Page 46 of Tides and Tidings

Rhett his attention to the task at hand—making our drinks. He came back a moment later with our refills. “Here you go.” He placed my vodka cranberry in front of me and Charlie’s bourbon and Coke in front of him. “These are on the house. It was so good to see you again, Hannigan. And you are…”

I reached my hand out, “I’m Blythe.” I bumped my shoulder into Charlie’s chest. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for the drink!”

“Likewise,” Rhett turned his attention towards his high school friend. “You’ve got a beauty here. Better put a ring on it before she gets tired of waiting!” He teased.

Charlie offered up a small smile, “Thanks again for the drinks, dude. Appreciate it!”

How they were able to have a conversation over this music was beyond me.

Charlie and I get weird when someone mentions marriage. We both feel it’s a natural next step, but we’re hesitant with both of us coming from broken homes. Especially because if something goes wrong, it doesn’t hurt just us, Wren would be heartbroken.

We made our way back to the table we previously occupied but there was a couple making out at it. We stopped in our tracks—time to abort the mission.

We circled the bar four times and couldn’t find a spot to stand without being in the center of everything. Maybe my drinks were kicking in, or some old habits were bubbling up, but the confidence started to course through my veins.

“Charlie!” I yelled into his ear.

“Hm?”

“I wanna dance!” I admitted.

His eyes went wide. I don’t think I had ever seen him dance before. “I—um—uh –” he sputtered, “I don’t have rhythm.”

“Neither do I. We don’t know anyone here. We can make fools out of ourselves.” I reached for his hand and dragged him out onto the dancefloor. I wrapped one hand around his neck—which was substantially easier wearing heels—while my other hand held my almost empty cup. His right hand lightly grazed my hip. His touch zapped every nerve ending in my body. You would think that after being together for over a year, my body wouldn’t react this way at his slightest touch.

He wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me close to him, “Should I hold you like this?”

Our faces were inches apart and my heart rate sped up. No matter the situation, I am amazed that this man chose me out of all the other fish in the sea.

As Charlie stood there like a fence post, I swayed my hips to the beat. He had no idea what to do. Rock back and forth? Fist pump like the others? Stand there awkwardly?

“Just rock back and forth like this,” I grabbed his hips in my hands and moved him from side to side. “Can you do that?”

“I think so.”

We danced for a while. I’m unsure how long because I was lost in the music. There’s something calming about getting lost in a good rhythm. When I was younger and in dance class, that hour was the calmest of the week. Moving my body to get rid of stress was the best medicine.

“Bee?” Charlie pulled me in a bit closer.

I looked up at him.

“Want another drink?”

The music boomed and I felt it in my chest. “What?” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Charlie held up his empty cup and mouthed, “Refill”?

The logical part of my brain was fully intact. I’m not sure what happened, but I used to be a lightweight. I don’t drink much anymore, so this was a surprise. Tonight, I could manage my alcohol well—or the drinks weren’t that strong.

I shook my head, “I need some water.”

Responsible Blythe is still alive and well.

Charlie’s stubble brushed against my cheek as he leaned in, “Let’s leave. We can buy a bottle of water on our way to the next spot.”

“Alright y’all, we’re slowin’ it down with this one for all those love birds out there.”

A slow melody started and I twisted out of Charlie’s embrace to head for the door. He stayed put. There’s no way he wants to dance.