This time she had come prepared. She wouldn't be taken in by her feelings again, or caught off guard. Danny had told her he was going to be there. And this time, she was ready.
She walked into Ed's Ballroom with butterflies in her stomach, and her heart on her sleeve.
She didn't spot him right away, but she was there with a small group of friends anyway, so she danced, and chatted with people in the meantime.
She never really knew what to expect with Danny because so much time went in between the times they saw each other. He was stationed up north now, which was far, but at least it wasn't overseas. So he got more opportunities to come home and visit. This would be the first time she would see him since they kissed. Really kissed. The best kiss of her life, she thought. So far, at least. She smiled to herself at the thought of that kiss.
She knew he was bad news. Danny was a self-professed alcoholic. He had no problem admitting that, but every problem fixing it. And lately he seemed hell-bent on this self-destructive path, but she couldn't help the way she was so naturally drawn to him. She knew who he really was, deep down inside. And she just knew that if they could really be together, he could be that person all the time.
Then finally she saw him. He was 2-stepping with a blond girl she didn't recognize. She noticed his usual gang hanging out in their usual corner as well. She would wait until he was finished dancing to approach them. So she busied herself with her friends once more, and hoped maybe he would notice her first.
Another hour went by...
Where was he??She hadn't seen him since his dance with the blond.
Well I guess I'll just have to go find him then. She thought to herself as she started off across the room. She walked past the corner of the room where he usually sat with his friends, she walked past the bar, and the restrooms, but still no sign of Danny. She began to wonder if he had left!
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blond that he had been dancing with earlier. She was sitting on some other guys lap, and they were making out.
Nice... She thought.
But then as she got closer, she heard a familiar husky laugh, followed by a twittering giggle. She whirled around, and the shock of what she saw hit her like a ton of bricks. It was as if someone had dumped a huge bucket of ice cold water on her. She wanted to turn and run, but she couldn't move. She wanted to close her eyes, and forget what she'd seen, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Danny and the girl, kissing and laughing. Her breathing became shallow, and her heart was pounding. She staggered backwards slowly, into a chair, and collapsed down into it.
She refused to fall apart. Not here, not now. What if Danny saw her?
She inhaled a deep jagged breath and stood up.
She walked out of Ed's alone. It was raining. The parking lot was muddy, and she had no umbrella. Mud sloshed up and over her boots, seeping into her socks. Rain soaked her hair and shirt. She sat down in her car, and turned the key in the ignition. Her friends wouldn't miss her. Danny obviously didn't.
She drove home in silence. Numbness creeping slowly throughout her body.
This was a feeling she would become all too familiar with throughout her life. But this was the first time she'd ever felt it. Crushed. Disappointed. Hopeless. Scared. Lonely. Confused. Hurt. Pain. Just pain.
How could he do this?? He asked me to come away with him. I thought...
But it didn't matter what she thought, because it was all laid out on the table for her to see. And Danny, had finally swallowed her up in his path of destruction. He broke her heart. And that was the end of their short lived romance.
Years later, she would look back on her time with Danny fondly, and remember how much fun they had together. How many firsts she'd had with him. Those 2 single kisses they'd shared would come to mean more to her than she ever thought they could. And the late night conversations, the time they skipped school to go to the beach, the letters they wrote when he was in the Navy, the Rodeo, the time he threw rocks at her window, late at night, just because she told him she'd always wished someone would... How innocent it all was. How he was the first guy to really make her feel like he wanted her, and no one else. Even if it had all been childish nonsense, it was wonderful. Their time together was like a firework in a black sky. Burning brilliant and bright; so captivating, and beautiful that it makes you sigh, and smile, and wonder. But just as quickly as it's colors explode in the sky, it disappears. And when it's gone, all that's left is smoke.
Showing posts with label Ed's Ballroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ed's Ballroom. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Come Away With Me
Nine months. That was how long it had been since she'd seen him. Since she'd surprised him with that little kiss on the cheek at Ed's Country Ballroom. She still felt the blood rush to her face every time she thought about that night. She couldn't believe she was finally going to see Danny after all this time.
