Instead of replying, I place my hand on his arm and allowed him to lead me to the front door.
“Wait… wait…” Franny came rushing down the stairs. “The pictures.”
Everything was warm and buzzed with energy as we stood and allowed my grandmother to fuss over us as Franny snapped away with her camera. But, I couldn’t have said how long it went on for, my mind was focused solely on the man beside me. His earthy scent wrapped around me and made me feel woozy, so I leaned on him to make sure I wouldn’t fall over.
His heat seeped into me and all I wanted to do was wrap up in him. Instead, my grandmother slipped the fur wrap around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my cheek as she shooed us out the door.
“My uncle loaned me his car,” Eli broke the silence as he opened my door and helped me to settle into the passenger seat. “All I have is an old farm truck. Constantly needs work, nowhere near a new car smell, but it gets me from point A to point B.”
“Thank your uncle for me then. I’ve never been in a Lexus.”
Eli quickly rounded the car after closing me into the warm car. It was frigid outside but had yet to see anything resembling snow. Yet, Franny had promised me a white Christmas. She’d said she could feel it in her bones. I sighed — I’d never seen snow.
The door opened and I turned to watch Eli almost gracefully sit in the driver's seat. Slamming the door he shivered and grinned at me — “I’m glad I left the car running. I thought I was picking up your grandmother and wanted her to be comfortable.”
“Are you disappointed?” I asked softly as insecurity took hold.
“Absolutely… not.” The twinkle in his eyes and wicked grin had me laughing as I smacked his arm.
“You’re mean,” I insisted.
“You’re gorgeous,” he replied as he leaned forward over the console separating us. “You sure you want to go to the dance?”
“I believe I’m dressed for a dance,” I finally answered as I ran my hand over the blue velvet of my mermaid style dress. The lights from the dash sparkled off of the sequence and glitter on the sleeves and the voluminous part of the skirt that began at my knees.
“It would be a shame to waste that dress.” Eli’s voice was husky as he caught my gaze and held it.
My breath caught in my chest as he reached forward and caressed along my jaw — “This face is all that got me through my incarceration,” he whispered then shook his head.
“What?”
“I wish you hadn’t seen Officer Jones drag me away in cuffs… but I can’t regret my actions… after all, they’re why I have you here in this car with me.”
I chuckled uneasily as my fingers plucked at my dress nervously. Forcing my eyes to drop, I stared at my toes as they peaked out of the sparkly shoes my grandmother had insisted on buying me.
“I hope the dance is well heated” — I shivered for impact and turned to smile at Eli — “Shall we go.”
His gaze spoke volumes to me but my mind refused to accept any of it. Relationships had never been my thing. It had always just been my mom and I. Which was a huge reason I struggled so much with her loss — why I was afraid to get close to anyone… especially my grandmother.
The thought echoed in my head as Eli sighed. “Alright, Sunshine. Dancing and disco balls it is… for now.”
**
The Snow Ball was being held in the local high school. There was a disco ball — as Eli had mentioned — along with white and colored twinkle lights, cut out snowflakes covered in glitter, and streamers. It was nothing like I thought and everything I had dreamed. Cheesy, over-the-top, and spectacular. Eli allowed me to take in every detail while a DJ played a variety of music to keep the place hopping while giving all age groups something they knew.
“Well, this is the Holiday City Annual Snow Ball,” Eli sighed as he waved at people as they passed us.
Frozen in place, I hadn’t moved for at least ten minutes. Nerves filled me and I tugged at my dress. I never wore dresses, especially ones as fancy as the one my grandmother and Franny had made.
“Stop fidgeting… you're gorgeous.” Eli whispered in my ear as he took hold of my hand. “Want to dance or would you prefer some punch?”
“There’s punch?”
“Of course… plus cookies and, of course, pizza.” He puffed out his chest and grinned at me. “Angelos always caters the Snow Ball.”
Pride showed on his face as he led me forward to a table lined with a lot more than cookies and pizza. An array of holiday treats had my mouth watering.
“You look hungry.” Eli reached out for a plate and added a slice of cheese pizza and cookies.
When he offered the plate to me, I looked at the food and shook my head as my hands slid down my dress. I would drop something on the dress and ruin it.
“You better stop doing that or I’ll show you the janitor's closet,” Eli husked into my ear as he pressed closer to my side.
Turning a startled gaze in his direction, I took in Eli’s smile as he chuckled and led me over to a table with one hand at my lower back and the other carrying the plate of food.
“Sit here while I go grab us a couple of cups of punch,” Eli ordered and quickly disappeared into the crowd surrounding the tables.
In the short time since we’d arrived, the room had filled to capacity. People of all ages danced, talked, and smiled in the holiday finest. I chuckled when an older gentleman pulled two teenagers apart and waved his hands to indicate the need for space between. The girl’s
