Maid For You 4

Chapter 36

"We're wearing the same color," I noted as Prince Coleman approached me, royal blue coat and all. Had he planned this?

He smiled. "A lot of people are wearing the same colors. There are only so many blues and whites. Besides, I don't look good in pastels."

He made a fair point. "That makes sense. I don't look good in pastels either," I admitted. "At least, that's what everyone tells me."

"I'm off for a refreshment," Mercucio announced, heading off in another direction.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for the dance!"

"My pleasure," Mercucio said, already fast on his way towards a beverage.

Coleman watched him leave for a second before turning his gaze to me. "You look very beautiful," he told me.

I was taken aback by his sudden compliment, even a bit flustered. I wasn't sure how to respond to such an unabashed compliment. "Oh, thanks," I said. It was the best I could come up with. I found myself grabbing one arm with my other hand and smiling awkwardly, but Coleman and I were friends now, no? Friends were able to complement each other without hidden agendas. This didn't mean that he was trying to lure me in again. "You look nice too," I added.

And he did. It was different when boys dressed up than girls, because they didn't put on sparkling makeup nor tie their hair up into updos with twinkly pins, but he still wore a nice formal coat with silver braided chords and the Areganan coat of arms along with a pair of white gloves.

He extended a gloved hand towards me and looked at me in the eyes with those deep green eyes of his. "If you're not otherwise engaged, might I have this next dance, Cassie?"

 I was not otherwise engaged at the moment, but I didn't want to give Nikolas the wrong idea. Then again, Coleman and I had agreed to be friends, hadn't we? How could I reject him moments after dancing with Mercucio? I glanced around the ballroom, and saw that Nikolas still talking with Esmerelda. It wasn't that I wanted to make him jealous, per say, but if he was still talking with someone else, it seemed silly to refuse Coleman.

I reached forward and gingerly placed my hand in his. "You may."

Coleman smiled at my answer, the kind of smile where his mouth was closed but his eyes crinkled. He then pulled me into position for the next dance, placing his large hand on my shoulder blade while I lightly held the upper part of his arm. Our bodies moved closer together and we began stepping in time to the music.

"It's been a while since we last danced," Coleman remarked.

"It has been," I said. "Did we dance at Calista's ball?"

"No," he said. "The last time was at the Autumn Festival."

The amount of references to the freaking Autumn Festival! I thought. I can't escape it!

"I guess that's true," I said.

"It was a nice dance." Coleman let go of one hand so that I spun outwards before pulling me towards him again. "Wasn't it?"

I didn't want to talk about that dance. That dance was my shame. That dance was when I'd shared a romantic and what I thought to be personal moment with him and basically the whole entire country of Aregano, including Coleman's parents, were witness to it. All that only to have Coleman shut me down like five minutes later.

"Honestly, our conversation after is a lot more memorable to me than the dance itself," I said, looking at him with a wry smile.

He let out an awkward half laugh, but said nothing.