They had kept in touch since she'd last seen him. Letters, and phone calls... But it just wasn't the same. And she was worried about him. About the way his trips to the bar and gotten more and more frequent. About how their conversations had gone from subtle flirtations, to deep conversations at 3 in the morning, about life and everything in it. About how he usually never remembered those conversations the next day, because he'd been too drunk the night before. About how her feelings for him, which had certainly grown, were now becoming jaded and colored with concern. She sighed as she combed out her long brown hair. Straight as sticks, she'd always thought.
It was Christmas Eve. She had been at church with her family when he called. His message said he was in town for just a couple days, and he was having people over. He wanted to see her. She wanted to see him too, but she was afraid.
As she got in the car, she began to feel her heart flutter. She could hardly keep herself from smiling on the way over to his house. When she finally pulled in the driveway, she checked her makeup in the rear view mirror once, took a deep breath, and got out of the car. She let herself in through the garage, just like everyone always did. She could hear raucous laughter and the loud clinking of beer bottles and billiards balls coming from the loft. She took the stairs 2 at a time. His back was to her when she first caught sight of him. He was taking his shot. He sunk 3 balls. Then stood, and turned...
He looked different. He had put on some muscle, he was tanned from months in the desert and his cheeks were rosy from windburn. But his eyes were the same. Captivating blue, with a devilish gleam. And his smile, slightly lopsided, and holding the promise of kisses; that was the same too. She let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. He was beautiful. Not in a conventional way. In the way that the person you love is always beautiful, in a way only you can see. He picked her up in an embrace, just like old times, and they laughed.
"You want a beer or somethin'?" He asked in that familiar country drawl.
She looked, with dismay, at the table full of empty beer bottles that Danny had obviously drank.
"No thanks." She said, and she took a seat on one of the stools, next to Danny's sister.
They chatted about school while they watched the guys finish their pool game. She had always been fond of Danny's younger sister, Mandy. She definitely had a much more level head on her shoulders, but they were still alike in many ways.
Most of that night would always be a blur to her, bookended by two defining moments: when she arrived, and when she left.
She stayed there, even after all Danny's friends had gone. They sat on the couch and talked for a long time. But it was starting to get late, and it was Christmas Eve. So she knew she needed to go soon.
He walked her out to the garage.
As she began to slowly walk to her car, she realized he wasn't following her when he called her name.
She turned around, and there he was lighting a cigarette. She walked brusquely up to him, yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and stomped on it.
He laughed. He used to get mad when she did this, but apparently he'd come to expect it by now. And it almost took her by surprise. Danny looked at his feet.
"Come away with me." He said.
"What??" She breathed.
He looked back up at her with that familiar grin.
"I've been all over the world, and I've never met anyone like you. I'm being transferred to South Carolina. Come with me." He sounded almost desperate.
"Danny... That's crazy. I'm still in high school."
"Yea, but you're about to graduate! You could come when you finish school." He paused. She didn't know what to say. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but...I'm serious, I think about you all the time. When I was overseas, your letters were what got me through the day. You keep me sane. And you help me to be a better person. You're the only girl I know who calls me out the way you do, and it's like...I don't wanna disappoint you."
She could feel tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. No one had ever said anything like this to her before. Not even her current boyfriend.
"I know you have a boyfriend. But that's not gonna last." He said, as if he knew what she were thinking.
She looked up at him defiantly.
"You don't know that! Jeremy loves me."
"Oh yea? Then where is he?"
She sighed in frustration. She knew Jeremy had been blowing her off, and here Danny was pointing it out, and he was right. If Danny had never joined the Navy, if he'd never been sent overseas, things maybe could have been different, but they weren't. That was the path he had chosen. And this was the path she had chosen.
"I have to go." She said, suddenly feeling a little choked up. She turned around quickly, shoved her hands in her pockets, and hunched against the cold as she all but ran to her car.
"Wait!" Danny called. She didn't look back. "You still owe me a kiss!"
She froze in her tracks. But she couldn't bear to turn around and look at him.
"I'm sorry Danny." She called over her shoulder as she slammed the car door shut.
She drove like a bat out of hell. It was a bad habit she had when she got upset or angry. She pulled out her phone and began to dial Jeremy's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey," She said, trying to mask the fact that she'd been crying. "What are you doing?"
"Playing GTA with Greg...what's up?"
"Um...nothing. I just was hoping I could see you. I mean, we haven't really spent any time together since you've been home for the holidays."
"Yea well I've been busy with family stuff. Hey, can I call you back? Cuz we're kind of at an intense part in this game."
