EVERGLOW

XXVII. When the sun kisses the sea

She shivered as his breath brushed through her ear.

"She's already asleep. They're doing great taking care of her. Stop worrying."

She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. He was right.

He'd finally convinced her to dance if only to distract herself from worrying over Cai Hong. She'd agreed as long as they stayed at the sides and didn't do any fancy moves. They were barefoot on the sand, but she had a long dress on and she didn't trust her own feet when dancing.

The Wu's had booked one of the fanciest beach hotels in Phuket, and the rustic wedding still screamed old money from the ridiculously long guest list down to the unreadable menu tucked under their calligraphed place cards. She'd traced the gold embossed Mr. & Mrs. Wang with her fingertips when he went onstage for his well wishes.

The lengthy reception had droned on and on. She'd been restless, constantly checking with Yang if they'd fed Cai Hong, if they'd put her to bed, if she was fussing, until her brother finally told her to spend time with her own husband.

She stared at his hand holding hers tightly as he swayed them both. The guests were dwindling away as the sun started to descend on the horizon.

"Is it always like this? Being away from her?"

"Yes. Worse, when I was away from you, too."

She stood still and held her breath. They'd skirted around that one for quite a while and she wondered if he wanted to talk about it now. In another country. At their friends' wedding. But he only kept swaying them, laid her hand on his shoulder and pulled her closer with both hands on her back. She brushed her cheek against the black satin of his tie. He'd lost his dinner jacket a long time ago, too warm under the afternoon sun.

She trailed her hands down to his chest, remembering another night, another wedding. A different man and a different woman.

"What's this song called?" She looked up at his random question. They'd been dancing to more than a handful of songs now and this was the first time he asked.

"I don't know. I don't understand a word. French, I think."

"Caesar, the rich prick."

She laughed, the image in her head getting more vivid.

No. They were still the same. Older maybe, but the same.

"It's nice though. Not your thing maybe."

"On the contrary, any song that lets me dance with you like this is definitely my thing. I'm asking Xi Ze so I can add this to my playlist," he touched her forehead to hers and she wondered if his neck didn't hurt when he did that.

"It'll stick out like a sore thumb, Dylan."

"Nope, it'll fit right in. It's a playlist for lazy afternoons with you."

She scoffed. "How come I've never heard it?"

"We haven't been lazy yet since you came back."

"Smart mouth." She pulled away to look at the dais where Jia was shamelessly watching them.

"I think this is the part where we're each supposed to dance with the bride and groom," she told Dylan hesitantly.

"I don't want to dance with Caesar, thank you."

He winced as her foot landed on his toes.

Oops, she mouthed.

"Witch."