HALFBLOOD DANCER

12. SURRENDER

I open my eyes when Sandro pulls his mouth away from mine, leaving me hungry for more. He takes a deep breath and presses his forehead against mine, his eyes closed.

We stay still, forehead to forehead, breathing on each other.

"Can't you see what you do to me?" he breathes out. "Can't you see you're the one that's driving me insane?"

I can't move, speak, or even think, hanging by this moment. His steady arms are the only thing keeping me from falling to the ground.

"We should go," he says after a moment, but doesn't move.

We hold each other for a while longer, unwilling to let go. His arms are still holding me tightly in a loving embrace, and my hands are still caressing his back.

After what feels like an eternity, yet not long enough, Sandro opens his eyes and loosens his hold around me. Taking my hand, he steers me to his car and helps me in.

I watch him as he saunters around the car, sits next to me, and puts us in motion. I remain static on my seat in awkward silence.

Now that the frenzy is wearing off, I realize how high on his passion I was.

A few seconds later, he sighs, shaking his head slightly.

"What is it?" I ask, my voice barely audible.

"That song from my playlist...couldn't be more fitting," he says, smiling as he reaches for the radio and turns the volume up. "It'll tell you exactly how I feel right now."

I freeze, recognizing the lovely guitar tunes, the melody ratcheting my pulse to the sky. I bring my hand to my mouth, gasping quietly as the air in the car is slowly filled with the lyrics from the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls.

Sandro gazes at me for a moment, allowing me to see the longing in his eyes. My heart rejoices as he grabs my hand and turns his head back to the road.

I listen to his message, closing my eyes as he tells me through John Rzeznik's raspy voice that he would give up forever to touch me, that all he can taste is this moment, and all he can breathe is my life...

I brush my fingers over my lips and revisit the moment when he kissed me, the sweet taste of his lips still lingering in my mouth. This was my first kiss, and I wonder if it always feels like this. I wonder if he felt the same sensations I felt, if it all meant the same to him.

Every fiber of my being yearns so desperately for you, Sandro's words echo in my head, as if reminding me what it all meant to him. I've been fighting this since the first moment I laid eyes on you.

I think that in a way, I was fighting it too. I didn't want to acknowledge the palpable and powerful emotions that were always present between us. I fought against it, all this time, without even knowing it.

The car stops, and I open my eyes, realizing we are stationed in front of a restaurant. The name 'Casa Rosa' is inscribed tastefully in small white letters on the glass door.

Sandro gets out of the car. And I try to do the same, but I can't. The door won't open. I watch him as he rushes around and opens my door.

"I tried to open it but..." I shrug my shoulders.

"I knew you'd try to get out on your own," he says with a smirk.

"So what, you locked me in?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Just trying to be a gentleman here..." He winks at me as he extends his hand to help me out of the car.

"Well, thank you, sir." I take his hand and step out.