Page 72 of The Genius
I laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I love their music.”
“I’ll find something better for you.” I put on The Fuckheads, one of our most famous bands, and hard tones began to play.
“Turn it off.” Willow shouted over the music. “I can’t dance to that.”
“Well then, you’ll have to find something else – I’m not playing the fucking Butterflies in my apartment. What if the neighbors heard it? They might think I’m suicidal and take it as a cry for help or something.”
“Fine, how about this number then?” Willow found something else that’d I never heard before.
“What is this?”
“It’s a remake of pre-war music. What do you think?”
My foot began bobbing up and down to the rhythm. “Not bad. I like the singer.”
Willow got up from the sofa, took Tristan’s hand, and began dancing. Storm and I stared at them because we’d never seen dancing like that.
My eyes went to Hunter, who I was sure would attack Tristan for dancing that close to his sister, but Hunter just took another sip of his whiskey.
“Is that how people dance in the Motherlands now?” I asked Shelly, who had the weed inhaler in her mouth again.
“Yes. Well, not many are as good as Willow, but she’s a professional dancer so it’s not fair to compare her to others.” She handed the weed to me. I took it because I could use the help in relaxing.
“We’re definitelynotgoing to any bars,” I said to Hunter, knowing full well that any Nman who saw Willow move the way she did would lose his fucking mind.
Storm stood up, leaned his head back, and emptied his whiskey. “Time to dance, Shelly,” he said and she took his hand.
Shelly was laughing and telling him that she couldn’t dance, but he didn’t care and soon the two of them were imitating Willow and Tristan.
I hated it!
Storm was too close to Shelly. He whispered in her ear and they were laughing together. His darker skin contrasted with her creamy skin, which was too pale for summer and a testament to how much time she spent working inside. My eyes were burning holes in his head from my chair, but Storm didn’t seem to notice.
Hunter brought me a beer that I drank in two large gulps. I had promised Shelly that I wouldn’t be possessive, but it was easier said than done when she was swinging her hips and smiling at another man.
It didn’t get any better when Hunter asked Shelly to dance next. Being a star athlete playing for the best soccer team in the Northlands, he had enough money to buy her anything she wanted. At least, Hunter kept a bit more distance than Storm had. Still, I kept my eyes on them. According to Storm, his wife Gennie had been all over Hunter, and one would have to be blind not to acknowledge that Hunter was handsome. I kept looking at Shelly trying to read her. Was she attracted to Hunter?
Willow distracted my attention when she came and pulled me up from the chair. “Your turn,” she said with a wide smile and began dancing around me like a fairy, light on her feet. In comparison, I resembled a big oak, swaying a little from side to side.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like to dance?” Willow asked me and took my hands and moved closer.
My eyes were on Shelly, who was laughing with Hunter.
When Willow placed her hands around my waist and swayed from side to side with me, I stiffened and almost didn’t breathe. “It’s okay, Marco. Hunter isn’t going to be angry. This is dancing and my brother understands that.”
I still kept my hands away from her body. My heart was racing from the unusual closeness to Willow and the fear that anytime now someone would accuse me of overstepping my boundaries.
Willow was beautiful with her long brown hair and pretty features, but I wasn’t attracted to her the way I was to Shelly.
“I love your curls, Marco.”
When she raised her hands to feel my hair, I leaned away, trying to create more distance between us.
Willow pouted. “Why can’t I touch your curls?”
“I need something to drink,” I said and left her to dance with Hunter and Shelly.
