Dance For It

7

A few days after the wedding, my mom was out in town taking a yoga class, leaving me home alone. I was in the middle of squeezing lemons for lemonade, when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Quickly rinsing and drying my hands, I opened the door and was surprised to find, "Tyson? What are you doing here?"

He sheepishly ran a hand through his black hair, and his inspection of my clothes didn't escape my notice. Unfortunately, I was braless in pink silk pajamas; how had I not considered this before opening the door? Oh well, too late now.

"I was wondering if you had some time to talk," he stated, not meeting my eyes.

Oh boy, I thought, not really wanting to let him in the house, but feeling awkward standing on the porch. I mean I highly doubted he would do anything crazy. Opening the door a bit wider, I made an inviting gesture. "Why don't you come inside."

"Sure, thanks," Tyson replied, passing me so I could close the door.

Leading him into the kitchen I quickly grabbed a knit jacket and put it over my shirt. Tyke's eyes fell on the lemons. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something."

"It's fine, don't worry," I reassured him, wondering why he was being so polite. "Why don't you sit down," I offered, pointing at one of the kitchen stools. As he proceeded to do so, I went to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of sweet tea and asked, "Would you like some tea?" His throat seemed kind of dry, which for someone who usually never stopped talking was another sign that something was off. He nodded and after I poured two glasses, I sat down at the counter across from him. "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

Taking a sip of tea, he cleared his throat, then said, "Well, I came to apologize for the things I said to you at the wedding... and I guess just in general. I guess I've been overdoing it a bit, and I'm really sorry.

Well this was unexpected. Trying not to show my surprise, I asked, "That's kind of you to say, but what brought on the sudden change in uhhh... approach?" I couldn't think of a better word to describe his behavior.

"Uhh, well, first I had to listen to about an hour-long lecture from my cousin, Claire. Then a mutual acquaintance of ours threatened to do some very painful things to parts of my body that I hope to still use in the future." He stopped for a moment and must have noticed the dissatisfied expression on my face because he quickly continued, "But I thought about what they said these past days, and realized they were right, which is why I came to apologize. This acquaintance also suggested that if you like a lady you should umm grow a pair and ask her out properly..."

Sighing, I released my breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Before answering, I took a moment to study his face. Tyson Roberts was an attractive man, there was no denying that. Whereas Dex was what one would call ruggedly handsome, Tyson was handsome in a model kind of way, with sharp jaw and cheekbones, and pouty lips girl went crazy over. I could see a glimmer of hope shining in his brown eyes and felt a little bit bad for what I was about to say.

"Tyson, I really appreciate you coming out here to apologize, but to be honest, I just don't see anything happening between us." He lowered his gaze to the counter as I continued. "The fact that I'm five years older than you is kind of a problem for me. I can just imagine Sheriff Bynes showing up at my door and telling me to stop molesting the kids." A small grin flickered across his face. "Apart from that, I don't know what you expect is gonna happen. If you're just looking for a thrill, I ain't here for that. And even if you do want something more permanent, you're an attractive man, I'm sure you can find that with someone your own age."

"You think I'm attractive?" His face brightened.

Of course that's the only thing he got from that. Ignoring his comment, I went on, "Have you even considered that I'm going back to New York in a few weeks?"