Let There Be Peace

Chapter 3

            "I wish you'd just let that on there," Paz griped at Soul who was scrubbing the mirror. The word 'Loser' was hardly visible now. "If you would have let it there, I could have had some more evidence to show the police. They said they couldn't find fingerprints and the security footage didn't show Mishin's face."

"Well, without an ID on her face, I'm not sure how my leaving the paint up could make any difference," Soul answered. "My mom used to always tell me to ignore bullies because if they think they can't get you angry, then they will stop bothering you," Soul continued.

"And how did that work out for you?" Paz countered. "Something tells me it got your ass kicked," she added.

"Sometimes," Soul conceded. "But at least I got to keep the moral high ground," he explained.

"Uh-huh," Paz answered dully. "See, I don't do 'moral high ground'. If you mess with me, I'll cut a bitch."

"Good to know," Soul replied. Attempting a redirect, he said, "Why don't we work on the dance number?" Paz nodded and they walked to the center of the room.

"I was thinking that during the guitar intro, we could be dancing around each other, but remain totally unaware of each other. Like, at the beginning, there's no acknowledgement of each other," Paz suggested.

"That sounds good to me," Soul replied. "So, when do we see each other for the first time?"

"I was thinking when it says that it's raining, we could both stop dead in our tracks and look at each other for the first time," she explained. "Let's give it a try."

So, they began dancing with gentle arm movements and smooth glides of their legs. Soul had to keep reminding himself not to make eye contact with Paz. It was very counterintuitive for him to avoid looking at her. Everything about her begged to be looked at, but somehow, he managed to maintain his focus. Paz stopped the music so they could discuss their next moves.

"I think it would be kind of cool to do something with the part about our shoes being full of water. That image of being weighed down just really speaks to me," Soul said. "I feel like we could make really slow, labored movements in that section, imagining how we would move if our shoes were full of water," he added. He demonstrated by dragging his right foot along the floor as if he couldn't lift it.

"I like that," Paz affirmed as she mirrored Soul's movement back to him. Again, they started the song over and practiced what they had so far. This time, when they reached the end of the section they had discussed, Paz didn't turn off the music. She had become wrapped up in it. So, she just kept dancing. When the lyrics talked about not being able to remember the last time she was kissed, Paz twirled toward Soul and ended up within inches of him. She turned her head up as if waiting for a kiss. They both stood still, Soul's mouth just inches away from hers. He seemed to sway toward her and then away again. Each time he swayed in, you got closer and closer to actually kissing her. Her berry lip stain had soaked into her lips and gave the appearance of her lips having been bitten and stained with blood. Neither one attempted to keep dancing. They seemed locked in the moment just swaying in and out of kissing range.

Finally, Paz asked, "Are you going to kiss me or not?" That broke the spell.

Soul pulled back as he still stared at her lips. "I don't think I should," Soul admitted. "I don't want to get between you and Keeho."

"Keeho?!" Paz scoffed. "There's nothing more than friendship between us. I told you that," she added.

"You did tell me that, but Keeho didn't," Soul countered. "When you live and work with a group of people all the time, you have to avoid these kinds of conflicts," he explained. "It's a high-stress workplace, and these issues can grow and cause bigger problems."

"If you don't want to kiss me, you could just say so," Paz answered, seemingly not buying Soul's purported reasoning for his hesitancy to kiss her.

"No, it's not that ---," Soul was interrupted by the sound of a woman shrieking outside the studio.

Paz ran to the window and peeked through the slats of the blind, as was her custom. "Ha!" she let out one mocking syllable. "She must have found it," Paz surmised.

"Found what?" Soul asked with trepidation.

"The fish I left in her hot car," Paz said as she relished the sight of Mishin holding her nose and shrieking full-on banshee style.

"You didn't," Soul marveled. "Why would you do that?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Fight fire with fire, baby," Paz asserted. "If the police weren't going to help me, I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"But now, we're just going to have a cycle of escalating violence," Soul bemoaned. "This is exactly why I'm a pacifist," he added.

"You're not a pacifist. You're a coward. It's not the same at all," Paz said offhandedly, but despite not meaning to hurt Soul, her words had hit him as hard as a punch to the gut. When she turned from the window and saw his stricken face, she regretted her harsh words.

"I'm sorry. That was unfair," she said, touching his thin arm gently. "You're not a coward. I shouldn't have said that," she retracted.

"It's fine," Soul replied. "You're right that I'm too afraid to even confront Keeho and tell him I have feelings for you," he admitted.

"Wait. You have feelings for me?" Paz asked as she moved away from the window to turn toward Soul again. "So, you're saying you like me?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes," Soul whispered just before Paz lowered her lips to his. She walked him backward and pressed him against the barre at the side of the room. He wound his fingers through her chestnut hair. She ran her hands down his sides and landed them on his waist. Between kisses, they gasped for air. Paz pulled his left hand from her hair and placed it on her right breast.

Soul moaned softly as he ran his thumb over the place where her nipple was becoming visible through her shirt. Paz pressed him harder against the barre. Suddenly, Soul pulled his head back, which was the only part of his body he could move away from her. The rest of him was trapped between her and the barre.

"I think we should stop," he said. "We don't know how Keeho would feel about this," he pointed out.

Paz shook her head. "My theory on life is that people can get on board with my decisions or they can jump out the damn train," she asserted. "And I doubt Keeho would try to jump off this moving train," she added.

"Still, I think we should check in with him about where he's at with this," Soul replied. "How about this? How about I go to see Mishin as a peace negotiator and you go to see Keeho on my behalf?" he suggested.

"But isn't that just triangulation and indirect communication?" Paz questioned.

"No, because you should care about what Keeho has to say since it involves you too. And I'm involved in this Mishin thing whether I want to be or not," he explained. "It's in my best interest to see you two ladies come to a peaceful solution," he added.

"Can't we put a pin in that and get back to the kissing part?" Paz asked slyly.

"Let's hold off until our peace treaties are accepted," Soul cautioned.