by Kayla, Mia
He opened the black velvet box, and I face-palmed. He was doing this all wrong. You showed the ring first and then asked, not the other way around. This was the last straw. What would he think if Mary’s or Sarah’s boyfriend didn’t propose properly or get down on bended knee? I stepped into him and placed one heavy hand on his shoulder. He was smiling when he turned to me.
I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Ask her on your knee.”
He blinked from his happy, newly engaged stupor. “Oh. Yeah. Right. On my knee.”
I patted his shoulder twice and stepped back. Brad knelt down on one knee. People pointed and stopped around us—one couple, two, and then three. Soon, the crowd stilled like we were part of a flash mob. Then, the music stopped entirely. A dim light flipped on, and everyone’s eyes were on the couple.
“I need a do-over.” Brad wiped his clammy palms down his pants. “Sonia, I love you now, and I’ll love you forever. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”
Sonia swiped at her tears and nodded. “Of course. The answer is yes. Now, get up and kiss me.”
The crowd roared, and the band played “Despacito.” Brad stood and wrapped his arms around her, closed the gap between them, dipped her, and kissed her.
A loud sob escaped, but it wasn’t from Sonia. It was from the cute brunette beside me, Gabby.
Ironically enough, she was crying just as much as Sonia.
Man, was she cute. Even with heavy tears flowing down her face.
Gabby
After Brad and Sonia left, I turned to Mason seated right beside me.
The night and music and lights and beats were wasting away with each short second that passed us by.
I stood, reached for his hand, and tugged. “Let’s go, Mason. I want to dance.”
“Dance?” His eyebrows scrunched together, and he looked perplexed.
“Yes, dance.” I shook my hips to the Latin beat, closing my eyes, lifting my hands. I needed to get out on the dance floor before I combusted. “I want to dance with somebody.”
When I opened my eyes, there was Mason, unmoving and still perplexed.
“My stomach. It feels oddly unsettled.” He added in a formal way that was way out of place in this atmosphere.
He frowned and patted his stomach. “It must’ve been the beans or even tortillas because of my gluten intolerance.”
I shook my head. This man. I understood his reluctance. Most everyone on the floor were regulars. I had said hi to a few of them when we walked in.
I sat down beside him and patted his hand. “Do you want some water? Some Sprite? I think I have Tums in my purse.”
“It’s fine. I think I just need to sit here for a bit.”
“Bailando” began to play, and I jumped up. “Oh my God, I love this song!”
I teetered on my four-inch heels, and then I glanced down at Mason. He’ll be okay here, right? Was it rude to leave him in his state?
One dance, I told myself.
“Do you mind if I just dance to this song?” I smiled with all teeth clenched, pleading.
“Sure.” He rubbed at his stomach and then tipped his head toward the dance floor. “Go. I don’t want to hold you back.”
Eep! I kissed his cheek and ran to the dance floor, shaking my hips the whole way there.
Everyone had a partner, but it didn’t matter to me because I let the music fill my body and move my soul. Beat after beat, the live band was making magic tonight. I swayed my hips side to side, turned, and lifted my hand to the ceiling and down to outline my body. My feet knew what to do, trained and practiced since I’d been a teenager. Beads of sweat formed behind my neck, so I bunched my hair and held it up for a moment, bouncing to the rhythm and effortlessly moving my feet.
I closed my eyes and started to sing the lyrics when I felt warm hands wrap around my waist. Mason.
His fingers pulled me flush against him, moving me in sync with his body, and I melted against him.
Man, he had moves. I turned around to wrap my arms around his neck when I realized it wasn’t Mason. It was a stranger I’d never seen before.
I stepped away from him. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
“Why did you stop?” He reached for my waist, but I pushed him off. “Didn’t want a pretty woman to dance alone.”
“She’s not alone.” Mason’s deep baritone voice pushed through, and I jerked back, sighing at how sexy he sounded.
The man raised both hands and stepped back. “Sorry, man. I didn’t see her dancing with anyone.” He backed away and went off to find another lonely partner.
Mason’s eyes darkened with intensity, and he wrapped one protective arm around my back, tight enough that there was no space left between, bringing me flush against him. His cologne wafted up my nose and had me swooning.
“Now, she is.” Mason walked us to the other end of the floor with me attached to his hip.
“Whoa, I didn’t know a man could be so protective.” I laughed.
“I have never met a woman who made me feel that way.” His voice was low, serious, and his stare caused heat to spread from my neck to my cheeks.
His gaze was so intense, so honest, that I had no reply, except, “I thought you weren’t feeling well.”
“Him touching you made me feel worse.”
There was no humor in his features, just an intensity that had me holding my breath.
“Gabby, I’m fine now.” He tipped up my chin with the lightness of his fingertips.
“Okay, so does that mean we’re going to dance?” I smiled, hopeful.
“Yeah.” He straightened, his eyes serious, his tone firm, meaning business. “Right now.”
Well, all righty then.
Chapter 14
Mason
The music blasted in the background, and I was scared shitless, but I’d fake it. I sure as shit didn’t want anyone else dancing with her. I knew how beautiful Gabby was, but so did every other person. Even the women gawked at her from their periphery. Because when she danced, her whole being lit up. It was the small smile on her face, like the music moved through her body as though it was a form of art.
