Chapter 1
Karina watched her friends dancing on the
dance floor of the club, and stirred her diet soda with her straw,
moving the ice around idly, as she leaned against the bar.
It was a Saturday night, typical. She loved
the music and the flickering lights of the club, but she hated to
dance. Mostly because she couldn't dance. So she'd watch from the
bar as Leanne and Nina danced. Not that they'd spend the whole
night dancing, but they'd be out there for a while. Nina was tall
and thin and blond and pretty, people definitely stared. She sort
of danced like a willow tree blowing around in the wind, no matter
how fast the song. It was funny. Leanne was average height, cute,
brunette, hair cut into a mod sort of bob. She was slightly
overweight. She moved around in a ferocious sort of dance, but it
looked good, somehow she knew what she was doing out there. But
Karina? When she danced she just always ended up hopping around for
some reason. Awful.
Karina was surprised no one had asked her to
dance in the last five minutes. Maybe it was mostly regulars
tonight. People were bold in clubs, though. There were people who
kept trying. She scanned the crowd with her dark blue eyes,
stirring her half gone soda. Suddenly her eyes caught another pair
staring back at her through the crowd. Whoa. Super sparkly blue.
Were those contacts? A very handsome man with short black hair and
bright blue eyes was staring at her. She couldn't bring herself to
look away. She blinked and he was gone. Like he was never there.
She glanced around to see where he went, but could not find him.
Then she inhaled. She realized she'd forgotten to breathe while she
was staring at him. Wow. Smooth.
She decided to get back on her barstool and
sit at the bar for a while. She glanced at herself in the mirror
behind the bar. Light brown hair, long, to just below her
shoulders, surrounded her face. It still looked neat and tidy, from
a lack of dancing. She sighed. In the mirror she seemed to be
blushing. Was that from staring at the man across the room? Her
mascara had run a little bit on the left side. She realized a tear
had run down her face. She wiped it away quickly, and the mascara
smear it had left. Whoa. It was like the man had affected her on
levels she hadn't even been aware of. She looked like a lost little
girl in the mirror. She had always looked younger than she was. She
was 27 now, but looked about 15 in the mirror. Pretty, but young.
It made people not take her seriously. It was kind of annoying.
She decided she'd better take a closer look
at that mascara issue in the ladies room mirror. She hopped off the
barstool again, and she was wobbly on her feet suddenly. She'd worn
three-inch heels with her jeans and muted blue gauzy tank top. She
was always attempting to get her thin 5'6" frame to reach the
heights of Nina's 5'11", but no shoes could do it. She'd only worn
them tonight because she was the designated driver. If she'd had
even one drink she would have sprained an ankle in these. But not
sober. Why was she so out of it tonight?
She took one last swig of her diet soda
before leaving it at the bar. She made her way across the crowded
room to the restrooms. But on the way someone grabbed her arm.
Gently, almost a brush, then warm fingers slowly closed around her
forearm like a hug. She glanced back to see who it was. It was
him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words
came out. He took a step towards her. He was tall. She found
herself staring up at him. He put a finger to her lips and mouthed,
"Shh..." Or maybe he said it, but she couldn't hear. The club was
loud. Pulsing music beat with her heart.
Then he did something even more unexpected.
He gently cradled her face in his hands and leaned down and kissed
her. A warm sweet quick kiss. And she didn't stop him. Why did she
not stop him?
Then he pulled away and walked away from her,
glancing back once with a small friendly smile on his lips. He
disappeared into the crowd. Then she
Karina watched her friends dancing on the
dance floor of the club, and stirred her diet soda with her straw,
moving the ice around idly, as she leaned against the bar.
It was a Saturday night, typical. She loved
the music and the flickering lights of the club, but she hated to
dance. Mostly because she couldn't dance. So she'd watch from the
bar as Leanne and Nina danced. Not that they'd spend the whole
night dancing, but they'd be out there for a while. Nina was tall
and thin and blond and pretty, people definitely stared. She sort
of danced like a willow tree blowing around in the wind, no matter
how fast the song. It was funny. Leanne was average height, cute,
brunette, hair cut into a mod sort of bob. She was slightly
overweight. She moved around in a ferocious sort of dance, but it
looked good, somehow she knew what she was doing out there. But
Karina? When she danced she just always ended up hopping around for
some reason. Awful.
Karina was surprised no one had asked her to
dance in the last five minutes. Maybe it was mostly regulars
tonight. People were bold in clubs, though. There were people who
kept trying. She scanned the crowd with her dark blue eyes,
stirring her half gone soda. Suddenly her eyes caught another pair
staring back at her through the crowd. Whoa. Super sparkly blue.
Were those contacts? A very handsome man with short black hair and
bright blue eyes was staring at her. She couldn't bring herself to
look away. She blinked and he was gone. Like he was never there.
She glanced around to see where he went, but could not find him.
Then she inhaled. She realized she'd forgotten to breathe while she
was staring at him. Wow. Smooth.
She decided to get back on her barstool and
sit at the bar for a while. She glanced at herself in the mirror
behind the bar. Light brown hair, long, to just below her
shoulders, surrounded her face. It still looked neat and tidy, from
a lack of dancing. She sighed. In the mirror she seemed to be
blushing. Was that from staring at the man across the room? Her
mascara had run a little bit on the left side. She realized a tear
had run down her face. She wiped it away quickly, and the mascara
smear it had left. Whoa. It was like the man had affected her on
levels she hadn't even been aware of. She looked like a lost little
girl in the mirror. She had always looked younger than she was. She
was 27 now, but looked about 15 in the mirror. Pretty, but young.
It made people not take her seriously. It was kind of annoying.
She decided she'd better take a closer look
at that mascara issue in the ladies room mirror. She hopped off the
barstool again, and she was wobbly on her feet suddenly. She'd worn
three-inch heels with her jeans and muted blue gauzy tank top. She
was always attempting to get her thin 5'6" frame to reach the
heights of Nina's 5'11", but no shoes could do it. She'd only worn
them tonight because she was the designated driver. If she'd had
even one drink she would have sprained an ankle in these. But not
sober. Why was she so out of it tonight?
She took one last swig of her diet soda
before leaving it at the bar. She made her way across the crowded
room to the restrooms. But on the way someone grabbed her arm.
Gently, almost a brush, then warm fingers slowly closed around her
forearm like a hug. She glanced back to see who it was. It was
him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words
came out. He took a step towards her. He was tall. She found
herself staring up at him. He put a finger to her lips and mouthed,
"Shh..." Or maybe he said it, but she couldn't hear. The club was
loud. Pulsing music beat with her heart.
Then he did something even more unexpected.
He gently cradled her face in his hands and leaned down and kissed
her. A warm sweet quick kiss. And she didn't stop him. Why did she
not stop him?
Then he pulled away and walked away from her,
glancing back once with a small friendly smile on his lips. He
disappeared into the crowd. Then she
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