Cement Heart(83)
“It really is. It’s been like what… nine years since we’ve seen each other?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah, you had just started dating Mike,” Nicole answered, flashing me an awkward glance like she’d said something she shouldn’t have.
“We really should get together and catch up sometime, for sure.” Michelle leaned in close so they could hear her.
“Absolutely, but we’ll let you get back to your date here.” Sarah nodded toward me. “It was nice meeting you, Viper.” They both offered up a small wave.
“You too,” I called back as Michelle and I returned to our seats. I pulled Michelle’s chair out for her and bent down into her ear so she could hear me. “That was interesting, huh?”
“It really was.” Her eyes dropped sadly to the table as she picked at a spot on the tablecloth.
I rested my hand on her knee and leaned in toward her again. “What’s the matter?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just forgot how much I missed them until I saw them. I really haven’t done a good job of keeping in contact with my old friends.”
I lifted my hand to her shoulder, enjoying the feeling of her soft, bare skin under my fingers. “I’m sorry.”
“No biggie.” She waved her hand. “I’m just in a funk tonight. I don’t know why.”
The loud music faded out as the DJ grabbed the microphone. “We’re gonna slow it down just a bit here, so grab the one you love and take them for a spin around the floor.”
I recognized the song as soon as he started playing it. I’d heard it on the radio every five minutes lately, and it made me think of Michelle each and every fucking time. “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran.
Completely oblivious to me staring at her, she turned around in her seat. She rested her chin on her arm and her arm on the back of her chair as she gazed out at the couples dancing around the floor. The white lights coming from the electronic disco ball bounced off her face, illuminating her sadness to the point that I couldn’t take it anymore.
I stood up and offered my hand to her. She frowned down at it for a second before realizing what I was asking. Her eyes flashed up to mine and she licked her lips as she gently put her hand in mine. “I thought Viper doesn’t dance?”
I kissed the top of it. “Viper breaks his own rules sometimes… but only for someone very special.”
As we walked out to the dance floor hand in hand, I was beyond proud to call her mine, at least for that night.
I stopped and held my hand up, twirling her out away from me before pulling her back against me as tight as I could.
“What was that?” She looked at me incredulously with the biggest grin I’d seen on her face all night.
“Don’t get your hopes up. That’s the only move I have,” I joked, wrapping my hands around her waist. She rested her forearms on my shoulders and gently rubbed the back of my neck, sending shivers all the way to my fucking toes. As we swayed to the music, she closed her eyes and rested her head on my chest.
After a minute, she straightened and glanced around the room quickly, dipping her face toward the ground just a bit. “People are staring at you.”
“I am absolutely one hundred percent certain that I’m not the one they’re staring at.”
Her eyes glistened and she pressed her lips together. “Viper—”
“Don’t,” I interrupted, smiling at her as I brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. “I know exactly what you’re going to say because you should say it, but don’t. For now, for just this song… let’s pretend, okay? You’re not Mike’s wife, and I’m not Mike’s best friend. Just this one song.”
A tear fell from her eye, but she didn’t argue as she laid her head back on my chest, right where it belonged.
OUR SONG ENDED and we made our way back to the table, both a little depressed that our time together was over.
“Hey, Michelle!”
I didn’t bother turning around. I knew it was Sarah and Nicole again.
“The party is dying down around here, and we were thinking of going to grab some coffee, or a martini.” She giggled. “Anyway, would you want to join us?”
“Oh, thanks, you guys. That’s so sweet of you, but I can’t tonight,” Michelle answered.
All I could think about while she turned down their offer was the look on her face when she’d talked about how much she missed hanging with her friends.
“Wait.” I turned in my seat to face her. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I have the sitter and kids at home.”