Old, But Not That Old [Motough]

23. wonder [derek]

"You look..." My heart beats a million miles a minute when I see Beth fully dressed and made up for the show. "...absolutely beautiful."

Her cheeks flush, looking down. "Aww stop."

We are less than an hour away from the start of tonight's show, and our Waltz, and I'm so excited for everyone to see it. Beth dances the routine beautifully, and now, with how gorgeous she looks, I can't wait to hear and see everyone's reactions.

Turns out, I was right.  Everyone loves our Waltz. The judges praise Beth on her maturity and passion and vulnerability, and I squeeze her hand, so incredibly proud of her.

After we kill our Tango with Tony, I hug Beth, tight. She has come so far as a dancer and performer and I honestly can't explain how happy I am.

Our relationship has been so amazing, that I sometimes wait for something to go wrong.  Other than the little Cheryl incident, these past few weeks with Beth have been indescribably flawless. They've been some of the best of my life. Beth is so incredible, and each day I fall a little more in love with her.

On Friday night, we hang out at my house while Mark is gone for the night. It is peaceful and perfect, and I don't know what it is, but something inside me wants to express how amazing I feel, so as Beth rests her head in my lap while we watch "Wedding Crashers", I begin to tell her everything.

"You know," I begin, running my hands through her long brown hair gently. "This might be my favorite season of Dancing With the Stars."

Beth turns to look up at me for a second, rolling her eyes. "Shut up."

I let out a small laugh. "I'm serious. Getting to dance with you and getting to know you has been.. so incredible."

She smiles, and I feel her chest moving up and down against my legs. I could sit here forever.

"I may or may not get mushy right now, but I just... feel like I need to tell you how much you mean to me."

Beth glances at me and then sits up next to me, looking into my eyes. A small smile is forming in the corners of her lips. "Go on.."

"Well.." I begin, pulling her legs onto my lap and supporting her back with my arm. "Our relationship is so much different than what I expected it to be-" Her brown eyes watch mine, and I smile because no matter how many times I look at her, I'll never get over how beautiful she is. "-in a good way."

Beth grins, looking down. I continue, gently running my hands up and down her legs. "I feel like I can tell you anything, and you make me... want to be the best version of myself, and that's pretty amazing."

The movie plays in the background, but neither of us pay attention to it and instead completely focus on each other. "I've dated a lot of girls," I say, with a slight laugh. "But I don't know if I've ever been this... happy-"

"Oh my gosh..." Beth says, shaking her head, with a laugh. Since her adorable laugh is always contagious, I find myself laughing too.

"I'm not kidding! These past few weeks that we've been together have been basically perfect, and to be honest, I keep like... waiting for something to go wrong because it seems too good to be true..."

I see her expression change. Beth smiles, and bites her lip, looking down.

"What?" I ask, trying to hide a smile.

"It's just..." Beth looks up at me. "I literally told Sadie the same thing like last week."

What? My eyebrows scrunch, and I find myself smiling, although I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. "What do you mean?"