She squeezed my hand, and I pushed some confidence to the surface. I’d studied the YouTube channel all week, practiced the steps, danced in front of my bathroom mirror. This was the finale, competition day, the end goal of this night.
I so had this.
I simply had to believe in myself.
Ready or not, here we go.
“Show me what those lessons taught you.” Gabby winked.
I swallowed hard as my heart thumped loudly in my ears. One, two, three, and back. One and two, back and a one, two, back. I reached for her, pulled her to me, pushed her back, and repeated the process.
One and two, back. Three and four, back and back. Hips shake and feet again and then pull her back into me.
She frowned up at me. “Are you counting out loud?”
“Yeah!” I yelled above the music.
I smiled, and she smiled bigger, all teeth.
Yeah, I am rocking this dancing stuff.
So much so that everyone around me stopped to check out my moves. They actually stopped and stared.
Yeah, baby. YouTube for the win.
Practice made perfect. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me to persevere.
A few more minutes passed, and my feet and hips moved to the beats of the music.
I pulled her in and twirled her around, and in the process, she tripped on her own two feet and tumbled. I caught her mid-flight.
“Whoa, girl. I think I’ll have to slow down for you.”
She straightened and pushed back her hair. An awkward smile surfaced, and she readjusted her skirt. She must have been blown away with my skills. Shit, I am blown away with my skills.
“Do you want to sit for a bit?” She took my hand and led us back to our table.
“Man … I’m sweating.” Beads of sweat formed at my neckline, slowly trickling down
my back.
“Yeah. It was hot out there.” She averted her eyes and let out a low giggle. Sitting down, she leaned into me. “You’re cute, Mason.”
I didn’t know how to take that. Like cute as in pet me and keep me kind of cute, like a dog? I’d rather be hot, like can’t keep my hands off of you hot.
But I guessed I’d take cute over annoying because I’d received that before.
“Where did you say you took lessons?” She reached for her glass of water at the center of the table.
I could continue to lie, but lying took too much energy. “I haven’t. Not real lessons.”
“Oh, I thought you’d taken lessons.”
My face turned sheepish. “I didn’t. Not really. I was just”—I blew out a breath—“trying to impress you.”
She blinked and stared at me for a beat. Did I scare her? Sometimes, I tended to be too up-front and personal.
She smiled and placed her hand on mine on the table. “You don’t have to try, Mason. I’m already a bit impressed.”
I tried to tame my cheesy grin but couldn’t. “If you’re wondering about my suave moves, I should tell you, I learned everything I know on YouTube.” Now, everything was out in the open. Ta-da! Talk about honesty.
Her eyes widened right before she let out a peal of laughter. “YouTube?”
“Yes.” I patted the table twice, smirking. “Not bad for YouTube.”
Her head flew back, and she laughed harder, one hand on her stomach, the other wiping at her eyes. When our eyes met again, she kept on laughing, so hard that everyone around us stared.
“Sorry … it’s just …” Full-on cackles erupted from her mouth. It would’ve been cute if she wasn’t causing a scene. “Mason”—she patted my hand—“you need practice. YouTube isn’t going to cut it.”
My smile slipped from my face. “I thought I was doing good out there.” I motioned to the dance floor.
People had stopped and stared and checked out my moves.
“You weren’t.” She reeled back and scrunched her face, pushing back her hair.
Damn, and I thought I was honest.
“It’s okay.” She leaned in and pecked my lips.
The touch of her mouth against mine shocked me. My body’s reaction to her was automatic, unprecedented.
“Mason, to know that you did all that, tried all that, just for this date …” She paused, staring up at me with her hazel brown eyes. “It’s sweet.”
I cupped her cheek, bringing her in again for another kiss and my stomach muscles tightened. You know what’s sweet. Your lips are sweet. My fingers threaded to the back of her hair and I tugged lightly and flicked my tongue over the seam of her mouth, kissing her deeper, harder. She sighed when I pressed my hard body against her soft one and we made out on the dance floor.
When my hand slipped lower to her ass and I pushed myself against her, she pulled back and we were locked in some sort of lust-filled gaze that you saw in the movies.
I wanted to impress this woman … very, very much.
She grinned when the music changed to a sultrier, slower tempo. “How about I lead this time?”
I nodded once because wherever this woman led me, I would follow.
Gabby
Bachata. Mason got it … kind of. It wasn’t a hard dance. Sway, swap, hip lift. Sway, sway, hip lift. But his hip lift wanted to take off, like he was shooting a rocket ship from it. I thought he was going to fling me across the room.
“How am I doing?” He peered down at me with hopeful eyes, and I knew that I liked him.
I appreciated his honesty. For once, a man was trying to impress me instead of me trying too hard to impress him.
“Great,” I encouraged him. “A little less hip action, but you’re doing great.”
When the song stopped and a slower one played, Mason’s whole body went lax.
“I thought that song would never end.” He pulled me close, wrapping my arm around his waist. “This is more my tempo.”
