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Her attention was diverted by a clatter in the corner, or maybe she just wanted to change the subject. ‘Looks as if there’s going to be singing.’ A young man was fussing over the setting up of a microphone and the positioning of speakers.
When the bouzouki began to play, there was little prospect of any more conversation. Lucas pulled his chair around next to hers to watch the dancing, and the waiter delivered two small cups of wickedly strong espresso with tall glasses of water.
She looked so beautiful, and the beat of the music was insistent. Lucas could do nothing else. He got to his feet, taking Thea’s hand, and asked her to dance. Then she was in his arms in the cramped space, bumping into tables and avoiding the feet of other dancers. Bliss. Pure, unadulterated bliss.
* * *
Thea blamed it on the red shoes. Or the music, or the sudden release from day-to-day cares that sometimes seemed to be all there was to life. At the moment, she wasn’t ready to shoulder any of the blame herself.
Just for tonight no one could refuse to dance when they were wearing red shoes, and no one could sit down again after the first dance, even if it did last for a good ten minutes, the singers clearly reluctant to allow the crush of dancers to rest. It might be more like an assault course than a dance floor, but Lucas was there. The rhythm of his body still remembered after all these years. His smell. The way he pulled her in, his hand resting lightly on her waist but somehow managing to insinuate that it might move at any moment and then she’d be lost.
Finally the singer took a break and made for the bar. As an impromptu karaoke session got started, Lucas paid the bill and walked her to the car, opening the passenger door and helping her in, even though she could manage perfectly well for herself.
He switched the radio on, and music came from four directions. Late-night songs in the car. They’d used to wind the windows down and bawl the words out together. Now it was a little different.
Suddenly the car screeched to a halt. The opening bars of a familiar song were playing and Lucas turned the volume up. Then he was at the passenger door and beckoning her out of her seat.
‘Lucas, no.’ People passing by on the wide pavement were already looking their way.
‘Tell me again. You could try making it a little more convincing this time.’
She couldn’t. Not tonight. When she got out of the car she found herself in his arms. And now that she wasn’t concentrating on not bumping into anyone else, there was only Lucas.
Her hand moved to his shoulder, her fingers delighting in the smooth ripple of movement. He’d filled out since they’d danced all night together, but all of it was muscle. And he hadn’t lost any of the supple rhythm, which had delighted her so then and which made it impossible for her to refuse him now.
‘People are looking.’ She rested her head against his chest.
‘What people?’
‘I don’t know.’ They were somewhere else, on an uneventful Saturday evening, staring as two people danced together on the street. As far away from them as if they were in another dimension.
‘Since we’re alone…can you still dip?’
‘I can dip. Further than you can, any day. You’re not as young as you were.’
She felt a chuckle reverberate through his chest. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘You’re just too afraid to find out.’
That was the way it had always been with her and Lucas. He would dare something, and she’d dare him back, an inch further. It could be pleasure or work, but the same rules always applied. He’d take her to the very edge, but he’d be there with her, protecting her.
‘Ready?’ His lips brushed her ear and she shivered.
‘Are you?’
She knew just when the beat of the song would allow for a long, low dip. He bent her backwards, holding her tight. As she felt her balance change, one leg curled around his, and her body moved tight against his. It was no surprise to find that he was just as aroused as she was.
‘That all you can manage?’
In answer, he tipped her back another couple of inches, and she felt his lips brush against her neck. Then she was back straight again, pressed helplessly against him, caught in Lucas and the music.
‘Good to see you’re still up for making a spectacle of yourself,’ he whispered into her ear, and suddenly the world jolted back into sharp focus. Passers-by were slowing to look, and one couple had even stopped briefly and added a couple of dance steps of their own to the mix. People were smiling.
She nestled in close to Lucas, safe in his arms. Somehow the looks of these strangers weren’t so bad with him there to protect her. The song on the radio segued into another old favourite and she stayed right where she was.
‘You want to come back to mine?’
‘I have to. My other clothes are still in Ava’s room.’ Folded neatly on a chair, beckoning her back into reality.
