Page 47 of Sol
Her nose wrinkled. “You look good, Trent. Verygood.”
And her eyes lit on mine like she wanted to saymore.
“Profesora!”
Gustavo, the Latin lover, and his friend Sergio, who was also in our class, walked over, their sleek shirts tucked into neat jeans. “Hello, Profesora Anderson. Hello, JamesDean!”
“Hello,guys.”
“And now you dance?” askedGustavo.
“I don’t dance,” I assured him, then glanced over at Dani. Her sudden withdrawal signaled to me that she was nervous about being seen with me in a public place. I tried to smooth over the situation. “I was out and saw her. I figured I should walk herhome.”
“I don’t need you to walk me home,” she muttered under herbreath.
But this explanation seemed to satisfy Sergio and Gustavo because they didn’t say anything else. Gustavo leaned toward us so he could be heard over the music. “You will be able to dance before you leave Spain. Likethis.”
With a very dignified pose, he did the same flamenco-type move that Dani did, only he clicked his heels to the rhythm of the band. Sergio clapped and then joined him. These Spaniards could dance without feeling like their manhood wasthreatened.
Me?
Nope. Noway.
After we watched them for a few minutes, Dani clapped and cheered. They gave us a couple of eager smiles, and then said, “Your turn,amigo.”
I shook myhead.
“Try it,” said Gustavo, but thankfully a group came up to Sergio and Gustavo—their friends—and with apologies, they saidgoodbye.
I gazed down at her. “I’ll still walk youhome.”
Dani spun to me. “I’m quite capable of taking care ofmyself.”
There was no way in hell I’d let her walk herself home. After spending time in the tea shop and then wandering around Granada, now it was dark. It had to be ten o’clock orlater.
“It’s not safe for women to walk in the dark by themselves. Anything could happen toyou.”
Her lips pressed together in a slight grimace, and she pulled at her ear. “I’ll forgive that statement, because you’re new. But Spain is one of the safest countries on the planet. Safer than the United States. You’ll see. Watch late at night. Grandmothers are out with little kids at eleven o’clock at night. Europe at night isn’t scary. There’s no personal violence. The only thing you have to worry about are pickpockets. It’s perfectly fine to be a woman walking all alone. I’ve done it all over the world, and I feel the safesthere.”
I didn’t know if I’d ever met a more delusional female. I stood in front of her, chest to chest. “No, it isn’tsafe.”
Her head shook softly. “I’m not gonna argue about it withyou.”
I reached for her hand, but she pulled it back. “Spain has had terrorist attacksrecently.”
“It had political ones for years and years. None of this isnew.”
“Anything can happen,Danika.”
She tapped her index finger to her lip. “I’ve been traveling by myself for years now. I know perfectly well how to take care ofmyself.”
“Don’t you get scared with all of thattravel?”
“I get scared staying still.” With a huff, she turned on herheel.
I followed her. We got closer and closer to her place. Her hand got closer and closer to mine. I could just reach out and hold it. “I’d still feel better if I could walk youhome.”
“You don’t haveto.”