"Yea fine." She said, steeling herself.
"Ok bye." He said.
She immediately yanked the wheel hard to the left and pulled a U-Turn in the middle of the street. Luckily, since it was Christmas Eve, there wasn't any traffic. She sped even faster back to Danny's house. When she pulled into his driveway, he was still standing in the garage, leaned up against the wall, with his arms crossed, almost as if he'd been expecting her.
She opened the door, set one foot outside and called over to him across the roof of her car, "Well? Aren't you going to come get that kiss I owe you?"
He didn't smile, and he didn't say anything. He just walked, as fast as he could possibly walk, without running. When he reached her he took her face in both of his hands. She looked into his eyes, and in that moment, she completely surrendered. He kissed her with a violent fervor. Her hands grabbed the back of his neck in desperation, and his tangled up in her hair. When they finally parted, she was breathless. She had never been kissed that way before. But then, she had never been kissed by Danny before.
He smiled at her finally; her favorite crooked smile, and she smiled back.
"Goodnight Danny." She said and she got back in the car. He shut the door for her, and she rolled down the window. He kissed her once more, briefly, through the window, and then she drove off into the night, feeling light as a feather, invincible, happy, elated; as if nothing could ever come between them.
They had kept in touch since she'd last seen him. Letters, and phone calls... But it just wasn't the same. And she was worried about him. About the way his trips to the bar and gotten more and more frequent. About how their conversations had gone from subtle flirtations, to deep conversations at 3 in the morning, about life and everything in it. About how he usually never remembered those conversations the next day, because he'd been too drunk the night before. About how her feelings for him, which had certainly grown, were now becoming jaded and colored with concern. She sighed as she combed out her long brown hair. Straight as sticks, she'd always thought.
It was Christmas Eve. She had been at church with her family when he called. His message said he was in town for just a couple days, and he was having people over. He wanted to see her. She wanted to see him too, but she was afraid.
As she got in the car, she began to feel her heart flutter. She could hardly keep herself from smiling on the way over to his house. When she finally pulled in the driveway, she checked her makeup in the rear view mirror once, took a deep breath, and got out of the car. She let herself in through the garage, just like everyone always did. She could hear raucous laughter and the loud clinking of beer bottles and billiards balls coming from the loft. She took the stairs 2 at a time. His back was to her when she first caught sight of him. He was taking his shot. He sunk 3 balls. Then stood, and turned...
He looked different. He had put on some muscle, he was tanned from months in the desert and his cheeks were rosy from windburn. But his eyes were the same. Captivating blue, with a devilish gleam. And his smile, slightly lopsided, and holding the promise of kisses; that was the same too. She let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. He was beautiful. Not in a conventional way. In the way that the person you love is always beautiful, in a way only you can see. He picked her up in an embrace, just like old times, and they laughed.
"You want a beer or somethin'?" He asked in that familiar country drawl.
She looked, with dismay, at the table full of empty beer bottles that Danny had obviously drank.
"No thanks." She said, and she took a seat on one of the stools, next to Danny's sister.
They chatted about school while they watched the guys finish their pool game. She had always been fond of Danny's younger sister, Mandy. She definitely had a much more level head on her shoulders, but they were still alike in many ways.
Most of that night would always be a blur to her, bookended by two defining moments: when she arrived, and when she left.
She stayed there, even after all Danny's friends had gone. They sat on the couch and talked for a long time. But it was starting to get late, and it was Christmas Eve. So she knew she needed to go soon.
He walked her out to the garage.
As she began to slowly walk to her car, she realized he wasn't following her when he called her name.
She turned around, and there he was lighting a cigarette. She walked brusquely up to him, yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and stomped on it.
He laughed. He used to get mad when she did this, but apparently he'd come to expect it by now. And it almost took her by surprise. Danny looked at his feet.
"Come away with me." He said.
"What??" She breathed.
He looked back up at her with that familiar grin.
"I've been all over the world, and I've never met anyone like you. I'm being transferred to South Carolina. Come with me." He sounded almost desperate.
"Danny... That's crazy. I'm still in high school."
"Yea, but you're about to graduate! You could come when you finish school." He paused. She didn't know what to say. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but...I'm serious, I think about you all the time. When I was overseas, your letters were what got me through the day. You keep me sane. And you help me to be a better person. You're the only girl I know who calls me out the way you do, and it's like...I don't wanna disappoint you."
