The guy at the mic picked me and one other woman to come up, and the fire dancers shuffled to one side of the stage, as the Kahool dancers came back out. The gourd drum started, and the men around me chanted as they started moving their hands and body in explosive bursts of energy. At the end of each movement, they would shout,‘Hah!’all in sync. The woman and I watched for a few beats and then joined in. I found the precise movements coupled with the flow of the dance and thehahas the punctuation point to each major movement to be strangely energizing. There wasn’t a lot of hip shaking. It was just one series of flowing movements after another, ending in a powerful push that we used both hands, feet, body, and voice for. Like we were pushing out all our frustrations, or bad energy, and then using our next hand movements to scoop up the good energy. It was seriously addicting.
When the dance ended, after the applause died down, I noticed Mesmer was waiting for me beside the stage. He walked me back to my seat, and I thanked him with a smile. The regular island dancing was cuing up now, and I grabbed Montblanc’s hand to get him to dance with me. I still felt electrified by the previous dance.
What really cracked me up was Mesmer and Draven.
“Are they...dancing together?”
I giggled. “Yep.”
Montblanc watched them for a few more seconds. “Surprisingly, your bodyguard is an excellent dancer. Gargoyles are not usually so light on their feet.”
I shook my head. “Mesmer is a constant surprise to me. I think he practices Aikido. He’s really quite graceful.”
Draven spun Mesmer out and then reeled him back in again. I giggled because Mesmer had to duck to do it. They stayed close to where Montblanc and I were dancing, but I didn’t mind this so much. Free entertainment.
Montblanc looked at me. “This really wasn’t the date you were hoping for, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
He looked like he wanted to say something more, but the man on the mic was thanking everyone for coming, and people were starting to leave.
We said goodbye to the guys and headed for Montblanc’s sports car.
It was quiet for a bit until Montblanc started laughing. And then once he started, he couldn’t seem to stop. He had to pull over to the side of the road.
I smiled at him. “What are you guffawing over?”
He laid his head back against the seat rest, still smirking to himself. “Take your pick. How uncomfortable Master Leto looked crashing your date. How Mesmer looked like he’d rather have spikes shoved under his fingernails than sit at the table with us. Or the dance at the end, where Draven twirled Mesmer around like Mesmer was a prima ballerina. And Mesmer’s hands as he twirled out?”
He mimicked Mesmer's hand movements and started cracking up again, and I laughed with him. “I’m so glad they didn’t ruin your night. I was worried that I was stacking up to be a terrible date.”
Montblanc shook his head. “I’m a really laid back person. I don’t let stuff like that bother me.” He turned his head to me, the back of it still resting against his headrest. “I’m really glad you went out with me. This was fun.”
I blushed. I could feel how much he meant what he said. That he truly enjoyed being around me, and that he wasn’t just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear. “Thank you.”
I decided to be brutally honest. “Actually, this is my first real date. I tried dating when I lived in Manhattan, but...non-paranormals...they feel chaotic to me. It actually hurt being around them. I tried once, and it ended in disaster. Like, literal disaster. We got in a car wreck when I asked him to take me home.”
He winced. “I’m sorry about that, but I’m so honored to be your first real date.”
In for a penny...“It also means I’ve never kissed anyone before.”
He looked dumfounded. “Wait, really!”
I nodded my head. “It wasn’t even a temptation, trust me.”
Montblanc’s eyes were golden as he gazed back at me. Then he got out of the car, came around to my side, and plucked me out too. He sat me on the bonnet of his car and kissed my socks off. Metaphorically.
At first he started off sweet and slow, like little nibbles on my lips, and then the kissing grew deeper and more charged with electricity. I swear I was starting to give off sparks.
Holy moley, could Montblanckiss! He was going to make some lucky girl very, very happy some day.
Montblanc and I broke apart as a motorcycle screeched to a stop next to us, kicking up dirt and itty bitty pebbles that pinged off of Montblanc’s glorious car. “Whoa,” I said, looking at Montblanc in a daze. “You’reawesomeat that!” I mean, I didn’t know for sure, but that had seemed to be one amazing kiss! That it wasn’t with Draven made my insides twinge, but I steadily ignored that.
He gave me a partly shy, partly smirking grin, kissed the tip of my nose, and said, “I had a lot of fun tonight.” Then he moved in close and whispered in my ear. “I wish you and Draven all the happiness in the world. If he breaks your heart, come find me.” He pulled back enough to see my eyes, nodded once at my questioning gaze, and then hugged me. “I mean it.”
I clasped his hands. “Thank you. I had fun, too.” I kissed his cheek, and he helped me get settled on the motorcycle behind a silent Draven, got my helmet on, helped me strap my purse around my middle, and waved us off as Draven peeled away, showering Montblanc’s car with pebbles again.
“Are you guys going out again?” Draven’s voice in my helmet shocked me so much that I jumped and almost fell off the bike. He laughed at my antics, but encouraged my arms around him to grip tighter so I didn’t fall. “There’s a mic and receiver in your helmet. It’s connected to mine. You can just talk normally and I’ll hear you.”
