“Why did you go to Felicity?” I interrupted before she got too deep into her bullshit.
She put a hand on my chest. “Be civil, Theo. People will think we’re arguing.”
“Violet.” I sighed. She was one of those people who drained the life out of you. “I’m not going to argue. I’m going to warn you. Keep our relationship professional, because if you cross the line again, I’ll buy out your contract and show you the door.”
Taking her hand off my chest, I drifted through the crowd and up the stairs into the main house.
Going down the corridor, I noticed the oversized family painting of us hung on the wall as if they were some royal family. Each time I saw it, I stopped. It had been painted about a year after I’d come to live here. Lorelai sat on a chair in the center, Walter on her lap, Arty at her side, while I stood next to Arthur behind the chair. The perfect family.
“Excuse me, sir.” I turned to one of the servers holding up a tray of caviar. “Felicity—I mean Ms. Harper said if you are looking for her, she’s in the basement kitchen.”
“Thank you.” I headed toward the spiral staircase in the back. Following the music, I heard laughter. Stopping on the last step, I watched her dance to some alternative folk-rock music. Her shoes were off, and she had a bottle of beer in her hand and a fat grin on her face. She danced with a few of the other servers who were down there relaxing. She linked arms, and they spun around, laughing so hard there were tears.
All of a sudden, she pushed them both away. Clearing the space around her, she placed her hands on her hips and started clog dancing. Her feet and legs moved so quickly, I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t the only one. A stream of whistles of and claps poured in as she jumped from side to side, spun around, and kicked her foot back and forth. She was amazing. I could have watched her for days.
“Sir!” the cook said, and everyone jumped up, cutting off the music.
“Don’t stop on my account, please,” I said. However, none of them seemed to be sure. I was a Darcy after all.
Felicity marched up to me, kissed me on the lips, and then put a beer in my hands as she pulled me out with her.
“There’s no way in hell I can keep up with you,” I said.
“It’s not the point. The point is to have fun,” she said, beating her head to the music. “Start with a small head bob and believe me, your body will follow.”
“Felicity—”
“Come on.”
So I did it. God, I couldn’t describe how lame I must have looked, but I bobbed my head to the music and then we were jumping around. After that, I have no idea what we were doing, but it felt like dancing so I rolled with it. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I had to be Theodore Darcy from Los Angeles but just Theo Walker from Fresno. It was a good feeling, one I wanted to keep, and it was because of her.
She wasn’t a princess.
She was much better than that.
****
“I had fun tonight,” she whispered in my arms as I carried her to my bedroom.
“So did I.”
“You didn’t think you had it in you, did you?” She exhaled deeply.
I chuckled. “I could say the same for you.”
“True.”
Just like before, the moment I put her on my bed, she took off her clothes and threw them on the floor then crawled onto my chest.
“Goodnight, Felicity.”
“Wait.” She yawned, rolling over. “Can I borrow your phone to call my roommates to let them know I’m here?”
“What’s the number? I’ll let them know.”
“877-1212.” She yawned again as she rested her head on the pillow. I dialed but it didn’t go through.
“The number’s disconnected.”