She could feel tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. No one had ever said anything like this to her before. Not even her current boyfriend.
"I know you have a boyfriend. But that's not gonna last." He said, as if he knew what she were thinking.
She looked up at him defiantly.
"You don't know that! Jeremy loves me."
"Oh yea? Then where is he?"
She sighed in frustration. She knew Jeremy had been blowing her off, and here Danny was pointing it out, and he was right. If Danny had never joined the Navy, if he'd never been sent overseas, things maybe could have been different, but they weren't. That was the path he had chosen. And this was the path she had chosen.
"I have to go." She said, suddenly feeling a little choked up. She turned around quickly, shoved her hands in her pockets, and hunched against the cold as she all but ran to her car.
"Wait!" Danny called. She didn't look back. "You still owe me a kiss!"
She froze in her tracks. But she couldn't bear to turn around and look at him.
"I'm sorry Danny." She called over her shoulder as she slammed the car door shut.
She drove like a bat out of hell. It was a bad habit she had when she got upset or angry. She pulled out her phone and began to dial Jeremy's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey," She said, trying to mask the fact that she'd been crying. "What are you doing?"
"Playing GTA with Greg...what's up?"
"Um...nothing. I just was hoping I could see you. I mean, we haven't really spent any time together since you've been home for the holidays."
"Yea well I've been busy with family stuff. Hey, can I call you back? Cuz we're kind of at an intense part in this game."
"Yea fine." She said, steeling herself.
"Ok bye." He said.
She immediately yanked the wheel hard to the left and pulled a U-Turn in the middle of the street. Luckily, since it was Christmas Eve, there wasn't any traffic. She sped even faster back to Danny's house. When she pulled into his driveway, he was still standing in the garage, leaned up against the wall, with his arms crossed, almost as if he'd been expecting her.
She opened the door, set one foot outside and called over to him across the roof of her car, "Well? Aren't you going to come get that kiss I owe you?"
He didn't smile, and he didn't say anything. He just walked, as fast as he could possibly walk, without running. When he reached her he took her face in both of his hands. She looked into his eyes, and in that moment, she completely surrendered. He kissed her with a violent fervor. Her hands grabbed the back of his neck in desperation, and his tangled up in her hair. When they finally parted, she was breathless. She had never been kissed that way before. But then, she had never been kissed by Danny before.
He smiled at her finally; her favorite crooked smile, and she smiled back.
"Goodnight Danny." She said and she got back in the car. He shut the door for her, and she rolled down the window. He kissed her once more, briefly, through the window, and then she drove off into the night, feeling light as a feather, invincible, happy, elated; as if nothing could ever come between them.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Stolen Kiss
Danny was the last person she had expected to see at Ed's. But there he was! Six months ago, she would have been more shocked to not see him at Ed's Country Ballroom, but that was before he joined the Navy. She didn't realize how much she actually missed Danny until she saw him, standing there across the dancefloor. He hadn't seen her though. Not yet.
She backed up through the crowd, and make a wide arc around the dancefloor to approach Danny from behind. Then she put her hands over his eyes.
When he turned around, the look on his face went from confusion, to recognition, to pleasant surprise. He grabbed her up in an embrace that lifted her feet off the floor.
"What are you doing here??" She asked, slightly out of breath.
"I'm AWOL." He laughed, and introduced her to his partners in crime; buddies from the Navy who had made the crazy, all night drive from Florida to Texas with him, just for the weekend.
They made small talk for a bit, then Danny said, "Let's dance", just as a slow country song began to play. The song, One More Day, by Diamond Rio, was one that would always remind her of Danny from that day forward.
"Well you're gettin' pretty good at this 2-steppin' thing!" Danny said as he guided her across the floor.
"Thanks," she smiled, "I learned from the best."
Danny beamed down at her and shook his head.
They didn't talk much during that song, they just danced. But there was something so perfect about the way he held her in his arms. Strong, but gently. He guided her with experience and ease, and they danced together as if they'd been doing it their whole lives.
When the dance finally ended, he spun her once, and dipped her low. She laughed as her long hair cascaded about her shoulders, almost touching the floor. Then he took her hand and led her off the floor, to a table situated away from the noise and clatter of the crowd.
