Page 98 of Holiday Wedding
His smile falls away. “I’m a good actor,” he says with downcast eyes. His morose expression makes my heart pinch. “Maybe I should give Caleb a run for his money. I could be the one to win an Academy Award.”
I don’t often try to change the mood of people around me. I believe we are each responsible for our own emotions. It’s not my job to make someone else happy. But seeing Teddy like this feels wrong. It’s like looking at a lightbulb that’s been turned off. I have an urge to flick his switch. To make him shine again.
“You know what? I would like to dance, after all.”
His head whips my way, surprise opening his mouth. “Oh, okay.” He scrambles to his feet and stretches his hand out to me. When my fingers touch his and he folds his warm palm into mine, I feel that jolt of electricity again. It travels up my arm and burrows into my chest. I wonder if Teddy feels it too, because his body jerks and he sends me a perplexed look, his arched eyebrows drawing downward.
Hand in hand, we wind our way onto the dance floor. A slow song plays, the melody filled with longing. Across from me, Gwen rests her head on Caleb’s chest as they sway together. He rubs small circles on her back, the gesture so tender that there’s a sudden stinging in the back of my throat and a yearning for someone to caress me that way, which is silly. I’m an independent woman. I don’t need a relationship to make my life complete.
Teddy hesitantly puts his hands on my waist, his touch feather-light. I place my palms on his broad shoulders. We’re awkward, pulling closer until my chest brushes his and then we both jump back.
Just this one dance.I steel myself to get it over with, uncomfortable with how my fingers tingle from where they contact him.
I can already picture leaving after this, going home to my half-packed apartment on the Upper East Side and reading through the stack of medical journals by my bedside until I fall asleep alone in my king-sized bed. My idea of a perfect evening.
The song ends, and music with a techno beat starts up. I drop my hands from Teddy, about to excuse myself, when he flashes that devilish smile at me again. He dances, his movements fast, almost frantic, but he’s not doing the usual moves for a song like this. Instead, he breaks out every cliché ’80s dance you can think of. He does the running man, the cabbage patch, the sprinkler, grinning at me the entire time. It’s so unexpected and goofy and funny that I laugh, delighted. That makes him laugh too. He reaches for me and spins me around, twirling together.
“Your turn,” he calls once we stop turning. He points at my feet and gives me a look of challenge.
“What? Like a dance off?” I shout over the music, which has gotten louder as more wedding guests flood the dance floor, eager to join in.
“Exactly.” He sways his hips, with his hands over his head in a way that draws his shirt tight across his chest. My eyes dip, taking in the ripple of his muscles and trailing down to his narrow waist.
Teddy steps into my space and leans down. He says right into my ear, “Unless you’re scared.” He dances away, light on his feet.
Oh. That was thewrongthing to say to me. My competitive streak flares to life. I pride myself on being the best at anything I do—otherwise I don’t bother doing it. My eyes narrow at him, which elicits another of his carefree laughs.
“Uh, no. Have I made her mad?” he taunts. “Helen is fired up.”
I lift my head and straighten my spine. “Step back.” I flick my hand at him, urging him away.
He lifts his hands in mock surrender. “I can’t wait to see this.” His smile stretches wider. I don’t miss the long look he sends over my body, his eyes trailing me from head to toe like he’s really seeing me for the first time.
Dramatically, I throw my arms out. What Teddy doesn’t know is that I’ve taken dance classes my whole life, beginning at three years old. Mostly I’ve done ballet, but I also had jazz, hip-hop, and tap lessons. I close my eyes, calling back the ability to find the rhythm in the music, a little worried because I haven’t done this type of dance in a long time. It comes to me instantly. The beat flows through my body like it’s a physical thing, like it’s in my bloodstream.It spreads to each limb, and they come to life. I lift my arms high over my head and let my hips move, undulating almost like a belly dancer.
Teddy freezes, his eyes wide.
A tiny smirk touches my lips. That was exactly the reaction I was going for. Slowly, I spin in a circle, my arms dropping to slide along the back of my head, my neck, my shoulders, the sides of my body, and finally to my hips, which have stayed in constant motion. Teddy tracks each brush of my fingertips against my body like he can’t tear his gaze away. I suppress a chuckle.
Men.
So predictable.
My eyes close. I focus on my body and the way it responds to the music. Soon I’m enjoying dancing for myself, not even thinking about the man across from me. I’d forgotten this sensation of freedom, of giving myself up to movement. Living only in this moment where I become one with the notes and the lyrics.
A favorite song comes on, and I sing along with it, whispering the words under my breath, humming the tune. I’m energized, lit up from the inside, like the power of the universe is at my fingertips, like I can sense the secret magnetic vibrations that run through the world.
I’m so lost in the moment that I let out a squeak when strong hands grab my waist and pull me close. Teddy’s there, holding me to him tightly, letting his hips bump up against mine. His gaze runs admiringly over my face and then down at my body. My cheeks heat. No one’s looked at me like this in a while, years even.
It’s…nice.
Maybe those medical journals can wait. I wrap my arms around Teddy, and together we dance, every touch electric. Teddy does a break dance move, spinning on his knees. He points to my feet, and I tap dance, my shoes moving so fast they blur. I’m having so much fun that I barely notice the crowd that grows around us. They form a circle and chant our names. The wedding photographer takes a couple of shots, which makes me laugh, thinking how inadvertently I’ve ended up in Gwen’s wedding album.
Teddy pulls me close for a dramatic tango, his cheek against mine as hewhisks me back and forth over the dance floor. The crowd parts when we swing dance, Teddy twirling me again and again. I lose track of time. Minutes, hours, fly by and my inhibitions with them. Normally I’d be put off by a near-stranger dancing with me, but not with him. I sink down to my knees before him, bounce once on my heels, and then rise up with his hands on my arms guiding me. He drops to one knee, spins on the ground, and then springs up, grinning. I throw my head back and let out a laugh, so big it makes my eyes water. Sweat beads on my forehead. I’m panting from the exertion of dancing harder than ever before.
After many songs have passed, Teddy grips my shoulder. “Let’s get a drink.” He plucks at his shirt, which clings to him in an alluring way. “I’m overheated.”
The crowd groans its disappointment when we walk away. Teddy raises his hand and waves to them like he’s exiting from a televised dance competition.Dancing with the Starswould be appropriate, I guess, since Caleb’s here.
