Baewatch - Xavier Neal Page 0,16
to ask, “Dance with me?”
Dread swiftly settles into her stare.
“Did I ask for a dance or one of your kidneys?”
Brooklyn laughs off a bit of the abrupt dismay my suggestion brought on.
“Not much of a dancer?” My foot gently knocks into hers under the table. “Two perfect left feet?”
“You can be into feet all you want; just promise me you won’t propose with a toe ring.”
The comment causes more chuckles to bounce into the air, yet it takes every ounce of willpower I possess not to counter with “as long as she promises to say yes”.
Nope.
None of that.
One off the wall, inappropriate second date statement, is plenty.
Any more and I’m gonna have to seaweed wrap my own mouth shut.
I clear away the lingering urge to say the comeback and question, “Can you not dance?”
“Technically, I can-”
“Then let’s go.”
“I can, but I’m not always the greatest at it.”
My head cocks to the side waiting for a wave of information to wash over me.
Brooklyn nervously fidgets with her straw in the fishbowl, eyes focused on the melting ice rather than on me. There’s no reluctance to reach over and reconnect our fingers that have only been parted whenever we were pretend fishing. The action instantly relaxes her shoulders, and when she’s given a loving squeeze, her eyes relocate to mine revealing embarrassment.
Never wanting to be the reason she looks so unhappy or is so unhappy has me hastily backing down, “Babe, if you’re that uncomfortable with it, I won’t push you out into the water. We can keep our feet right here in the sand.” A small grunt of a laugh escapes. “Okay, maybe not right here since the sands over there, and if we’re not gonna dance – again totally fine – I at least want us to bury our feet like we did last night.”
Brooklyn’s glossed lips momentarily press together prior to her inquiring, “You’re seriously not gonna push me to do something I don’t wanna do?”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
My counter causes her brow to crease.
“Why would I ever force someone, especially someone I like, to do something that makes them miserable?” Indignation rises along the back of my neck. “I’m not that person. I’ll never be that person. I’ll never feel that that’s an alright person to be. People should get to do what makes them happy. What brings them pure joy. What connects them to their purpose or their passion or their pleasure. It’s no one’s, and I mean fucking no one’s, right to take that shit away from someone.”
Brooklyn’s entire demeanor seems to suddenly soften.
“It is your life, Brooklyn. I’m not here to fucking change it unless you want it to be changed, and even then, I’m only here to support the changes you choose.” My head slowly shakes. “Too many people waste too much time trying to control someone else’s actions or to change someone else’s mind instead of just enjoying their company for what it is.” I give her hand another warm squeeze and sigh, “We can dance together or not. I’m good either way as long as I get to keep seeing that smile and hearing your beautiful laugh.”
Her toes suddenly stroke the side of my foot. “And staring at my gorgeous feet.”
“Thought that went without saying.”
“Am I gonna have to invest in socks so that you can focus on other things?”
“I respect your choice to cover them up, however, can’t promise you won’t constantly be buying new pairs because the ones you just bought keep disappearing down the garbage disposal.” When Brooklyn starts to laugh again, I add, “Or given to my dog to destroy. He hates socks as much as I do.”
Her giggles continue, and I become even greedier about devouring them. “Is he into feet, too?”
“You mean other than just his own?”
More snickers.
More smiles.
More sounds I wish I could capture in a seashell and listen to forever.
After our chuckles finally subside, she confesses, “I have a medical condition involving the middle of my right ear. An abnormal growth happened inside, which causes tinnitus along with a slight balancing issue. My condition, thankfully, isn’t as severe as it is for the others in my family who have it. They’ve had to have everything from hearing aids to surgery. Regular meetings over the years with my ENT doctor continue to show that my hearing loss isn’t increasing but doesn’t mean that it necessarily won’t. That eventually wearing a device may stop being just a someday possibility and be a must.