AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well,” she grins, “I’m most comfortable when I’m naked, however, that’s not good for cooking. I think I’ll torture you with being naked under my robe. Sounds like a good plan to me.”
I growl, “Me too. Pile your hair up as well. That will be a big help later.”
“Ooh. Promises, promises, Goose.”
She nearly skips away like a school age girl. She thinks she knows what she’s getting into. She has no idea.
Up until now we’ve been playing a pretty great game. It’s been tit for tat. Even thinking that in my head right now I laugh, but it’s true. I’ve made her dinner; she’s done the same for me. We’ve made love more times than I can count. She supports me and I support her. I want tonight to be about more than that. I told herI choose her. Instead of telling her I choose her, I want to show her.
Dylan descends the stairs about ten minutes later and I’ve transformed the kitchen. A fire is roaring low in the fireplace. I’ve found a Michael Bublé station on music streaming, which is the perfect playlist for the light snowfall that’s begun outside. I’ve set up a string of candles just under the overhead lights, which I’ve turned down only leaving it light enough to cook.
I’ve set careful places at the short end of the counter lined with linen napkins and a glass of wine ready and waiting for her lips. Her gentle gait reaches the landing and slows. She’s taking everything in behind me. I close the oven door and lay down the mitt, pretending I don’t know she’s there. “What did you do?” she asks.
“Created a special meal for a special woman. Park it on the right. The pork has about another seven minutes, as does the asparagus. Enjoy your wine. If it’s too sweet, we can get a different one.”
“This is too much, Eli. I said no fuss.”
“Hush. Sit. Drink. Let’s talk, if you’re okay with that.”
“Okay… Is there a topic list?” she asks.
“Tell me about your favorite birthday. When was it?”
“Tomorrow.” She grins. “Aside from that I think it was my eleventh birthday. I got my first pair of pointe shoes that year and a couple of private lessons to go with it. She was the prettiest dancer I’d ever seen. She was a prima ballerina in the company where I wanted to work, until I discovered the dancing I do now. I think that’s where I find my parents’ decline.”
“They wanted you to stick with ballet and you wanted contemporary. Is that what this is all about or something else?”
“See, to them, I’m not going to make a company so why bother trying. They don’t understand that dancing is who I am, not what I do. Jesus, I must sound like a broken record.”
“No. Sometimes you need to say a thing multiple times before the other person will buy it. You don’t have to sell me on it. I’ve seen you in action. I’ve seen your heart. When was the last time they came to a performance?” Dylan settles back in her chair. If she has to think about it, it’s been a long damn time. “How do you feel about asking them again?”
“How did you learn to do that?” she asks.
“Do what?”
“Not tell people what to do. You realize it’s a useful skill, right?”
“Dylan, I spend all day, every day, telling people what I need done or think they should do.”
“That’s not what I mean. Ever since we met, you’ve given me choices. I feel like even if I chose to walk away from all this, you’d let me.”
This conversation took a different turn than I expected, but it feels like a sidetrack that needed to happen. I know her biggest touchpoint, not that I didn’t before. She knows my biggest fear without me saying it. “If I couldn’t make you happy, I’d want you to go. The only thing I’d ask is that you’d tell me first, instead of disappearing.” Just then the timer goes off on my phone. “Time to check the meat. I’ll be right back.”
The bite the air is giving me is what I need. Where I was out here in a jacket before, I don’t want one now. I want to feel the cold. I’ve only ever wanted honesty from her. We’ve never lied. We’ve never called something more than it was. It wasn’t so much about how she said what she said. It waswhatshe said. I wasn’t expecting that.
I would walk away without a fight. I would. I don’t want her to feel trapped. That would kill her spirit, which would hurt me more than being without her. As I close the grill and collect myself before finding the door, she’s there in the windowwatching. When I approach, she doesn’t move except to open the door.
The gentle touch of her hand slides the door and a bit of snow blows in around her face. My hand lays over hers and closes it behind us. I’m pinned between her stare and the cold at my back. “You do, you know,” she whispers.
“What?”
“Make me happy. I’ve never done things the way we’re doing them, Eli. Sometimes I handle it better than others. I wasn’t trying to tell you something or ruin the dinner. I was only making an observation. That’s it. I like that I can be who I am with you and have it be okay. What I was more trying to say is that’s not just a me thing. That’s an everyone thing and I think it’s awesome. No wonder people are drawn to you.”
“It’s definitely a you thing. You make me happy. I choose you, remember?”
Dylan nods slowly. “Yes, I remember.”
“I’m starving. Let’s eat. You’re not running on coffee and chocolate while I’m around.”
