Just Like Heaven (14 page)

She laughed and swung her body in ways
that would have elicited envy from
Beyoncé
.
An invisible force drew Nick toward her, and he had to touch her, had to place the palm of his hand on her
hip, had to once more feel the
connection they’d experienced just a short time ago. And when he did, the sensation he expected didn’t charge through him. Instead,
a
euphoric s
tate
with the intensity of an electric current rippled through his hand and shot through
h
is veins.

All around them, other individuals danced to their own beat, either oblivious
to,
or in spite of
,
the fact that the
y danced to a contemporary song
.

From the corner of his eye, Nick spotted a man looking at him as though consulting his memory to
determine
if they had once known each other. But Nick dismissed him; he enjoyed himself too much to consider anyone other than the beautiful woman beside him. Besides, even though
women had complimented his ability on the dance floor,
he always needed a fair amount of alcohol in his system to
free his inhibitions to allow that side of him to
reach
the surface.

Therefore, it came as a surprise to discover that he didn’t need a drop of liquor to relish the opportunity to cut loose. Then again, everything about this dream astonished him, so he
decided not to
overthink that detail.

He
caught sight of the mystery
man again. Wearing a dark suit that might have looked fashionable in the 1940’s and dancing with a lovely lady in a velvet gown who seemed unaware
that her partner’s mind had
strayed
, even though he matched her step for step, the man
smirk
ed as
though
struck with immediate insight as to Nick’s identity.

Nick ignored the man. He didn’t know him. How could he? He hadn’t live
d
during the 1940’s.

The next song, “I Gotta Fee
ling” by the Black Eyed Peas bang
ed through the speakers,
keeping up the vitality all the way through successive cuts such as “Sexy Back,”
by Justin Timberlake and
“Only Girl (in the world)” by Rihanna, and by then, Nick felt so good
that
he
craved closer contact
.
(
A
t this point, an
ything beyond 12-inches from Nina
felt too far away
, and
he wanted to slow things down.
)

M
ore than anything,
he wanted to
feel her in his arms, wanted to move
in sync with her, wanted to look into her eyes and see his future.
He
pu
ll
ed
up his favorite pop ballad
, a tune
he hadn’t listened to in over a decade
, Mariah Carey’s song, “Till the End of Time.”
He vowed to play that song only after finding a woman he could imagine marrying.

As the keyboards beg
a
n
a
nd Mariah
sang about
cozying up to her loved one
, Nina broke apart from him for a moment and looked at him with uncertainty. “Did I choose that song? Or did you?”

“
I did. It’s my dream, remember?”

“I can’t believe that you like this song.
”
She swept into his arms. “
It’s one of my all-time favorites.”

As Nick wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her toward him, he felt the deeper connection that he’d so desperately needed. H
e held her softly at first
, but
having her in his grasp made him want
her
even
closer, so he
clutch
ed her with more feeling,
and
her h
air brushed against his face. “Why do you
feel so
… right?
” 

The familiarity of
that comment
reminded him of the instances where he’d used similar phrases to so many other women.
Only this time,
he trusted that statement more than any other he’d made.
Still, his dupli
city with other women soured his
mood.
Given his track record, who could say whether he would also end up leaving Nina?
He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her. Although he knew he couldn’t find a better woman to spend his life with, Nick had no relationship history to speak of, and he felt ill-equipped to ev
en pretend what Nina might need, let alone whether or not he could give it to her.

He backed away from her.

Mariah’s song ended, but n
othing replaced it. Th
e
entire hall became silent. Never
theless,
the dancers around them
seemed oblivious to
this fact. They continued
dancing as if the music continued unabated.

“What’s wrong?” Nina asked. “What happened to our song?”

Our song
. Nick couldn’t overlook the meaning behind those two words.
Nina deserved better than a
man who had mistreated
so many
women
.
And he didn’t want to
make the same mistake with her
. He wouldn’t allow it to happen.

For a seco
nd, he thought about leaving
. She deserved better than him. She deserved someone who remained at her side without hesitation. But at the same time, something hidden deep inside him urged him to show
them both
that he could look beyond his past and become the man he’d always hoped to be
come
: supportive, thoughtfu
l, understanding, honest, loyal, and loving.

She made him want to
try. And this newfound
desire to investigate an untapped
aspect
of his personality encouraged him to try
something
new.
It made him want
to express
the passion he felt for her.
He grabbed her hand without any indication
of
what he planned to do and headed in
another direction.

