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“Honey, we need to go do our first dance.” Her new husband says with a gentle hand on her back.
“Oh well, excuse me, but I’m really happy to see you here, Will.” Her smile is much less strained than when she arrived at our table and so is Will’s, which makes me hope he can heal.
“Happy to be here.” Will says as he moves his arm from the back of my chair to around my shoulders and squeezes me to his side.
The couple’s first dance almost makes me tear up again, but I steel myself because I don’t want to deal with anymore of Will’s ire. I can’t help that I’m such a softy for weddings and love.
“Well, now that we got that over with, we can go home.” Will says as the happy couple leaves the dance floor.
“Okay.” I agree, but inside I’m a little disappointed that the night is ending.
Will grabs my hand to lead me back towards the parking lot. We are skirting around the dance floor when the song comes on. I stop, tugging Will to a stop with me. He looks back at me with a confused face.
“It’s our song.” I proclaim as I start dragging him to the dance floor. The opening of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey blasts out of the speakers.
“Oh, no.” He comes to a dead stop, though I continue to tug on his arm.
“Oh, yes.” I say as he gives in and I drag him into the crowd. I sing the lyrics as they begin, being extra dramatic for Will’s sake. He watches me with a small smile.
“This next line is yours.” I shout and to my surprise, Will goes along with it, belting out the lyrics with everyone else.
So, we sing and dance and laugh to our song and when the next song comes on, we continue to dance. And the next. And the next. Until we can barely breathe for our smiles and laughter. When I break to grab a glass of water, I find myself awkwardly next to the bride.
“I could have never gotten him out on that dance floor. Will wasn’t a dancer for me, but it just shows what the right person can do. You two are good together. I’m glad to see that Will is happy again.” She gives me a smile and I can see the regret in her eyes for what she did to Will. She may have found her happy ending, but she isn’t proud of how she got there.
I resist saying that we aren’t together because I’m not sure what Will is going for with bringing me as a plus one, so I just nod, smile, and take another sip of my water. We might not be together, but she is right that Will’s happiness is safe with me. I give her one last smile before slipping back to the dance floor.
I arrive just in time for the music to slow down. I stand awkwardly in front of Will until he smiles and grabs my waist, pulling me close as he rests his arms around me. I wrap my arms around his neck and return his smile.
“I’m glad I came to this wedding.” He leans down to whisper, his lips brushing my ear and causing a bolt of heat to shoot through me.
“Yeah, not as awful as you thought?” I tilt my head back to look into his eyes and am happy to see they don’t look so hurt anymore.
“Yeah. Samantha may have wrecked me when she cheated on me and left me for this douche, but they are happy together. It simultaneously restores a little of my faith in relationships while reminding me of why I have so little.” He laughs lightly at the irony.
“I’m glad you found a little closure.” I hope he can’t see the hope in my eyes, but I can’t help but think that if Will wasn’t so down on love, he would be my dream guy.
“I’m glad you agreed to be my date.” His arms tighten around my waist, pulling me even closer.
“I believe I agreed to be your moral support, not date.” I point out playfully.
“Excuse me.” He jokes, pulling back a little.
“It is a very important distinction. A date hangs quietly on your arm with a robotic smile. Moral support drags you onto a dance floor and forces you to have a good time.” I pull one of my hands down to gesture around the dance floor that I had conned him into staying on for an hour.
“I always have a good time with you, Hannah. It’s typical.” His words are soft and genuine. They send my heart rate into a sprint.
“That is the first time you have used that word and it hasn’t made me want to slap you.” I laugh, hoping I can play off my butterflies.
“Did it make you want to do anything else?” He asks, and his eyes are alight with a rakish glint.
“What did you have in mind?” My words are a bit breathy and I’m not even ashamed because all of me hangs on his answer.
“Follow me.”
Chapter 15
Taking me by the hand, he pulls me through the crowd until we are on the edge of the cliff, where a wood staircase leads down to the beach. The moon hangs in the dark sky and reflects off the dark water of the ocean. Will doesn’t stop walking until we stand on the edge of the tide.
