Promise Me by Barbie Bohrman

after college."
    "Yeah," I say with a smile, "I do kind of love it, heat and humidity included."
    "I've never been there… now I have a reason to visit." We both let that hang in the air between us until he prompts me to tell him what I do for a living.
    "Well, right after college I was lucky enough to get accepted into an art internship program in Italy. I stayed there just shy of a couple of years and then, even luckier still, got my foot in the door at an art gallery down in South Beach. I've been there for a few years now and I was recently promoted to Gallery Assistant and…,"
    "And what," he says pulling the beer bottle and inch from his waiting full lips that I can't seem to tear my eyes away from.
    "Oh, nothing really," I muster trying to recover from being caught staring again. "I was just going to say that I love working there."
    Wanting to know more about him, I ask, "So, do you still live in Philadelphia?"
    "I do." He hesitates and looks down at my toes that are peeking out of my shoes then grins before bringing his eyes back to mine. "I own a restaurant there."
    He owns a restaurant? I'm processing this information in my head and all I can come up with is not only how incredibly sexy that is but it's super impressive too. Now I have a million more questions to ask him at the same time I detect that the DJ is saying something about slowing things up. The music goes from upbeat Top 40 variety to the opening bars of Lady Antebellum's " Just a Kiss ."
    Tyler stands up slowly then holds out his hand to me and says, "Dance with me." It's not a question. My eyes dart from his face to his outstretched hand and back up again. Whatever questions I had are forgotten since the look of longing in his eyes is all the push I need to make me put my hand lightly in his again, stand up, and let him lead me onto the dance floor.
    He wraps his right arm around my waist possessively as my left hand rests atop his shoulder. He takes his free hand to pull my other hand in it so it's resting on his upper chest and begins to lead me into a slow seductive sway to the music. His thumb makes lazy circles on the exposed skin on my back and I smile at the intimacy of the gesture. When he smiles back this time I feel more at ease and relax into him completely. My forehead rests just below his jaw line and I feel his lips just barely making contact with it. I close my eyes as we continue to move together, mentally savoring every second of this moment: His strong arms around me. His delicious cologne that I can easily overdose on. His ability to make me feel comforted. All of it.
    When the song begins its descent, I pull my head back an inch to look up at him again and he tilts his head to kiss me softly on my cheek. Before he pulls away he lightly drags his lips to my ear and says, "I don't want to let you go just yet."
    I quiver at his words and want him so badly to drag his lips back so that they're finally touching mine. I can feel his heart racing under my palm that is still on his chest letting me know that he's having the exact thoughts as me when the DJ decides to switch back to an up tempo beat.
    "Well, don't you two look cozy?"
    Hell no! This crazy Stepford wannabe is not going to ruin this night for me. I try to step back from Tyler's embrace but he keeps one arm on the small of my back. I see that he has a smirk on his face when he turns his head to look at Lisa.
    "Sabrina, who would have thought you'd go slumming tonight," she says and waves her hand that is holding a drink in his direction, spilling some on the dance floor in the process. Fantastic. Two drunks for the price of one. This can only get worse when I feel Tyler's body tense up against mine and other people on the dance floor start to stare at the scene unfolding before them.
    "Lisa, don't you have anything better to do than harass me and embarrass yourself," I say in a matter of fact tone which catches her completely off guard. She mumbles something about me always