I just sighed. What else could I do?
When the champagne arrived William jovially raised his glass and toasted to friends. We all saluted and took a sip. As soon as the beige liquid touched my lips I was in love. It blossomed on my tongue and cheered as it slid down my throat.
Which would only end in drunkenness, followed by telling Denise to shove it.
I gingerly put my glass down without taking a second sip.
“Not good?” Denise asked harshly.
I would stay upbeat if it killed me! “Too good! Champagne is dangerous.”
Trudy laughed and swatted the table. “Right she is! Right she is! But hard to resist.”
William’s hand squeezed my thigh. I put my hand over his, turning to compliment him on the choice. The words died on my lips. Those eyes, pulling me in, offset by his jet black hair and striking face; I felt my skin flush and the room get hot. I forgot my surroundings. I could only focus on his remarkable features and the heat his hand applied to my leg. He winked and turned to regard his dad, who must have asked a question.
I looked around, startled, remembering my surroundings. I took a big, steadying breath as I met Trudy’s eyes. She was smiling at me wickedly. Tom was asking William about business, but I noticed he tried to slyly glimpse my face, too. Even Dennis had a mischievous look to his eyes as he looked back and forth between William and me.
Before I could meet the cobra’s scowl, I politely excused myself for the restroom, hoping Denise didn’t follow. I didn’t want that moment ruined by the thunderclouds of his mother.
I wandered to the upper level and found the restrooms right away. In movies this would be where I splashed my face with cold water. In movies, though, a make-up person would repair the damage. I settled for a wet cloth on the back of my neck.
The music started up again as I made my way back. The musicians were noticeably better. The music choice wasn’t. If I wasn’t mistaken, they were playing a Michael Buble song. And while I did actually like his songs, I had a hard time believing that the song fit in a swanky jazz club. Although, this was the first I had experienced a swanky jazz club, so what did I know?
As I crouched to sit, all the men stood up. I froze. Mutiny?
William pulled my chair out for me. Oh.
“My generation isn’t as used to gentlemen,” I explained with a sheepish smile.
Tom chuckled. “Especially not in L.A. I imagine. Texans are still brought up right.”
He was dead wrong in some respects, but I didn’t say anything. Unfortunately, my face was about as deceptive as a fat man hiding behind a sapling.
“You don’t agree?” he asked with a smile.
“Sorry, sir. But not in the slightest. Don’t get me wrong—William and his circle of friends are stand up gentlemen. I have never been treated more like a lady than when with them. But...as far as Texas goes, or at least Austin...well, let’s just say that William is not the norm.”
“There certainly aren’t as many ladies in California, either,” Denise said in a cutting tone.
Instead of wilting, I could feel my spine straighten. I was getting tired of this bullshit. She was getting down-right nasty now. I half wanted to say something to defend myself, but noticed that every member of the party was looking at her negatively. Tom looked cross, Trudy disapproving and Dennis was slightly shaking his head.
William abruptly stood up, his hand bringing me with him gently. He was fuming.
“Would you care to dance, Jess?” he asked through a tight jaw.
“Of course,” I said softly, allowing him to lead me.
When he stopped on the dance floor, he brought me around to stand in front of him, then paused, eyes closed. His nostrils flared with the deep breaths he was taking. When his eyes opened, they were apologetic. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.”
He shook his head slightly, about to say something else, but hesitated. He gently hugged me close and picked up the beat, leading me around the dance floor as if we had been born to it. He was a strong leader even for the inexperienced, but with me, I could add flourishes and enrich the dance and make a sensation out of our movements.
He swirled me, he dipped me, and led me through what must've looked like complicated steps. I knew his movements and body so well, and was so fond of looking into his liquid eyes, that I lost myself to the rhythm and our combined efforts. It was a sweet dream. Or a welcomed spell.
That deep place inside me opened up and begged to be noticed. It was like a homely woman baking cookies deep in my chest The warmth and tenderness radiated through me, unfurling like tendrils of smoke until it filled up each corner of my being.
Instead of shrinking from it in fear, this time I let it overwhelm me, relishing in it.