I laughed. “You’re always going to remember this date. First, your brother got engaged, and then I made you dance.” More like he’d made a disaster of a dance, and I’d taught him a little of the bachata.
His fingers trailed up my arm before slowly cupping my face. It was sweet and tender, and goose bumps prickled my skin. “I’ll remember this date … because I’m with you.”
I silently sighed.
Boy, did that sound like a line, a line from a book, a line from my ex-boyfriend … a line. But peering up into Mason’s eyes, I knew it was genuine, real. And as foolish as it seemed, I trusted him even though I didn’t know him that well, which was crazy. Unlike me, given my history.
I was in trouble. Big trouble.
“It’s only our first date,” I whispered, swaying to the music, getting locked in his stare.
He tucked an escaped strand of hair around my ear and rested his palm in the small of my back. “Hopefully, my dancing skills have not intimidated you in any way.”
I didn’t know if he was being serious or just playing. I also didn’t want to break it to him that he was a terrible dancer.
“Don’t worry.” I smirked. “I don’t get intimidated that easily, even with your fancy dance moves.”
He let out a low laugh, and then his grip tightened against my waist, bringing me closer. Heat spread from my chest down to my toes. Being this close to him wasn’t enough. I wanted to be closer. My eyes flickered to his lips, as I wanted to kiss him again.
His cheek pressed against mine, and his warm breath sent shivers down my spine. “It might be too early, and I know I’m supposed to wait a couple of days before I call you again, or whatever those stupid dating rules are, but I don’t want to play that game.” His fingers pressed me closer to him, where I felt every warm inch of him. “Do you want to come over for family dinner tomorrow night?”
I blinked and pulled back, so I could look at him. Family dinner. How did we go from first date to family dinner?
Cold liquid splashed down my back. I screeched and flipped around. “Hey!”
“Watch it.” Mason moved me behind him, but it was all for nothing because when I saw her, the color drained from my face, and my stomach rolled.
Carla Gomez.
Chapter 15
Gabby
Even though we had never met, I knew her from the pictures. Pictures of her and Mike. Pictures of their children. Wedding photos from their day. That was how I’d found out I’d been living a lie, and Mike had been lying to me the whole time we’d been together.
A big, burly guy with a goatee stood behind her, holding her arm, but Carla’s nostrils flared, her finger shaking in my direction, spitting fire with every word. “You crazy bitch. How dare you show up here! Is this where you met him?”
My heart pounded painfully from mortification, from the shock of seeing her. So hard that I heard the hammering of my heart in my ears.
I hadn’t met Mike here, but there were dozens of salsa clubs in the city, and I had met him at one not too far away from here. He’d asked me to dance, and we’d proceeded to dance the night away, laughing until the end of the night when he asked for my number.
She stepped into me, but Mason blocked her path.
“Hey, hey. Whatever is happening here, I think we all just need to calm down.” He raised his palms and tipped his chin. “Before security gets involved.”
He peered up and looked left to right to see if anyone was paying attention. The crowd continued to dance around us, and there wasn’t a security guy in sight.
I knew from having come here one too many times that security were the same guys who cleaned the restrooms. This was most definitely not one of the establishments he was used to.
No one would save us now, but I didn’t need saving because I was already lost. Mike had already caused scars that would never heal. When I saw Carla, I saw my own mother. I saw her past and her future, raising kids on her own. A woman who had loved a man, raised children with him
, only to find that he’d cheated.
And I’d had a part of that.
With the quick reflexes of a cougar, Carla sidestepped him and shoved at my chest, and I stumbled backward.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Mason’s voice boomed loud enough that others turned toward our direction. “You know what …” He narrowed his eyes and put a hand against her arm to still her.
The burly goatee guy straightened to his full over six-and-a-half-foot height. “You touch my sister again,” he growled, “I’m gonna knock your ass to the next country, white boy.”
Mason flipped up his hands in a gesture of peace. “There’s no reason to get violent now. None of that. Just tell your”—he eyed Carla, hips a little wider than mine, from carrying two kids, her V-neck and black pants hugging her slim waistline—“sister that we’ll just go.”
Her hair was tinted a bleach-blonde color, her darker roots growing in. I imagined her and Mike meeting at this club, dancing until her legs hurt and her limbs felt weak. I imagined them doing it again and again until they fell in love. Just like he and I had.
She was beautiful, just like she was in her wedding photos. Remembering the smile on her face from that day was like a dagger in my chest. It hurt, knowing I’d contributed to her pain here and now.
“Is this where you met my husband?” Carla spat out again.
I flinched at her words. Husband. Her husband.
“I can’t believe you’d show up here. The nerve.” Her hand shook, pointing to me. “You leave my husband alone.” Her voice trembled with anger, but more than that, it quivered with a vulnerability, with the hopelessness that I had put there.
I wrapped my hands around my center, trying to stay upright as every part of me filled with dread.
“I think there’s a big misunderstanding here. Gabby is with me.” There was a possessiveness in Mason’s tone as he stood taller, planting his feet further apart.
“So, you don’t know your girlfriend’s a whore?” she spat out the words like they were acid. Hot and burning, thrown in my face.
