Salsa wasn’t bad, but I liked the dirty dancing better. Mia was amazing. I could watch her move all night. I had no idea where she’d put all the lasagna she’d eaten just an hour earlier. She wore a red dress that twirled around her legs as she danced in some of the highest, pointiest, and most spiked shoes I’d ever seen.
“You have gorgeous legs,” I said when we sat one out, so I could catch my breath. The girl wasn’t even winded. I kept waiting for something bad to happen. She was quiet, had been all through the meal at her place.
“Thanks.” She sipped her drink through the skinny straw they’d put in her glass. I wondered how she could be getting anything through the tiny opening.
“How was your week?”
“It was typical up until Thursday,” she said.
It wasn’t like her to leave me guessing. I figured she wanted me to ask what happened on Thursday. I felt like teasing her a little, so I just said, “Oh?”
“Well, aren’t you going to ask me what happened on Thursday?” she asked with a hand on one hip.
“Yeah, just teasing you. Of course, I want to know.”
“I got a letter from Julliard asking me to work this summer in New York,” she said. She might as well have dropped a neutron bomb on my head. She radiated excitement. My stomach knotted up, and I had to force myself to smile. This was about her. Not me. I didn’t know much about her yet, but I knew that dancing was her life. I also knew that she would leave Houston for New York without a second thought. If this panned out, she might waltz right out of my life. My insides were a mess.
“You’re not looking all that happy for me,” she said.
“Oh, but I am. I want to hear all about it.”
The music was loud, so we were almost shouting.
“Let’s dance some more. I want to celebrate. I’ll tell you more back at my place.”
I tried to have a good time, but I kept thinking she was slipping through my arms even as I held on tight.
When we got back to her place, I plastered a smile on my face. She kicked off her shoes and fell into the soft cushions of her couch. I sat and put an arm around her.
“Tell me about Thursday,” I said.
“They want me to teach a Summer Intensive.”
“What does that involve? Is it all summer?” I sure hoped not.
“No, just most of July. I’ll be one of many teaching. The students are kids wanting to go to the Julliard Dance School after graduating high school. They’ll be good dancers already, some of them will have been dancing since they were practically able to stand up. It’s so exciting. I won’t have to deal with sweaty men who can’t hear the beat for a whole month!”
“You already told them yes?”
“Oh yeah, I did that the same day I got the letter.”
“Wow. Who’s going to keep Romeo? Do you need me to come feed him while you’re gone?”
“That’s a lot to ask. I mean we’ve only been out a couple of times,” she said. I wasn’t sure what the look on her face meant. Was she trying to tell me that I wouldn’t be around to feed her cat by next summer?
“I wouldn’t mind,” I said. My insides felt like they’d been put through a blender.
“I could get Peter to do it. He’s so close. Then you wouldn’t have to drive across town.”
So, she was thinking of me? I was confused. Maybe she didn’t like me as much as I thought.
“OK,” I said. “Where would you stay?”
“They have places there on campus. They’ve offered to let me stay there. That’ll save me a lot of money.”
“Do they pay well?”
“It wouldn’t matter. I’d go if they didn’t pay me,” she said. Her eyes sparkled. I hated the thought of her being gone for a whole month, even if it was months away. Maybe I was getting too attached to her. Maybe I’d better pull away.
“Awesome,” I said. I had to change the subject. I didn’t want to think about the future without her in it.
“Want something to drink?” she asked. “I’ve got wine, tea, milk, Mountain Dew…”
“You’ve got the Dew?”
“Sure. I noticed you drinking it before, thought I’d stock up.”
“Wow, thanks. I’ll take one.” I followed her into the tiny kitchen and watched as she leaned over to get the can out of the fridge. God, but the girl got my blood going. As soon as she turned to hand me the drink, I took it and set it on the counter.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She moaned and leaned in, and then we were kissing and my hands were running up and down her back. I couldn’t get enough of her. My fear of losing her was making me feel almost desperate to have as much of her as I could before she left. We’d talked about desperation being unattractive before, but I couldn’t help myself. I picked her up and set her on the counter. She wrapped those long legs around my waist. I was lost in her.
“Miles,” she whispered. “We better stop.”
“Why?”
“It’s too soon.”
I pulled away. Her eyes were glazed and her lips were puffy and swollen from our kissing. She looked like heaven to me.
“You’re not mad?”
“No,” I said. I picked her up by her waist and set her back on the ground. She pulled her skirt down and straightened her hair. I wanted to ravage her.
“It’s just…”
“Stop,” I said. I drank some Dew. “Don’t worry about it. We don’t need to get carried away on the second date.” The voice inside my head was shouting at me. ‘Stop being so nice. Take her.’ But another voice said, ‘Take it slow. She’s a good girl.’
The cat came into the room and started winding itself around and through my legs, purring loudly. It was exactly the distraction we needed.
“He likes you,” she said.
“Seems like it.”
“That’s a good sign. Nonna says, ‘Never trust a man your cat doesn’t like.’ She has a million things like that to say.”
“I like her.”
“She’s great.”
We were making stupid small talk to keep from groping each other.
“I better get going,” I said. “Thanks for the Dew.” I held the can up in a salute then crushed it. I realized that I had no idea where to put it.
She took it from my hand and showed me a plastic bin under the sink that had a recycle label on it.
We walked to the door, and I kissed her again. This time with a little more finesse and control.
“I had a great time,” she said.
“Me too.”
“Night.”
“Congratulations on your great news. Good night.” My mind was reeling. What if she liked it when she got there and decided to stay? I heard the door shut gently as I made my way down the stairs. I started the truck and drove away quickly. I just wanted to be back at my apartment, so I could let my gut settle down. The thought of losing Mia was tearing me up.