Brendan and Heidi—I’d yet to see that girl crack a smile, and was fairly certain that my performance gyrating to early disco with Finn wasn’t going to help. Brendan just looked morose, as always. Of course, with little red, itchy blotches covering his face and arms, I could understand why!
Finn and I danced nonstop for the next fifty minutes or so. It was so nice to dance with someone who really knew what he was doing, could lead, be outrageous, and was big and strong enough not to drop me when I was balancing somewhere between the top of his head and the bottom of the ceiling!
The Seventies had delivered some superb fast dance music. People forget that the era also produced some really nice ballads. Taste of the Seventies had remembered. After the marathon of sweating and spinning, the deejay started playing “With You I’m Born Again,” sung by Billy Preston and Syreeta. It’s a gorgeous song—a gorgeous slow song. Finn pulled me toward him then, and for the first time since we’d been dancing, we were able to focus totally on each other. We just melted together, both of us singing softy along with the music. I could feel his breath on my cheek, his arms firmly encircling me. I rested my head against his chest and felt strangely, powerfully secure.
When we finally got back to the table, Corky and Newman were in hysterics.
“I told you—I told you! It’s too perfect! ‘Lady-killer and Man-eater.’ It was only a matter of time before they got together. Any bets on who’ll survive?”
Red immediately tossed a twenty on the table. “Belinda will have his scalp hanging over her mantle within the month.”
Colleen laughed. “Belinda’s good, but no offense—I’ve worked with Finn and seen him break more hearts than he has freckles!”
Finn and I looked at each other. What a way to start a romance! If that’s even what we were doing.
Finn whispered in my ear: “Want to make ‘em all eat their words?”
I stared up at him. “And just what does that mean?”
He took my hand and led me toward the bar, which surprisingly, seemed to be the only place not completely noisy or crowded. Finn ordered a couple of margaritas. He turned back to me and grinned.
“First, that’s an extremely enticing little outfit you’re wearing. I’m surprised another air conditioner hasn’t exploded.”
“Like it?”
“More than words can say.”
“Well, thank you. All compliments are gratefully accepted.”
“That said, I’ve been thinking.”
Finn wasn’t one to waste words. One acclamation over the dress, then right to the point.
“The entire cast is going to know that there’s something going on between us before we’ve even had a first date. Right?”
“You got it. They’re a very nosy group. And, let’s face it—neither of us has been winning any ‘Commitment of the Year’ awards lately! ‘Bets on survival!’ Are we that bad? Wait—don’t answer that!”
“I’ll tell you what, Miss Belinda Montague—how about we show them all and turn our friendship into the most passionate affair this group—heck, this town—has ever seen?”
I squinted at him suspiciously. “Mr. Doran, are you propositioning me?”
“Yes, indeed.”
I smiled sweetly. “Well, don’t look now, but I’m turning you down. I may be the ‘Mad-Man-Eater’ of the Heaven’s Hollow Community Theatre, but contrary to popular opinion, my mattress is not a bed-and-breakfast for every stud trying to carve a notch on his unbuckled belt!”
Finn burst into laughter. “To be honest, Belinda Montague, I’d rather have you in my life for the next forty or fifty years just getting to know you, than in my bed for one night—hellaciously exciting as that would doubtlessly be. I realize you don’t believe that, but I think it’s going to be fun spending the next fifty years trying to convince you. Starting with this.”
Then he gently cupped my chin in his hand, and leaned down. Soft, generous lips met mine. I could vaguely hear music blasting and the bartender cheering. It didn’t matter. We were alone and together in our shared feelings.
When we’d kissed that afternoon while rehearsing the “Oklahoma Hello!” I’d felt every nerve in my body tingling, but we’d both been in character then as Will and Ado Annie. I hadn’t wanted Finn to know how he was really affecting me.
But this kiss was clearly Finn and Belinda. And when we parted, I stared into those roguish, blue, Irish eyes, and for the first time, I saw something very serious, and very real. I’d never felt so happy. And I was sure that he knew it. So I tried to play it lightly.
“So, Mr. Doran, we talkin’ the ‘R’ word here?”
“If the ‘R’ word is Relationship and not Racquetball, then I’d give that a definite ‘maybe’!”
We headed back to the table holding our drinks. I poked him in the ribs with my free hand.
“All those bets on which one of us will dump the other first! However are we going to resolve the gambling crisis?”
Finn gave me a very long look. Then he grinned—a slow, ultimately mischievous grin.
We deposited our drinks at the table. Finn excused himself and walked over to Dr. Heat’s perch above the crowd. About thirty seconds later, I heard the good doctor make an announcement.
“We’ve had a dedication here, gang. It’s not strictly disco, but it’s a great dance song, and you know I love dedications. So, going out to Belinda from Finn, here’s the Hall and Oates classic from the Eighties—‘Man-eater’!”
Our entire table started screaming.
I turned twelve shades of red.
Then Finn bowed to me from the deejay’s booth, crossed over, and led me out onto the dance floor once again. Just before we started to dance, he whispered:
“You win. Hands down. No contest.”
A fifty-year run with this man would never be enough. THE END
UP AND DOWN ON A ROLLER COASTER:
The back of my neck crawled as the silky hairs stood up. My skin prickled electrically. Had there been clouds in the sky, I would’ve been certain that I was about to be struck by lightning. But the stars sparkled clearly in the heavens above, and a warm August breeze caressed my cheek.
I was strolling aimlessly through the traveling carnival that was in town for the week, letting my mind wander just as aimlessly. Then that intense, otherworldly feeling came over me again, and I sensed someone’s eyes on my back. The sensation pulled at me until I turned slowly around and felt my gaze drawn upward to the entry gate of the “Mystifying, Terrifying Death Machine!”
There, leaning back casually against a gatepost, was a slender, well-built man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, his black eyes sparkling as he grinned down at me. It was a smug, knowing grin, like he knew he possessed an uncommon force of will that could actually exert control over others, and I’d just responded exactly as he’d commanded me to.
I felt myself drawn to him in a strange, undeniable way that frightened me more than just a little. But some power outside of myself held sway over me. I walked slowly