Sipping the Tea

So I was reading someone's poem earlier, about a Waltz- can't remember who wrote it now, but I'll find it - and it brought back a memory.

Once upon a time, in a City (Atlanta) far away (not really), there was a Ball.

It was a GREAT ball, even if it wasn't a real ball. It was in a ballroom, with a string quartet, and the tables were candlelit, the light was dim, the food was excellent, everyone looked beautiful in their gowns and suits...

And there was a dance floor. The theme of the ball was Fire and Ice. My best friend, Katie, dressed in an incredibly sparkly red dress was fire, and I wore a sleek white dress with beading, as ice (and yes, it sufficed). She was gorgeous, and I felt... pretty. A very rare occurrence.

But there was a rule.

"We're only dancing with each other," Katie told me. "No one else."

I shoved some delicious shrimp-bacon thingy into my mouth and nodded, giving her a thumbs-up. When I managed to swallow, I replied, "Right. No guys. Just a girl's night."

So we and our friends danced and danced, and then during one of our breaks, Katie received a tap on the shoulder by some very, very tall gentleman. He offered his hand out to her and said, "May I have this dance?" And he was grinning, trying to take it all very seriously, and she, being a very sweet girl, complied with his request.

I sat there gaping at her for a brief 5 seconds when suddenly, there appeared another hand. Next to my face.

"Care to dance?"

I was terrified - I mean, she got THAT guy, so...not to be shallow but who had I been stuck with?

I turned and faced him - a most handsome, handsome young man with bright, Irish blue eyes and red hair pulled back into a smart ponytail. He looked comfortable in a suit, and had a dashing smile.

Right, so. I fell love. I took his hand and warned him: "I really, really don't dance."

"I'll help! Don't worry."

Great, yes, so it was my luck that I was stuck with the trained ballroom dancer. The really, really handsome one with the strong scottish ancestry.

But we laughed as I hopelessly stumbled and tried not to step on his feet. And then we smiled at each other, at some point, in silence, and my face burned.

The song drew to a close, and ... he dipped me.
I didn't need much skill for that one.

"Thanks for the dance." I said lamely, when he had righted me.

"Anytime." He replied, smoothly. Because he was smooth. Ya'll, this was an anime convention. Things like this don't happen at those.

Then he went and danced with other girls, who were just as awkward as me, and I realized that it had probably been a pity dance.

Katie glared at me for most of the evening, even though I swiftly countered her with:

"You broke the rules first."

So the rest of the weekend passed, and we met on-and-off briefly, although unfortunately we grew better acquainted with his other friends than him.

At the end of the weekend, however, we ran into their bunch, and I saw him, and we talked. Katie managed to drag me away, but halfway down the stairs, I turned around, ran back up, and hugged him. He hugged me back.

And then his friends cheered like crazy as I ran away, screaming, "WHY DIDN'T YOU GET HER NUMBER?" Needless to say, few of my friends have forgotten this.
----

Life continued, but only a couple of weeks later, on the convention forums, I was contacted by one of his friends. They were having a get-together with all their new friends from the con.

I just happened to be two hours away. Through the internet, The Guy and I met up again and started chatting. A lot. Until, finally, I got the guts to ask, "The next time we see each other, will you dip me again?"

"It's a promise."

So I packed my friends into a car the weekend of the get-together and drove them down.

I surprised The Guy at his work, and he vaulted over the counter and lifted me up into a great big hug, and I - ashamedly - clung to him. And so we stayed in said position for a good long while, until his friend walked in with their group and said, "WHAT. THE. H*LL*."


So we walked down the streets of their hometown until we reached a park, with a fountain, where we all took off ours shoes and played. There was a wedding ceremony nearby, and an orchestra was playing...

We were leaving, carrying our shoes - he grabbed my arm. The orchestra was playing...

"What's up?" I asked.

"I promised."

And he dipped me, there in the park, with the orchestra, and the bare, wet feet, and the sun shining down...

I fell in love twice over.

When the group started getting curious as to what we were up to, we caught back up, grinning like fools. He walked us back to where we'd parked our car, and then he hugged me again- and I could have kicked myself for not kissing him - and he ruffled my hair and told me to take care.

---

As I learned from his best friend, he'd been interested in both me and some other girl from the get-together, and he kind of chose her.

I didn't know I had become a part of a menu, and I didn't like it.

It didn't evolve into anything with them, just remained in friendship.

The Guy and I don't talk much anymore. He went to college in Scotland, and quite frankly, I realize the memories I had with him are too small to even count as romantic moments...

But I have to count them, because they're the only ones I have.

I don't know if I'll ever see him again, if he even remembers me-

And even though I was only a part of the menu, I'd still want to tell him...

Thank you. Thank you for my moments. It doesn't take much to romance a Wisp.