“You know that song is about a hooker, right?” she asked with one arched eyebrow.
I frowned in thought before saying, “Actually, I think it’s about a man who’s fallen in love with a woman and is telling her she can forget about her dark past and just focus on their love.”
Her mouth parted slightly and she studied my face like she was just seeing it for the first time. A moment later, she cleared her throat and the cool mask she wore was back in place.
“Most people call me Roxy anyway,” she said in a soft voice and pulled me to start walking again.
I hoped I hadn’t accidentally offended her as she grew quiet again. But at least I had her name. A name that suited her perfectly and now I couldn’t see her as anyone else but beautiful Roxy. “Roxy, The Beautiful Woman Who Stole My Heart On the Dance Floor. But I suppose I could shorten it to just Roxy. Roxy and Sanders. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
I snuck a glance to find her shaking her head with a quiet smile. “You’re one of those painfully optimistic people, aren’t you?” she asked.
“I just know how fast life can change. I prefer to live in the moment.”
She went quiet again and I could almost see her digesting those words as her brow furrowed and lips pursed. “Life can change in an instant. We agree on that.” Her free hand fiddled with the edge of her jacket as we walked.
“My best friend deals with that by trying to control every aspect of his life,” I said. “I go the other route.”
“What do you mean?”
“I like adventures. Skydiving, bungee jumping, base jumping. Really anything that involves a waiver and a free fall.”
“Oh, okay. So you’re a crazy person.” She softened her jibe by poking me in the ribs.
“Nah. Just an adrenaline junky.”
It had always been like that. The moment the darkness started to creep in the edges of my mind, I pushed myself to some new limit to clear the fog. I had just been about to explain that many of my adventures were part of my job so I didn’t seem as flaky but she spoke up first.
“I think I’m more like your buddy,” she said.
“Ah, a control freak.” I kept my tone light so she knew I teased.
“I never thought about it like that,” she said. Again her voice got that airiness to it, like her thoughts were far away. “I guess, like you, I know things can be taken away without a moment’s notice, so it’s best to be prepared.”
Her words rang so true. My life had changed in a moment more than once and seeing her so guarded made me understand that she had experienced darkness too. Where I spun out, she held on tighter.
“It must be exhausting to try and prepare for every situation. Plus, where’s the fun in that?”
“You and I are very different people.” She said it with a forced smile that made me feel sad but I couldn’t identify why.
I struggled for what to say next. I wanted to learn everything about her but sensed the more I pushed, the more she’d clam up. As we walked, her head was on a swivel as she took in the tall buildings and shops of downtown Denver. Even this late in the evening the streets were still fairly crowded and the warm summer night held that magic of endless possibilities.
“Are you from a big city?” I asked her when she stopped to study a colorful mural painted on the side of a brick building.
She shook her head without taking her eyes off the street art.
“Medium sized?”
Finally, she turned to narrow her eyes at me.
“Small town?” I ventured again.
She hesitated to debate her answer, then said, “Small town. Am I gawking?”
Yes. And it was adorable. “Nah, just curious. You’re hard to get info out of, you know that?”
When she turned toward me, her brows were furrowed and she fidgeted with the cuffs of her leather jacket again.
“Sanders.” I didn’t like how she said my name with such finality. “I’m leaving in just a few hours. It would probably be better if we both understood that tonight can’t go past this.” She gestured to the city around us. “Let’s just keep things light, and no more significant details about our normal lives. Just be in this moment, like you said, okay?”
