By Chance In Oxford

11. Athena

 Lorenzo stood from the table and walked around to look down to me. He knelt to the ground and grabbed my hand saying, "Get up love, let's dance." Hesitant I rose from the chair and allowed him to guide me to the open space between the table and record player. "Uhm, I don't know about this, I'm not much of a dancer.", he laughed as he unveiled a record and placed it on the player. "Someone as stunning as you and you've never had a dance, what are you scared I'll step on your toes.", I was shaking like a leaf, nervous as if I had been dropped off and left on another planet. "No, I'm not scared you'll step on my toes it's just no one has ever asked to dance with me, I just don't really know how.", my heart sank, I felt embarrassed. He reached his hand toward me as Love me tender by Norah Jones began to sing from the record player, he bowed down and said, "May I have this dance?". I got closer to him as he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. He placed my hand in his and the other on his shoulder. "How did you know I liked Norah Jones? This song played at my parents' wedding and they would always play it throughout the apartment." He replied, "I didn't know it was your favorite, Ophelia used to sing me to sleep with this as a kid, whenever I was down, upset, worried, this song soothed me instantly." I didn't truly notice it until further into the dance that I could get significantly closer to him. He rested his face on my shoulder, nestling his face into my neck, it sent chills down my spine. I reached up to slowly and softly scratched the back of his head, feeling the tingling of his soft hair touching my finger tips. He swayed me back on forth whispering, "See this, all you need, you're a great dancer! Left, right, back and forth. Left, right, back, and forth." This is what I would pray for, something I could only dream about or watch in sitcoms or movies my cousins would always watch with me. "Relax your body, you're too tense. Let it go, move. Shall we attempt a spin perhaps?", he grabbed my hand and I twirled as strongly as I could watching the entire room around me turning as I felt I was slowly getting dizzy. This wasn't supposed to happen to people like me. But here I was swaying in the fading deep amber night, to a sweet songbird, in the most beautiful dress I had ever worn, with a man I think I was falling in love with. Was it too soon to say? Everything was set, like this was the universe telling me that they were rewarding me for all the distress it had caused me before this moment. For a second I felt the guardian of the planets had used its remote control to put our earth on pause, like everyone for a second had stopped, but us, I felt so alone with him in the most desirable of ways. The outdoor private rooftop room overlooked the sun kissed city and the breeze had caught onto my hair and my dress perfectly. I felt like this was the heaven I had waited for all along, all this time blaming myself for everything and getting hurt by everyone felt no more. The song had ended and he lifted his head from my shoulder. For what felt like an hour we stood face to face and looked into each other's souls, in silence, nothing but car horns, restaurant noises left, but mostly silence. I smiled hopefully giving him the hint that he had given me everything I had ever wanted from a moment and more. The smile was interrupted as I felt him lean closer to my face, the warmth of his body and slow breaths trailing onto my skin, he grabbed my cheek and I felt his lips gently touch mine as if he was scared I would crack like glass. I quickly felt sparks emerge like a piece of iron being scorched by hot coals, like a match scratching across a box. This was a fire I didn't mean to start, but one that I felt would take much more than water to put out. His hand traced from my cheek, down my neck, across my open shoulder, and down to my lower waist as he pulled me closer to him once more. I felt electric, like every time his skin met mine I was being charged with some sort of voltage. His skin was soft and warm, and I got goosebumps, chills, butterflies, everything. It was perfect. He pulled back and instantly looked regretful, "I'm so sorry, that was totally out of line, I didn't even ask, I don't know if you had ever kissed anyone before and I don't know if you wanted me t-" He finished his sentence with his lips sealed on mine as I pulled him in by the collar of his tux and kissed him again. He was in fact my first kiss, but I couldn't have imagined a better way to execute it than tonight. I locked eyes with him yet again as he gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and took my head into his chest kissing my forehead. "It was perfect, everything about that was perfect. It was something I never thought I would do, and certainly I did not think the night would go this way when I woke up this morning.", he shouted as if he had just won the lottery or seen someone fly down from the heavens. "I couldn't agree more. Thank you. That was my first kiss and I don't know what we are but you made me comfortable and I trusted you to lead me and you did.", I had said shyly like I really did not know what I was doing. He sighed, "Ahh Ms. Carter, the pleasure was all mine love. Truly. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable." Oh please LORENZO I was totally not comfortable, my knees felt like jello, I was heating up like a jar of pickles in the Georgia summer heat, I was not comfortable, I was dying, but gosh if real dying feels like than I have nothing to worry about when it is my turn to leave this earth someday. "So what do you say princess, how about I drive you home and we do this again, soon, as quickly as we can. I don't know what spell you have cast on me or how you do what you do but you're messing with me Athena, and I have to do something to seize the opportunity as it never comes." "Sounds lovely, you can take me back to my apartment if you want. I'm pretty star struck right now. I think it would be good for me to lie down.", I was still processing all of this. He laughed before covering me with his jacket and opening the door into the building for me before getting us into the car and telling his chauffeur where to take us. The entire ride mostly consisted of me asking him how he knew, my size, my interest, how I would see the dress. I know it took an incredible amount of work as I'm not the most public person but he wouldn't admit to it, just playing it off as if it was easy. I had fallen asleep on his shoulder before he carried me into the apartment and I woke up still in the dress he had bought me tucked into my bed, doors locked, safe. A note set next to my bed reading Last night was incredible and if I could spend every night like that I would, I didn't want to do anything or invade your space or make you think I was taking advantage but I also didn't want to wake you up as I knew you had a long day and needed to rest so I apologize for you having to sleep in the dress. We need to do this again. You. me. Tonight 6pm. "Evangeline is watching" a ride on the boat, a surprise waiting for you perhaps? Text me. :) I squealed and flopped back onto the bed, this couldn't be real, there was no way this was all happening. Gosh it was going to be a good day.