Page 27 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
That’s a good question. What am I afraid of? And the self-sabotaging answers start pouring in.
“Where do I begin? Oh, right. Messing up the steps. Tripping and falling on my face. Making a fool of myself. All while ultimately embarrassing you in the process.”
Dominic kisses me, putting an abrupt end to my verbal deluge. My mind goes blank, and I melt against him, his taste tingling my senses as warmth spreads through my chest. It feels so good. A voice in the back of my head is telling me that this doesn’t have to end. I’m sure it will eventually, but until then, I should enjoy it.
I moan softly against his lips and he pulls back, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. Such a simple gesture, yet it’s enough to start my engines rumbling.
“You’ve got this, Phoebe. I know you do. I’ll be right here, watching and supporting you. Two left feet and all,” he adds with a wink.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. For you to see me fail,” I confess, lowering my gaze.
“It’s a dance class, darling, not a contest. We’re just having fun.”
Emboldened by his words and eager to see this through, I remind myself that I hold a Master of Science in Financial Economics from Columbia University; a stumble in a Hula dance will not be my downfall.
With a little bit of courage, I join the other students in the hut while the guests gather around to watch us. To my relief, Mery and Sage position themselves in front of us, and Mery gives me a smile over her bare shoulder.
“Just follow along if you forget any of the steps, ladies,” she says, though she keeps looking at me. “We’ll be right here with you.”
Dominic’s gaze softens as the music starts and we begin our dance. To my surprise, the steps come naturally to me, themovements flowing through my arms and legs as I follow the story of the song.
We become one, in smooth unison as we follow Mery and Sage’s cues. My heart grows and throbs with happiness as I realize I don’t even need to keep track of Mery as I dance. I’m nailing every step and gesture with newfound confidence.
When the song is over, I breathe a sigh of relief, giddy as we bow and the people clap for our performance. My heart warms as I look at Dominic, a huge smile dancing on his lips, pride shining in his deep, brown eyes.
This man is proud of me.
On our wayback to the suite, Dominic and I talk about the dance class and everything I learned from Mery and Sage about Hula’s history and her ancestors. The sun casts vibrant shades of red and orange over the island as it begins to set, white clouds stretching like tufts of cotton across the sky. To the east, a lazy half-moon rises, joined by a shy twinkle from Venus.
“There’s a lot they didn’t cover in history class in school, I’ll tell you that much,” I say. “There’s so much we never learned about this island, about its people. How is that even possible? All we ever hear about Hawaii is that it’s a great honeymoon destination. Hell, it’s why I picked it.”
“My brother and I agree that our education system is in dire need of reform,” Dominic says with a heavy sigh. “The curriculum is severely outdated, among other things. I’m grateful our parents had the means and resources to send usabroad when we were kids, giving us a chance to see the world for ourselves.”
“Me, too. Yet there are millions of kids out there who don’t have the same opportunities,” I say. “There are so many people who never get to visit Hawaii, let alone Europe or Asia.”
“You’re never going to fix the world’s problems, Phoebe. There’s no point in worrying about them."
"That sounds a tad cynical."
"It’s realistic,” he says. “Life is hard enough as it is. Sure, our lives may appear easy to some, but nobody walks in our shoes except us. Therefore, why worry about problems you can’t solve when you have so much on your plate already?”
He’s got a point, and it’s a fair one, to be honest.
“I guess it’s easier to be a bleeding heart for the sake of appearances,” I mutter.
“A habit of the upper echelon, unfortunately,” he chuckles. He puts his arm around my shoulders, keeping me close as we walk up the stony alleyway leading to the resort’s private beach. “Cry glittery tears about the rest of the world to seem like we’re better than we actually are.”
“Again, I’d say that’s a cynical point of view,” I reply with a cool grin.
“It would be if I didn’t attend one of your sister’s many Save the Whales charity galas,” he says. “All fluff and champagne where socialites and other elites don their best suits and fancy gowns while they write a check and pretend they’re doing some good in the world. In the meantime, their businesses are the same ones decimating the whale population across the globe.”
“Ouch.”
Again, he’s right. I’ve said the same thing, more than once. It’s one of the reasons I stopped attending Crystal’s charity events. That and the fact that she’s told me on several occasions that I should lose a few pounds before coming to the next one. She didn’t like how I looked in the event’s official photos.
“What’s on your mind?” Dominic asks, noticing the heavy silence that has fallen between us. I give him a soft smile.
“Just looking back and realizing how much crap I tolerated because I wanted to be in the room. It’s ridiculous.”