"So how are you, really?" She asked as they sat down across from each other.
Danny sighed. "I miss home. I miss my family, and my friends... and you."
She blushed and couldn't help smiling.
"I've missed you too, believe it or not."
"Well why haven't you written me?" He asked.
"I don't have your address! I didn't even know where you were stationed before tonight!"
"Ok well I'll give it you." He said.
Just then her sister approached, flanked by her 2 friends. They had all ridden together to Ed's, and she just realized they probably had been wondering where she'd wandered off to. It was starting to get late. Almost curfew.
"We're about to go. Do you wanna meet us outside?"
She stole a glance back at Danny, "Yea, I'll be out in a minute."
Her sister and friends walked towards the door, and she and Danny stood.
"One more dance before you go?" Danny asked.
"Sure."
When the dance was over, he spun her again, and pulled her into an embrace. Surprising herself, she planted a kiss on his cheek. Still holding onto her hands, he pulled back and stared at her. She would never in all her life forget the image of his face in that moment. The twinkle in his crystal blue eyes, his look of surprise, his crooked, boyish grin. Before he could say anything, she released his hands and began to walk off the dancefloor.
"Bye Danny." She said.
He stood, glued to that spot on the dancefloor, staring after her, his image burned into her memory as she exited the building.
Her sister and 2 friends were waiting in the parking lot.
"Are you ok?" Her sister asked with concern.
"I'm fine." She said.
When they got home, she went up to her room and sobbed. Was this really what it felt like to fall in love?
She backed up through the crowd, and make a wide arc around the dancefloor to approach Danny from behind. Then she put her hands over his eyes.
When he turned around, the look on his face went from confusion, to recognition, to pleasant surprise. He grabbed her up in an embrace that lifted her feet off the floor.
"What are you doing here??" She asked, slightly out of breath.
"I'm AWOL." He laughed, and introduced her to his partners in crime; buddies from the Navy who had made the crazy, all night drive from Florida to Texas with him, just for the weekend.
They made small talk for a bit, then Danny said, "Let's dance", just as a slow country song began to play. The song, One More Day, by Diamond Rio, was one that would always remind her of Danny from that day forward.
"Well you're gettin' pretty good at this 2-steppin' thing!" Danny said as he guided her across the floor.
"Thanks," she smiled, "I learned from the best."
Danny beamed down at her and shook his head.
They didn't talk much during that song, they just danced. But there was something so perfect about the way he held her in his arms. Strong, but gently. He guided her with experience and ease, and they danced together as if they'd been doing it their whole lives.
When the dance finally ended, he spun her once, and dipped her low. She laughed as her long hair cascaded about her shoulders, almost touching the floor. Then he took her hand and led her off the floor, to a table situated away from the noise and clatter of the crowd.
"So how are you, really?" She asked as they sat down across from each other.
Danny sighed. "I miss home. I miss my family, and my friends... and you."
She blushed and couldn't help smiling.
"I've missed you too, believe it or not."
"Well why haven't you written me?" He asked.
"I don't have your address! I didn't even know where you were stationed before tonight!"
"Ok well I'll give it you." He said.
Just then her sister approached, flanked by her 2 friends. They had all ridden together to Ed's, and she just realized they probably had been wondering where she'd wandered off to. It was starting to get late. Almost curfew.
"We're about to go. Do you wanna meet us outside?"
She stole a glance back at Danny, "Yea, I'll be out in a minute."
Her sister and friends walked towards the door, and she and Danny stood.
"One more dance before you go?" Danny asked.
"Sure."
When the dance was over, he spun her again, and pulled her into an embrace. Surprising herself, she planted a kiss on his cheek. Still holding onto her hands, he pulled back and stared at her. She would never in all her life forget the image of his face in that moment. The twinkle in his crystal blue eyes, his look of surprise, his crooked, boyish grin. Before he could say anything, she released his hands and began to walk off the dancefloor.
"Bye Danny." She said.
He stood, glued to that spot on the dancefloor, staring after her, his image burned into her memory as she exited the building.
Her sister and 2 friends were waiting in the parking lot.
"Are you ok?" Her sister asked with concern.
"I'm fine." She said.
When they got home, she went up to her room and sobbed. Was this really what it felt like to fall in love?
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