As I slid my hand up his shoulder and lightly caressed the back of his neck, he came out of his musical induced trance and regarded the difference. In another beat he recognized it. A languid smile curled his lips as his face filled with such compassionate devotion it choked me up. His expression seemed to say: I waited for you. I knew you would come.
It was like I stumbled into a tea party set for two. A tea party he had been waiting patiently at, daring me to find the path myself. Now that I made it, I wondered why it took me so long to get here.
I opened my mouth to tell him how I felt, when he smiled bigger and slowly shook his head. Later.
He threw me into a spin. A Frank Sinatra song came on. We changed our pace to match it and William started taking me through some intricate dance steps. Not only did I keep up with everything he threw at me, but I was still able to add the detail that men always forgot in their broad strokes. We made a great team and the entire dance floor knew it. Most couples cleared to the sides to allow us more room to maneuver. And maneuver we did. I was smiling like a fool. He was smug.
At the end of the song he dipped me slowly, leaning dangerously close. I wanted him to kiss me intensely. I was lost in his arms, my desperation to stay like this playing on my tear ducts. As he brought me up he stayed within inches of my face and smiled sweetly.
“Down girl,” he whispered. He looked at me a second longer, his soft eyes betraying what his mouth hadn’t.
I felt like I was going crazy. This wanting. The needing. The emotions I was feeling were spiraling out of control, but I wasn’t afraid. For the first time, I wasn’t uneasy. And I wasn’t horny, exactly, either. It was something else. Something I didn’t quite understand and couldn’t interpret, but that I wanted to explore all the same. It was uncharted territory, and it excited me.
I was snapped out of my reverie with Denise saying, “He’s my son Tom. I have to protect my family.”
“Denise, he isn’t a boy. He isn’t your baby anymore. Let him decide for himself.”
“He’s all I have left!” she said tearfully.
“Denise, you are being selfish. You are going to force him to choose, and judging by what I’ve seen, I am not so sure it will be you. Let the boy live. She is a good girl. Better than you have picked for him. Let him live, honey.”
William asked me if I wanted to sit down, a little more loudly than needed. It occurred to me he was eavesdropping as well. Denise tried to look busy and was quickly bustled away by Trudy.
William sat down stone faced and had a sip of his Champagne. I did likewise. Tom leaned back in his chair and an awkward silence hung over the table. I noticed then that William had his hand on the back of my chair in an open display of territory. This was new.
Dennis, being no idiot, asked me if I wanted to dance. I accepted gratefully, wanting to leave father and son to clear the air.
Dennis was light footed and capable, but the dancing was a little boring after William’s. I wanted to see what Tom had in him. Chances were he was dragged to more dance classes then he would care to admit.
Back at the table everyone was there and things seemed a little calmer. I gave a speculative look at Trudy, and she barely nodded. Relieved I sat down and smiled at everyone. “Dennis knows a thing or two," I said with a smile.
Dennis’s face turned red. Trudy laughed at him and shook her head. “Jessica, you certainly know yer stuff!”
Was that an accent coming out in Trudy? Hmmm.
“It’s the partner,” I said demurely.
“Horse pucky.” She waved away my words. “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. Only backwards and in high heels!”
Everyone laughed. She continued, looking between William and I, “And you two were better! Pure grace on that dance floor! You looked like an angle, honey.” She winked at me, then looked at William. "And you a prince!"
“Dennis,” William said with a smirk, "take that drink away from Trudy, will ya? She’s starting to talk fairy tales.”
“William,” his mother said formally. Though her eyes were still glassy, she seemed composed. “Will you do your mother the honor of a dance?”
William gave her a hard look before squeezing my thigh and standing. It was about to go down, and everyone knew it. The whole evening would bottom line at the conversation currently headed out to the dance floor.
Oh God! I got an intense pang of fear over losing him. Having him so close, realizing how important he was, and now the thought of losing him; I had to quickly blink back tears.
“When we Davies men see what we want,” Tom said, leaning across the table toward me, “we grab on and won’t let go regardless of the obstacles.”
