Page 83 of Something Rad
I burst out in laughter, shaking my head. “I can’t stand you.”
“Good to know,” he says, shimmying closer to me. “Let’s make everyone in here think the opposite so we can go home.”
My laughter fades as I stare up at him, knowing he’s right. Robbie got me to the dance. I’m here, a place I would never be. Robbie’s here, with a girl he’d never be with. We’ve got the school on the edge of their seats when it comes to this charade. Might as well knock them all the way off.
“Fine,” I say, nudging closer to Robbie and grabbing two fistfuls of his leather jacket.
He glances down between us, his brows raising. He opens his mouth, seemingly about to ask me something, but I don’t give him the chance, pushing off of him and spinning around. The chorus kicks in, and I think to myself,Screw it.
I throw my head forward, bending at the waist then immediately snapping straight again, sending my hair flying as I move my head in a circular motion. I sway my hips back and forth, running my fingers back through my hair, stealing a glance up at Robbie from under my eyelashes. His jaw is slack, and he seems to be frozen in place for a full second before his body resets, his fist pumping into the air and a huge smile landing on his face. I move closer to him, and he matches me step for step. I throw my hands in the air, headbanging to the beat of the music. Robbie’s teeth sink into his bottom lip as he starts his air guitar solo once again. I laugh at the absurdity of what’s happening right now, turning my back to Robbie and bringing a hand to my waist as I sway my hips back and forth. I circle my other hand in the air in a tornado sort of motion that I like to think resembles a hurricane, closing my eyes and allowing myself to act like I’m dancing alone in my bedroom.Nobody else is here. I let my head fall back. And it thumps lightly against something.Wait.Not something...
Someone.
It’s Robbie’s chest.
My eyes snap open.
I can feel the heat of him behind me. If I were to straighten and take half a step back, my body would be fully flush with his. I tilt my head back slightly further, the side of Robbie’s face coming into view. His eyes are closed. He seems focused, his brow furrowed as he mouths the words to the song. It brings an unexpected grin to my face. Suddenly, as if he could feel me looking at him, Robbie’s eyes open.
Double dark chocolate in this light.
I’m not sure what to think of that.
He doesn’t give me a chance to think much of anything, his lips pulling into a smirk. He reaches up grabbing my hand that’s currently in the air, giving it one gentle squeeze before releasing it, letting his hand slide down. His grip glides slowly over my wrist, then continues further, dragging down the entire length of my arm. He reaches the sensitive skin at the side of my torso, sending a shiver through me as he reaches my waist, digging his fingers in there and guiding my hips from side to side.
I don’t know what’s happening, but I know it has to be a damn convincing performance. I keep my eyes mostly closed, not allowing myself to break the illusion. If I open my eyes, this moment becomes everybody’s, and I’m not ready for that.
I know my acting won’t be nearly as believable if I allow myself to think there’s actually an audience to this show.No, I keep my eyes closed. I focus on the music, on keeping our movements in sync. I focus on Robbie's hands on me and the odd sensation it’s sending throughout my body. I lean my head back further, focusing on deciphering the spicy, woodsy, scent with the slightest hint of sweetness rolling off of him and positively invading my senses.
We stay this way through most of a verse, both of our bodies beginning to glisten with sweat and our breathing becoming labored, until Robbie reaches for my hand again and spins me away from him. We each continue to sway and step in front of each other, freestyling to the rhythm with shameless grins on our faces. Robbie reaches out to spin me again, and I realize how lost in the music I’ve gotten when the song changes the moment I crash into his chest.
Forever Youngby Alphaville begins flowing through the speakers, making time slow drastically down. I open my eyes, becoming aware of my two hands laying flat against Robbie’s chest and just how rapidly I’m breathing all at once. I force myself to tear my eyes away from the leather jacket in front of me, glancing around the dance floor.
People are equally filtering on and off. Couples take their places, hands finding hips and encircling necks as the slow dance begins. I swallow against the newly present dryness in my throat as I realize just about every person that just got off the dance floor is looking directly at Robbie and me.
“We can skip this song,” I mutter. I move to leave the dance floor, but a hand shoots out, landing on my hip and stopping me in place.
“Cooper.”
I blink hard, slowly turning my head up to look at Robbie. His lips roll into his mouth, his eyes dark. “Yes?” I ask.
“Let’s finish strong,” he says.
My lips part, and I start to shake my head. “But, what–”
Robbie silences me, taking each of my hands in his and guiding them up and around his neck. Once they’re securely in place, Robbie brings his hands down, resting them on my hips.
“I don’t know how– I’ve never slow danced,” I confess.
Robbie’s eyes stay on our feet as he starts stepping side to side, guiding me to follow his lead.
“If you’re capable of whatever it was you just did, I promise you can do this,” he says.
I nod, staring down at our feet as well and forcing past the lump in my throat.
After a few seconds, we find an easy pace and rhythm. Our heads both raise at the same time, our eyes meeting. My first reaction is to look away,but to where?It’s either looking at Robbie or being forced to meet the hundreds of eyes currently burning into us. I’m reminded of the feeling of us all being magnets again, except, this time, I’m drawn to all of them instead. Robbie's unreadable eyes still glued to my face, I risk a casual glance around us, swiveling my head from side to side.
My stomach instantly drops to my feet. It’s like we’re the star exhibit at the zoo, everyone caging us in around the perimeter of the dance floor, eyes trained on us like they’re waiting for us to do our next trick. I catch most of the people dancing around us even stealing glances over their dance partner’s shoulder. I try not to let my reaction show on my face, but I can feel the pink working its way into my cheeks.How can it not?
