably stand on your toes.'

Joe smiled. 'Then I'll have to teach you. It'll give you an opportunity to break those heels in too; I understand that it's pretty hard to do.'

Hope pulled the small heels out of her bag and inspected them dubiously. 'They do look like some kind of foreign torture device.'

Joe laughed. 'Let's get back to Mack's and I'll show you that they're not that bad.'

When the pair arrived back at Mack's apartment, Hope rolled up her jeans and slipped the heels on. Their shape and material felt slightly unusual, but once Hope had mastered the art of balancing in them, she felt better.

Joe came into the sitting room and saw Hope trying to stay upright with her heels on.

'There you are.' He said. 'Not so bad after all.'

Hope looked up at him and smiled. 'They seem pretty simple to manoeuvre.'

'Ok, so here's the real test; walk towards me.' Joe challenged her.

'I can do that... I think.' Tentatively and slightly unbalanced, Hope slowly began to cross the room. She stumbled a few times but managed to get over to Joe.

'I think you'd better do that a few more times just so you get the feel for them.' Joe advised.

And so that is what Hope did. For the next three hours. Until her feet ached and complained to be released. Joe patiently watched her, offering praise from his chair. When Hope finally collapsed onto the sofa, Joe smiled and rose.

'Perhaps you might want to have that dancing lesson in your bare feet.'

'Definitely! Getting out of these shoes will be a mercy!' Suiting actions to words, Hope slipped out of the pretty shoes and abandoned them on the floor. She stretched and flexed her aching feet, feeling pain in areas of her feet that she had never felt.

Hope looked down at the red patches on her feet. 'I have clearly underestimated any woman who has the courage to wear heels.'

Joe laughed, stepping towards her. 'You have my total respect. I'm so glad men's heels went out of fashion years ago.'

Hope smiled up into his handsome face, then glanced down at his outstretched hands in confusion. 'You want to dance now?'

Joe nodded. 'If your feet will allow that of course.'

'I would, but Joe, I know absolutely nothing about dancing...'

Joe stopped her with a raised hand. 'All you need to do is trust me. The man leads the dance anyway.'

'Still, I...' Hope tried to protest.

Joe closed the distance between them and reached out for Hope's hands. Taking them confidently in his, he smiled.

'Trust me.'

Hope took a breath in, slowly nodding her head. The heat of his hands was doing something to her concentration level, but she tried to remain calm.

Slowly and gently, Joe led Hope through a short waltz step. To Hope's credit, she didn't stand on his feet or trip up once; in fact, she remained entranced in his gaze and felt as if she had absorbed the internal rhythm of the dance that he taught simply by looking in his eyes.

'There.' Joe said as he stopped. 'Not so bad now was it?'

Hope smiled, her breath shaky. 'I suppose not.'

Joe gently reached out to brush his fingers across Hope's cheek to push a piece of her hair behind her ear. The move was so intimate, and Hope felt her cheeks flush bright pink.

Coughing sharply and taking a step back from Hope, Joe looked down. 'I suppose you should get home; your aunt and uncle will be wondering where you got to.'

Hope nodded, reaching for her abandoned jacket and shoes. 'I've still got chores to do that I should be getting on with.'

Pouring her damaged feet back into her soft trainers, Hope said goodbye to Joe. As the door closed behind him, Hope couldn't help but smile because she knew that the spark she felt between her and Joe was not in her imagination. Her smile did not fade for the rest of the evening.