I gave a sheepish smile, held back the tears, and hoped he was right. When the chair moved again, it was William sitting down, dance over, face a straight mask. I swallowed back fear, waiting for the verdict.
He looked at his dad, revealing nothing of his emotions. Something passed between the two of them that I couldn’t decipher. Next, he looked at me. He must have seen the worry because it was here that his countenance melted. He slightly grinned in victory and brought his hand to my check to move away the wisps of hair.
I nearly cried. I doubted that Denise was with me, but it seemed she wouldn't openly be against me. Until I did something stupid.
I’d take it. For now, if it kept William in my life, I was happy with the outcome. Ecstatic, actually. It was one more hurdle out of the way. Not permanently, maybe, but we were progressing forward. I was so supremely happy I felt like I was floating.
Then, when Tom finally spun me around the dance floor I was floating. Pair the lessons with years of experience and apparently a first place trophy in couples swing, and you had someone I fought to keep up with.
Later he chalked this up to: When we Davies men learn something, we take it to its end!
Chapter Seven
On the way back to the car, William put his arm around my shoulders. He leaned down and kissed me. “The secret’s out. I guess we don’t need to hide anything now.”
“We still need to hide it from work.”
“Ah yes. I forgot about that little snag.”
He handed me into the car, giving me a soft kiss as he did so. As he was making his way around, I thought about how he looked when he was dancing earlier. His skin was glowing from the exertion. His muscles rippled through his snug shirt. He had an exuberant smile and a livelihood in his gait. He was absolutely irresistible. I felt like I was the luckiest woman in the world to be going home with him. Luckier than a princess because I didn’t have a country to run.
As he started the car, he looked over at me quickly to make sure I was ready. When he saw my dreamy expression he did a double take and looked closer. I had every belief that the hunger and desire were showing plainly on my face. I was also aware that I wasn’t doing anything to hide the deeper feeling and was now infusing my whole body. I wanted to open up to him, explore the feeling in body and soul, and see if he felt the same. What’s more, I wanted to do it right now.
He took me to the ledge that he first professed his feelings for me. I knew deep in my bones that this was the place he had chosen to profess his love as well, he was just waiting for me to be ready to hear it. Ready to say it back.
He got two blankets from the trunk. A thick one to spread out on the harsh dirt and a lighter one that I assumed was to cover us when we were no longer completely clothed. He got out a bottle of wine and two glasses. All of this he set up while I looked out over the horizon, giving him a minute to get everything arranged just so.
“Jessica,” he said as he moved up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. We heard a car in the background somewhere. It stopped up the hill a ways.
William chuckled. “Someone else must have the same idea.”
He hugged me closely and bowed his head to mine as we looked out over the valley. The stars were large and bright, no city lights to distract their brilliance. Below them, a sea of blackness.
“Do you want to sit down?” he asked.
I nodded and let him lead me to the blanket. He looked at me intently, opening his mouth to speak, but courage failed him and he leaned in to kiss me instead. I kissed him back eagerly, ready for whatever was next. Ready to admit how I felt.
I let my hands roam. I got to the edge of his shirt and slid palms onto bare skin. He let his hands roam and feel me, as well, one staying on my right breast, then moving to my back to hug me closer.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” It was a gruff voice behind us.
I jumped and gasped. William hugged me fiercely and turned his body to see who it was.
“Oh no,” I whimpered.
Leaned against the car was a ghost from my not-so-distant past. He was scruffy and unkempt. His hair was unwashed and oily. His once good looks were tattered. What’s worse, he held a gun in his left hand that he was currently pointing at us.
“Oh yes, darlin’.” Dusty seethed. “You thought I were locked up fer good, didn’ya? My old man posted bail.” He started to slowly walk toward us. “See, he thought I was innocent. He thought that slut everyone thought was so danged purty played me for a fool. Done got me thrown in jail. Just so happens, I agree wit’him. But you did look ‘amess. Ain’t no one believed you wanted it. That you like it rough. So I reckon they’re gonna throw me in jail jus’ a’soon as there’s a trial.”