Zoe stuck around for a while, chatting up Reese mostly, then went on to mingle some more. The dance floor was beginning to fill. For some reason, it surprised her that people were so willing to dance when there wasn’t a drop of alcohol in them. Parties normally had liquid courage to get the tentative folks to loosen their inhibitions. But this was a safe space for those in recovery or who had long-term sobriety under their belts, like Kerrie.
She swayed in her chair lightly as they watched the people on the dance floor. The air was heavy with music, laughter, and the electricity of celebration.
At the next song change, Matty stood, holding out her hand. A soft melody began to play.
“Dance with me.”
Reese’s eyes widened. She wasn’t the best dancer. “I don’t know...”
“Come on, it’s a slow one. We just have to move back and forth.”
Tentatively, she took the offered hand, allowing Matty to pull her to her feet, then to the dance floor. The tune playing above was romantic and filled with the smooth voices of Chrissie Hynde and k.d. lang singing “Me and Mrs. Jones.”
Despite not having danced with anyone since probably prom, she didn’t have any issues taking position. One hand settled on Matty’s shoulder, and the other into her warm, strong hand. Matty’s other hand went to her waist; the weight of it was both grounding and tantalizing.
They began to sway to the music, and Reese was struck by how intimate slow dancing really was. Their bodies close. Their hands joined. The soft shift of hips to the beat. There was nowhere to look but into Matty’s eyes, nowhere to hide from the pull of her. The restof the party seemed to fall away until it felt like they were the only two people left beneath the lights. Reese could have stayed in that moment forever.
“I’m really glad you came with me tonight.”
“Me too. This has been a great night.”
Matty’s hand pressed a little firmer on her lower back. Reese couldn’t tell if it was an invitation to come closer or if she was simply reading too much into it, but the touch sent a ripple through her body all the same, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
“Are you cold?” Matty asked, noticing.
“A little,” she lied. How could she admit it had nothing to do with the cool air and everything to do with her?
“Come here.” Matty’s arms drew her in until there was no space left between them. The feel of her was dizzying, soft and solid all at the same time. The press of their breasts, the strength of her body, and the security of her arms wrapping around Reese like she was something worth holding onto. Reese went willingly, tucking herself against her and pressing her face into the curve of Matty’s neck, breathing in the same warm scent she had first discovered in that tiny bathroom. Woody and smoky and something deeper that she couldn’t pinpoint.
A soft sigh slipped from her lips before she could stop it. Everything about the moment felt right. Too right. Like some part of her had been reaching for this long before she ever let herself experience it.
They stayed in the embrace for two full songs. Songs that weren’t slow, but neither of them moved to part. The whole world had faded to the side. It was just the two of them for a full nine minutes until another couple bumped into them, breaking the spell.
They pulled back with sheepish grins, then returned to the table where Kenny was giving them a curious look. He was definitely a nosy man.
***
The ride home was charged with energy. Reese might as well have been floating. The entire evening had gone perfectly. She hadn’t realized just how much she needed it. A night without the pressures of fixing her home. Without clients or paperwork. Just afew hours with Matty, celebrating a couple who were so much in love it was evident just watching them.
When they were just a few blocks from her house, the energy turned nervous. The end of a first real date. What did they do? Hug it out? Thank her for a great evening, then slip out of the truck? Grab her shirt and pull her close?
By the time Matty pulled into the driveway, Reese was about to buzz right out of her seat.
Matty turned the truck off, nodding her head to the door. “Let me walk you to the door. I’ll watch out for the sidewalk this time.”
Reese laughed. “I’ll try to catch you if you miss again.”
The air was even cooler now without the lights and party-goers’ heat. It was just them, a clear moon, and the glow from the streetlight. She had forgotten to turn the porch light on.
“Does the porch light work?”
“Surprisingly. I just forgot to turn it on,” she answered as they walked up the steps. Her heels clicked on the concrete.
They stopped at the door, facing each other. There was enough light to make out Matty’s soft, handsome face. “Well, um, thank you for going with me tonight. I really liked spending time with you.”
“Yeah, same. It was so good to get out of the house and The Church.”
“Totally.”
