“Such a shame that we’re just going to have to take this off.” I run my fingers along his tie.
“We have a while before we get to that part.” He laughs and pushes my bag into the apartment with his foot. “Come on, we have reservations.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow. “Alright.”
I was kind of hoping we would go straight to the bedroom, but I can wait a little longer. Lawson certainly does look sexy in his suit. Downright delicious. He’ll look better when he takes it off, and my dress is in a crumpled heap on his bedroom floor.
We hold hands until we make it to the elevator, and I beg for another kiss before it reaches the bottom floor. I’ve missed having his hands on my skin. It feels so good.
“Alright, come along now.” Lawson steps out of the elevator before the doors close on us again.
“If they close, we have to go back to your apartment.” I lean against him as we make our way through the lobby.
“We’ll make it back there. Don’t worry.” He nods.
Lawson holds the door for me when we leave his apartment building and opens my door when we make it to his car. He’s certainly gentlemanly. Not bad for a guy who had a permanent scowl on his face the night we met.
He takes me to a fancy restaurant. I feel horribly underdressed, but he makes me feel beautiful. I fill him in on everything I haven’t told him over the phone. There really isn’t much. I carried most of the conversations, or dominated them, I suppose. We seem to be on equal ground at the restaurant, sharing stories, trading playful jabs, and it feels like the sexual tension is building by the second.
“Are we going back to your apartment now?” I look over at him while we wait for his vehicle to be brought to the curb by valet.
“Not yet. I have more in store for you tonight than just dinner.” He chuckles and takes his keys from the valet.
“Well, I was kind of hoping you did…” I give him a playful nudge.
“I don’t mean that.” He opens the door and motions for me to sit.
Yes, I have a one-track mind right now. I can’t help it. He introduced me to a world I never expected to experience outside of the fantasies in my head. Now I just want to live there. I appreciate the effort, I really do, but I don’t need it. I’m putty in his hands, and he doesn’t have to impress me to get me out of this dress. He doesn’t even have to ask.
“Where are we going now?” I look over at him once he is in the car.
“Well, I believe we talked about dancing last weekend.” He winks at me.
“I told you I had never really tried it.” My eyes get wide. “Seriously, the closest I’ve come is shuffling around on the dance floor at school dances.”
“That’s why we’re going to take a class.” He leans forward and cranks up the car.
He’s serious. We joked about that, but I didn’t expect it to actually happen. Apparently he enjoyed it a lot when he was younger, before work and real life started to consume all of his time. It’s hard to imagine him dancing. I guess I won’t have to imagine it much longer.
He pulls the car to a stop in front of a studio. I glance at the sign and over at him.
“Ballet?” I laugh. “Not the kind of dancing I had in mind.”
“It’s a ballet studio, but that’s not we’re learning.” He turns off the car.
Lawson leads me into the studio, and I realize it isn’t a normal class. We have the floor to ourselves. It’s a private dance class. That’s better than tripping over my own two feet in front of strangers, but I don’t really want to do it in front of Lawson either.
“Okay, who’s ready to learn a little ballroom dancing?” The instructor is an overly happy, overly excited man who sashays his hips and waves his hands as he walks into the room.
“I’m a little rusty.” Lawson smiles and then motions to me. “She’s never tried it.”
“Well then, let’s start with the basics.” He stops in front of me and turns me toward Lawson. “Just follow his lead.”
“Okay…” I nervously look up at Lawson who looks like he’s enjoying this way too much.
I feel like a klutz as I try to learn some basic steps. Lawson isn’t rusty. He looks like a pro who should be teaching the class himself. He leads me through the American Waltz, and I do my best to follow along under the guidance of our teacher, who corrects me a few times while I stumble through it. Amazingly, after about thirty minutes, I seem to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing. We’re moving in slow motion, but it sticks when the pace picks up.
We’re dancing. Our bodies move in harmony. Lawson spins me. He pulls me close. I feel sexy. It isn't a dance that anyone from my generation would appreciate, but it’s fun. It’s fluid. It’s so fucking romantic my heart feels like it might explode in my chest. I wasn’t really serious when I said we should take a dance class, but by the time it’s over, I’m happy that we did it.