Ten Steps to Him.

Step Two: Second Chances - Intimidate, Intimate, Imitate

No rhythm, none whatsoever. That was Micah’s biggest problem and Riley couldn’t quite catch her breath from the hilarity of it all. Riley’s cousin Micah was visiting from Minnesota for the summer and was casually attempting to ease the summer vacation boredom with a game of random dancing. Usually, they would be at the beach now or traipsing off on some outdoor adventure but it was practically storming outside and they had way too much energy to simply watch a movie.

Now, Riley was curled into a full fetal positing, clutching her stomach as laughter squeaked out of her mouth uncontrollably. Hip-hop, dancehall, pop; nothing had been able wrench a decent move out of Micah. He was all arms and legs, drowning in derp that the right girl might find humorously charming but being his cousin, Riley only found that the humorous part applied.

 “I swear, Aunt Malinda found you under a tree or something. How can you be the son of a former ballerina and not have any rhythm or grace whatsoever?”

“Pffft! Lay off the haterade, cuz. This right here is pure mojo! You’re just jealous you don’t have moves like this.”

“Ha!” Riley shouted between a renewed burst of laughter at Micah’s current move which resembled a cross between a flying plane and a frantically drowning puppy. “I’ll have you know I thank God everyday on bended knees that I don’t have moves like you. I feel sorry for Aunt Malinda and Uncle Henry.”

Micah stopped his flailing and glared at Riley. “That’s just mean, Riley.” Flopping down on the couch sulkily, he threw a pillow at Riley’s head saying, “I’ll have you know, Kayla loves my dancing.”

“Kayla loves everything about you, you dork. She has to, you’re her boyfriend. You’re lucky she’s been in love with you since you were both five. If she met you now, I’m telling you, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Oh shush!” Micah yelled but Riley could see the twitch of amusement at the corners of his mouth.

“I really am lucky, aren’t I?” he asked, getting that love-struck look in his eyes at the thought of his girlfriend. Riley rolled her eyes at him but smiled at the thought of how perfect Micah and Kayla were for each other.

“Mhm, you’re especially lucky that you realized what was in front of you before it was too late!” Riley reminded him. Kayla and Micah had been neighbours most of their lives and Kayla had been in love with him for as long as she could remember but Micah had never taken her confessions seriously.

“Yeah well seeing someone willingly get hurt for you kind of puts things into perspectives,” Micah said with a frown.

“Why didn’t you ever take her seriously though?” Riley asked, curious since Kayla was such a genuine and sweet person. “I mean, it’s not like she’s a player or anything.”

“To be honest, Riles? I really don’t know. For me, I just didn’t consider her feelings to be real, you know? I just thought she had some stupid crush on me and then it would go away. What did I know about love? I mean, there were a few times I found myself believing her and I got scared. Love isn’t always a happy thing, it’s downright scary at times.”

“Oh come on, Micah. What’s so scary about Kayla? She’s amazing,” Riley said exasperatedly.

Micah chuckled at her. “Yeah, Kayla is amazing. I’m not arguing that she isn’t. But love itself, that feeling of attachment that forms and how important that person becomes to you? I’m telling you Riles, it’s downright scary.”

Riley looked at Micah with a confused look on her face, as if she was trying to wrap her head around what he just said but couldn’t quite get it. Micah just shook his head at her with a laugh. “Don’t worry, one day you’ll see for yourself and you’ll understand exactly what I mean. And I’m going to be right here to say “I told you so!””