“Whoa.” Almost getting dragged along with him, she caught up to him. “Okay, caveman. Where are we rushing off to?”

Just outside of another dancing group, Nick swung Nina into the circle, spinning her like a top then slid up next to her, pressing her close.
He looked into her eyes, a naughty smile making his teeth shine.
“Salsa!”

“You
know
how to
sals
a
?”

“
No, b
ut something tells me that I
won’t make a fool of myself
.”
He took one of her palm
s and
placed his free hand on her back
. He notched an eyebrow. “Follow my lead.”

“Si, senor.”

He
took three steps forward, moving only his hips, not his upper body.
  “You know Spanish?”

“Conozco un poco.”

“You know a little, huh?”
He took three steps back before twirling
her. “Wait, I can’t speak it at all.” He slowed his movements, puzzle
d by that new development. “So
how did I know what you said?”

Nina came to a stop. “Follow your lead, huh?
Do you say that and
then
just abandon all of your girlfriends?”

He returned to her and resumed dancing
in a diagonal pattern
. “I don’t have any girlfriends.”

“But you’ve had girlfriends.”

“I’ve had…intimate relationships.”

“Translation: plenty of sexual partners, but never a girlfriend.” She made this statement without judgment.

He
w
hir
led her before
taking her back into the next dance movement.
He expected to be on the defensive
by her comment
, but he didn’t feel
under attack. “Are you applying for
the
girlfriend
vacancy?”

“
What’s in it for me?
The occasional Happy Meal?”

“Not occasional. My ladies are treated to weekly visits to Mickey D’s. And Happy Meals? Please! Give me a little credit. You’re worth a Big Mac – at the very least.”

“Big spender. What if I wanted a McChicken?”

“Listen to you: acting like you already received girlfriend status. Are you even qualified? Do you have any references?”

“Qualifications? References?
Is this an interview?”

“You think you passed my screening process and already skipped
ahead
to the interview? You
’
re
pretty
arrogant, aren’t you?”

“
I prefer to call it confidence
.”

“What makes you think t
hat you’d be a quality girlfriend?”

“And what does a ‘quality girlfriend’ mean in your book? You’ve never had a girlfriend. I could be the biggest drama queen and command you around like my little pet, and you wouldn’t know the difference. You’d see my beauty and my intelligence and my sense of humor, and think nothing of—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Beauty is subjective.”

“But you’re attracted to me
.
I’ve seen the way you look into my eyes
.”

“Really? And how is that?”

“Leering at me. Checking out my assets.”

“
Assets, huh? Well,
I do require a 50% down payment if you’re still thinking of applying. If, and that’s a big if, I accept you into my life, the other 50% would be expected
at the end of
that first month.”

“So you need a dowry?”

“I
tend to think of
it as an investment
–
to ensure that you don’t run off with another man.” Up until that remark, Nick had been having a heck of a time, but after saying those words, he realized the truth behind it. Not that he wanted money, but that he’d never had a girlfriend because he feared that she’d leave him. That realization humbled him.

“You’re not threatened by my
inquisitive nature, aren’t
you? Some men find that difficult to
handle
.”

“Not at all,” he said,
his spirits
returning to their fun banter. “In fact, it’s expected.
I mean, y
ou’ll be supporting me, after all.”

“No wonder you’ve never had a girlfriend. You have strict measures to abide by. You expect me to be faithful
and
the primary breadwinner? That sounds like a lot for any woman to give up. How do I know if I’m getting a good deal?”

“You laugh at my jokes.”

“
Only sometimes but go on
.”

“I’m supportive.”

“In what way? Beyond splurging on a box of Chicken McNuggets.”

“I’ve never heard you sing a note. But I just know that you’re one hell of a singer.
”

Doubt clouded her face. “You’re just saying that.”

“Have I lied to you? No. I’ve been honest. About everything. So how do I know
you have talent
? It’s in the way you look at situations. You’re always looking for some deeper meaning
beneath the obvious. You’re not satisfied with the term ‘acceptable.’ For things you care about, you give it your all until you’re satisfied that you can’t do any better. That’s exactly how I look at my art.”

Nina looked suspicious.
“How do you know all that?”

“I don’t know. I just do.
It’s
like
how
I know Spanish and salsa dancing, even though I’ve never studied the language or
taken
salsa
lessons.
The bottom line is that
I
believe in you.”

With her head tipped to the side, Nina
seemed to concentrate
on what he’d said until she glanced around them. They stood outside the circle of salsa dancers. “I had no idea we’d stopped dancing.”