"Pick Your Poison"

Part 2: Legato

It sounded cliche but ever since that dance, I hadn't been able to get him off my mind. Even more so now that he hadn't been to the studio since the first day he came. For some funny reason, I found myself wondering where he was or if he was alright, all of this was foreign to me. Even when I dated, I didn't care this much so why did I care now?  He was the one who promised to learn the dance, so where was he?

I arrived with Nyla, we were the first to arrive as usual, before Mr. Gonzalez and then some of our other friends. She went to change, she valued her practice, so did I but I valued my morning coffee even more, so I did what I normally do. I quickly ran to the cafe next door, got myself an espresso and came back up to the balcony to drink it. It was a lucky thing that I decided on a sweatsuit today. The time was getting colder and colder by the second, which made me appreciate my warm coffee even more.

This was normally my time to think, meditate, figure out ways to get my life together, because as it stood, my life was simply, coffee, dance, sleep repeat and while I loved dancing, I still felt an emptiness every so recently that I couldn't shake. Nyla told me that it was love but I highly doubted it, love to me was as insignificant as the cherry on the top, it's cute and all but it doesn't add or take away any value from the dish.

"Ciao," my thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice coming from the studio.

It can't be, why is he here so early? I turned around, praying I was hearing things, but I wasn't , there he was, leaning on the door frame of the balcony with a sly smile on his face. Sure he looked nice in his dance clothes but he looked even more attractive in his lounge wear, which was a pair of grey sweat pants and a closely fitted black t-shirt. His hair was also caught to the back which allowed me to see his facial structure more clearly, this is what they meant when they said, 'God has his favorites'. Get it together Lori. I was nervous around him, but I couldn't give him that power, it was time to make up for that dance.

"Ahh, that's the accent I've been hearing. You're Italian?" I began. I would be so embarrassed if I was wrong but there was no turning back, I had already said it.

He chuckled, "Bingo, I thought I was hiding it well enough though," he looked slightly disappointed.

"Why would you hide it?" I asked, out of genuine curiosity.

"It's a pretty heavy accent, sometimes I'm not easily understood," he replied. Though I was talking to him, I still tried my best not to look at him too much.

"You know I can tell right?" he began.

"Tell what?" I asked.

"When you're not looking at me. What, am I that ugly?" He said with a slight pout.

I chuckled, "I'm afraid it's the other way around."

"What do you mean?" He asked. Not wanting to get into that conversation, I answered his question with a question.

"What exactly are your intentions Luca, you keep staring at me and you want to help me and all that, why?" I thought my random question would take him by surprise, but he was the one who left me in shock. "It's quite simple actually, I like you. Not just your physical appearance, but I like the energy we have while dancing together. I've never met someone who knows every move I'm going to make before I make it. I couldn't stop admiring how you move the other day, I didn't think it was something to hide, which is why I was openly watching you. I wasn't the only one either, you have some secret admirers."

I was at a loss for words, for the very first time in a long time I was speechless, I just didn't expect that answer. The only few words I could manage to get out were, "You're kidding right?" This made him laugh out loud, though I failed to see what he found so funny.