Page 45 of Slow Burn
"You're not eating." Maddie's remark interrupted my slow count to ten. "Not hungry?"
Oh, I was hungry all right. Just not for the food in front of me. "Just waiting for the inquisition to begin." I kept my tone light, hoping she wouldn't take my phrasing the wrong way.
One corner of her mouth lifted. "Hmm, or could it be that you're patiently waiting to ask whatever it is you want to ask?"
Loading my fork with chicken, my gaze flicked to hers. "Maybe."
Instead of speaking, Maddie went in for a few more bites. "This is really good," she said with a little sigh. "If I weren't such a terrible cook, I'd ask for the recipe." She reached for her water and lifted the glass to her mouth, awarding me with the most brilliant smile before taking a small sip.
After returning the glass to the coaster, she pushed her almost empty plate aside, then leaned forward slightly, those eyes of hers sparkling. "You ready?"
No, I most certainly wasn't. But I couldn't say that. Leaning back in my seat, I swiped my palms down my thighs. "Ask away."
Maddie's eyes flitted to my neck. My stomach turned over on itself. I'd talk to her about whatever the hell she wanted, just not the fire. Never that. Under the table, my leg started bouncing on the spot. The need to jump up and hide so fucking strong.
But then her gentle stare met mine and within the space of a breath, my frayed nerves started to settle
"Why Clearwater Bay?" Her voice was quiet and curious.
Giving her an evasive answer would've been so damn easy, but I found that wasn't the first thing I wanted to do. I pushed my plate to the side and rested my elbows on the table.
"I needed solitude. A place to heal without everyone—as well-meaning as they were—looking over my shoulder." The urge to stop talking was so strong but I shoved it away. "I shut down and I needed to find myself again."
My heart was beating too fast and too loud. It felt as if a million insects ran over my skin, I barely suppressed the shiver. I hadn't told her anything and yet it was the most I'd told anyone.
She leaned in as close as the table would allow. "And? Have you?" Her words were soft, the expression in her eyes gentle as they roamed over my face.
"I'm getting there." I heard the conviction in my voice. Felt the truth of it in the marrow of my bones. "My turn?"
She swallowed. "If you must."
I didn't need to think about it, I've had the question bouncing around in my head for the better part for two days. "Why were you upset the other day?"
Shifting her focus to a spot on the table, she pressed her lips into a thin line. It hadn't been my intention to put her on the spot like that, there simply was this burning need inside of me to know what or who had made her cry.
But I didn't want that information at any cost to her. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," I reassured.
She was quiet and unmoving for so long; I wasn't entirely sure whether she heard me. Just as I opened my mouth to repeat what I'd said, she spoke, "For as long as I can remember, I wanted to dance. It's a part of me as much as the organs that keep me alive." Her tone sounded as heartbroken as the expression on her face had been when she'd come home in tears.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she lifted her golden gaze to mine. What I saw made my heart hurt. "I was sad because someone told me following my dreams, doing what I love, is nothing more than a silly notion."
By the way her cheeks turned pink, I got the impression that she shared more than she'd intended. It still wasn't enough. As angry as I had been at the world, violence had never entered my mind.
But seeing the look in Maddie's eyes, remembering her tear-stained face; I wanted to find this asshole and force him or her to take back those hurtful words. My body vibrated with an intense need to protect her from people like that. People who thought nothing of stepping on someone else's dream. Idiots who tried to snuff out the lights of people who shone brighter than them.
I had a feeling it was this need that pushed the words from my tongue before I had time to check myself. "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard. If it's what you want to do, you should do it. With the way you dance, you should be up on a stage somewhere."
Maddie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "How would you know?"
I shifted uncomfortably. Scrubbing a hand over the back of my neck, I searched for the right words to say. The ones that didn't make me sound like a complete creeper, even if it was true. "I've seen you on the beach in the mornings."
"You've been watching me?" It wasn't an accusation. I saw it in the soft way her eyes danced over my face.
Refusing to look away, I confessed, "I have. It happened by pure accident when I came outside one morning. The way you moved—" I shook my head, still remembering the feeling. "—touched something right here." My fingers came up and tapped against my chest.
Those eyes of her roamed over my face like they couldn't settle on one spot. Without thinking, I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. When she sucked in a sharp breath, I quickly released her again. "Maddie, I'm sorry if knowing that makes you uncomfortable. The thing is…"
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I drew in a steadying breath. "Your dancing is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
