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“You volunteered to take me,” she reminded him.
“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “I guess I forgot that part. I’ve been so focused on making sure I do or say the right things to win you over that…”
His words struck a nerve in her, ringing like a bell on a clear night within her soul. She pulled his hands off of her, freeing herself, and turning to look at him, stunned by the admission… and how it made her feel.
Austin was standing there, looking at her worriedly, and those shadows of darkness reminded her of Afghanistan, their repeated fence-rendezvous…
“I wish it was like this back home,” she whispered, reaching up and touching his face. “I’ve wished for this so many times…”
His hand rested on her back, holding her close once more, as they stood there both wearing socks on the asphalt that was quickly cooling and looked at each other.
“I wanted to touch you, hold you close, so often back home… and I’m already wishing we never had to leave this particular quest we are on.”
“A ‘quest’ indicates we are searching for something, my handsome knight,” she smiled, tracing his eyebrow and moving to trail her fingers over the shell of his ear as he tucked a strand of her hair behind hers.
“I don’t want you to feel alone, Giselle,” he said tenderly in a hushed voice. “If you feel alone, then I am failing in my quest or knight’s journey.”
“There you go again with that word…” she teased tearfully.
“I am searching for something,” he began, causing her to pause her hand that was tracing the back of his neck now, memorizing these moments and trying to commit them to memory.
“What?”
“I’m searching for… my long-lost dance partner,” he smiled lovingly – and she laughed because it was so silly, so unexpected, and just so him.
Whenever anything got serious or too much, he would throw her for a loop… and usually those ‘loops’ made her feel wonderful. The gummy worms, the champagne on the plane, her stupid ketchup…
“See, I wanted to dance with my fabled paladin that I found on distant, sandy shore, but a chain-linked monster separated us,” he smiled, winking at her. “A terrible, fierce monster that keeps her away from my loving arms.”
“Oh nooo,” she whispered dramatically, playing along with him.
“But now, Sir Austin of the Yonder has conquered that foe…”
“Conquered? Really?” she said flatly, arching an eyebrow at him.
“It’s my story and I can conquer if I want to… now where was I?” he retorted glibly, grinning wildly, and looking even more impetuous than ever before as he pulled her close, taking one of her hands in his and holding it upwards like they were going to waltz.
“Don’t we need music to dance?” she smiled up at him.
“Let me let you in on a little known ‘knightly’ secret,” he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. “If you listen closely enough, the song is there… in your heart.”
Giselle caught her breath as he slowly began to glide with her, taking a few steps to the left, then the right, and spun her slowly like they were in some magical castle’s grand ballroom… instead of in socks, and getting cold feet, in Texas.
Nothing was going to stop this magical moment they were sharing, she thought silently as her heart beat wildly, falling under the spell he was weaving around her, turning her about in the rapidly cooling moonlit wonderland they were in.
“Perhaps,” he said softly, his eyes holding hers. “Instead of listening to all the mysterious soothsayers, fortune tellers, and elemental guardians who give out a lot of contradicting advice… maybe we should listen to what our hearts are saying and just talk to each other.”
“Yes,” she whispered tearfully, nodding and smiling up at him. “That sounds like the best suggestion yet, Sir Austin — knight of the realm.”
“You can drop the ‘sir’,” he flirted playfully. “We don’t stand on airs here.”
Giselle laughed aloud, her voice echoing in the night air as she threw her arms around him, hugging him close.
“I just needed this…” he whispered against her hair, holding her close. “Don’t be upset with me, feel alone, or think that you can’t talk to me. If you want or expect something from me –tell me– because guys can be a little dense when they are in the arms of a beautiful woman that they care for and admire.”
“I need this too…” she admitted. “I don’t want either of us to feel pressured.”
“Me neither.”
