That Thing Between Eli & Gwen

“How am I doing?” She smirked at me.

“This is basic,” I replied, speeding my footwork with the music.

She never lost her footing or even stepped on my toes, she just followed perfectly. Spinning her out, her dress came up slightly before she came back in. “Still basic?”

Again we sped our moves, and it was like the music was following along with us as we kept going, spinning around the floor. I did notice she was a lot closer to me than she generally should have been, but neither of us was focused on that. I watched her, trying to see if she at any point couldn’t keep up, but her big brown eyes stayed focused on me, a small grin on her lips. She kept up with me in every way, even when I tilted her back unexpectedly. Her face was so close I almost lost my concentration.

She looks beautiful. Dear God, what am I thinking?

Finally, when the music slowly came to a stop, we did as well…to a welling round of applause.

Both of us glanced around to see the whole floor had been cleared, and now everyone stood on the outside, even Nathaniel and Stephanie.

“How do we escape?” she whispered, nodding to them.

“Just keep walking,” I replied, helping her off the dance floor.

We didn’t go back to the table, instead ending up walking until we were out the double doors and in the main hall of the hotel. Holding on to me, she stepped out of her shoes.

“Oh, thank God.” She sighed happily. “I have flats back in the dressing rooms. I’ll be right back.”

Why did I care? “I won’t be waiting.”

“Whatever,” she said, holding her dress up as she ran.

When I was alone, I took a deep breath. What was this? Why did I feel like this?

“You looked happy.”

I froze at her voice. I knew this day was going to come, but why now? “Hello, Hannah.”

I turned to the woman wearing the light pink gown. “You look nice.”

“Wow. Even now, you’re always the gentleman.” She smiled sadly. “And here I thought you were avoiding me.”

“No, sorry, I just don’t have anything to say to you. You should head back in. Your boyfriend, fiancé, or whatever, might get the wrong idea.”

“We aren’t together. We just came for appearance's sake,” she said as I was about to turn. “He still loves her, and I—”

“He still loves her?” Who gives a damn if he still loves her? He can’t have her… What am I thinking right now?

“Eli, Eli please hear me out. I—I think I made a mistake. No, I know I made a mistake.”

She made a mistake? Is she kidding me right now? There were a million things I’d figured she could say to me, just to spite me—that he was the better lover, the better man—and I would have preferred any of them to that reply.

“Your mistakes aren’t any of my business, Hannah.” I turned from her.

She held back my arm. “Eli, wait—”

“Is everything okay?” Gwen asked, coming close but keeping her eyes on Hannah.

Guinevere

My feet didn’t really hurt that badly, I just needed a moment away from Eli. He had been so close to me, closer than I had been to any man in what felt like forever. That, and the way his eyes stayed trained on me like I was the only person in the world…it was hard to even hear the music with how quickly my heart was beating against my chest. For some reason, I trusted him; even when he said he wouldn't wait, I knew he would still be there when I got back. I just wasn’t expecting her to be holding on to him, and for some reason the sight bothered me to no end. “Is everything okay?” I asked when I reached them.

Eli pulled her hand off him. “It’s fine. Did you get the shoes?”