Found by You by Victoria H. Smith

from the dance floor. There was a door along the wall near the coat rack.
    Hoping it led somewhere free of people, I turned the knob. The room was completely dark and the only thing I could make out were the chairs stacked up near the door we stood by due to the ballroom’s subtle lighting.
    I turned to Roxie. “You’re not scared of the dark, are you?”
    “Um,” she said, chewing on her lip as she gazed into the darkness. She looked up at me and shook her head.
    Smiling, I grabbed one of the votive candles on a decorated table near the door. And with that, I led us inside and closed the door behind us. The light we had from the ballroom was gone and the music from the ballroom became a muffled soft sound.
    I placed the candle I had on one of the stacked chairs so I could see where the exit was. After that, I took Roxie’s hands, backing up further into the darkness.
    “How can we dance if we can’t see?” came Roxie’s voice seemingly from the air. I couldn’t see her anymore than I could see my own hands guiding her.
    I stopped her, sliding her hands to my waist. “Use me. You don’t need to see.”
    I held my breath as her hands moved, explored. She started where I placed her hands on my waist. Feeling her way, she pushed them slowly up my chest. She stopped at my heart for a moment, and I wondered if it was because of how fast it was beating.
    She continued on, making it to my neck and up, splaying her warm fingers on my cheeks. Her thumb brushed my lip, and I fought so hard not to kiss her finger, taste it with my tongue.
    Moving gently over my mask, she made it to my hair and every follicle felt the touch, deep down to the root. She only touched delicately, and eventually retreated back down. She brought her hands around the back of my neck and stopped. I knew this wasn’t the traditional way to dance, but this way allowed me to be as close to her as possible. I had no argument dancing this way.
    I brought my hands to her body now. Bracing her hips, I brought her body up against mine. She gasped, and I slid my arms around her, drawing her to me completely. Her chest pressed against me, our body warmth combining.
    She was so small, and I leaned down to her level. By fate my cheek found hers and I stayed there, the two of us resting against each other during our dance. I didn’t know if I could call what we were really doing dancing, though. The music softly played from the other room, but our feet barely moved. Eventually, we were only swaying in place until finally we weren’t moving at all. We were in each other’s arms, holding each other. Nothing else.
    The closeness of her, the feel of her full body against mine, made me ignore everything else. Our dates outside this door. Clare’s statement about how I should wait for Roxie. Roxie’s own statement that I should hold back. I had to touch her. Feel her. Have her.
    I raised my hands, going slowly until I touched her cheeks. This forced her to drop her hands from my neck, and she stood there, allowing me to touch her.
    I moved in. Again by fate, my lips found her forehead, her hairline. I smelled her warmth, her succulent scent. Her breath heated my chin below, and I knew her breathing was hiking, accelerating like mine. And all the while she wasn’t denying me, she was letting me be near her. For once, she wasn’t running away. This allowed me to continue on. I brushed small almost-kisses on her bow, studying her face with my lips and hands. I couldn’t see a thing, not a damn thing, but still I knew what I had before me. The beauty she possessed radiated off her. Every part of her.
    My lips traveled down her cheek, staying for a while. When I made it to her ear, I couldn’t hold back from her and decided I had to tell her how I felt.
    “Do you know how damn beautiful you are?” I rasped, placing a kiss on her ear. “How much you tie me up in knots?”
    She lifted her hands to mine on her cheeks. Feeling, she made her way to my wrists and