Page 83 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

His hand came up to cup my face. Mine twisted in his shirt. We kissed right there in the middle of the courtyard with people dancing around us. His tongue pushed inside my mouth. I sucked on it and groaned once again.

I was in Rome. The most beautiful city I’d ever seen. And all I wanted was to take this man back to our hotel room.

We broke apart, breathing hard.

His forehead pressed against mine. “We should probably go back. We’ve had a lot to drink.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

But we didn’t move. We just stood there swaying while the song changed. The other dancers had picked up the pace, but not us.

Someone bumped into me from behind, a laughing woman being spun by her partner. She apologized in rapid Italian while Cash steadied me. That was it. The spell was broken. We separated.

“Dance with other people,” I said suddenly.

He blinked. “What?”

“It’s tradition. When you’re dancing in a place like this you switch partners. Tourist and locals mixing. It’s a thing.”

“Is it?”

“Trust me.”

I didn’t wait for him to argue. I grabbed the hand of a passing older man who looked delighted and let him spin me away from Cash. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman approach Cash, say something, and lead him into a turn.

I moved from partner to partner. Every time I changed partners, I looked for Cash. He was always there. Not dancing with me but still. His gaze tracked me across the courtyard. Every time our eyes met, something passed between us. Desire. I was convinced that was what I saw.

I felt safe. Free. Wild. I felt like I could do anything.

The music got faster. I laughed and spun and let strangers hold my hands. The wine made everything feel bright and possible. Somewhere in the middle of it all I lost track of Cash completely, too caught up in the movement and the music and the joy of it.

When I finally stopped, breathless and dizzy, he was right there.

“Hi,” I said, grinning.

“Hi.” He was smiling too. “Ready to go?”

“God yes.”

We stumbled back through the streets of Rome, not the way we’d come. Cash had his arm around my waist, steadying me when I tripped on cobblestones. At one point I made him take a picture of me in front of a fountain.

By the time we reached the hotel, I was exhilarated and still riding the high of being in Rome.

Cash got us into the elevator. Pressed the button for our floor. The doors closed and suddenly we were alone in a small space and the air between us felt charged.

“That was fun,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“I can’t believe you can dance like that.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

“Apparently.”

We stepped into our suite. I kicked off my shoes and immediately stumbled. Cash caught me.

“Careful,” he said.