"The dancing is so cool!" I tell Manny over my shoulder. "They all know the steps, no one looks awkward!"
Manny puts his mouth to my ear, so I can hear him over the music and the crowd. "It's a Cumbia."
"A what-ia?"
Manny laughs and leads me to the dance floor.
"A Spanish dance. It's easy, let me teach you."
I flush, looking at the other dancers. "No, I can't, Manny! I'll look stupid!"
"Come on, you chicken! We'll stay here in this little corner, no one is even paying us any attention. Now, look at my feet."
I glance around, and he's right, no one is looking at us. I just don't want to be the dumb white girl who can't dance. But I obediently look down.
"Okay, feet together. Then step back with your right foot, and at the same time, you're gonna pivot your left foot, so it's a little behind, like this."
I’m concentrating hard on Manny's shoes. "Like this?"
"Uh, okay, wait." He comes behind me, his hands on my hips, and adjusts me slightly. "Like that.
"Now what?" I stand there, trying not to wobble.
"Now you're gonna lift your left foot and step in place. No, don't stomp." He's cracking up, and I start laughing too. "Step lightly, like this." He does a very sexy demonstration of what I'm supposed to do. Lord have mercy, those hips!
"Now, bring your right foot back to the original position and do the same steps on the other side." Manny steps back and watches while I somehow remember the steps.
"That's good, that's good! Okay, now we do it together." He grabs my hands and guides me backward. "Let me lead, Taryn. Just look at my feet, feel where I'm taking you, and listen to the music."
Crap, I'm feeling where he's taking me, alright! But I try to loosen up and have fun. I step on his toes a few times and keep giggling, but Manny is patient with me.
"Okay, now we're going to add a little slide here." He lets go of one hand and pulls me to the side. "Yeah, there you go. Feel that Cumbia, Taryn, let it fill you up!"
And I am feeling it. Before I realize what he's doing, Manny has led us out to the dance floor proper, and we're cumbia-ing our asses off.
Finally, I collapse in his arms, all sweaty.
"I need a break!" I laugh.
Manny grins and grabs my hand. "Me too. Come on. I'll take you to my special place."
Special place??
Manny's "special place" turns out to be this little tree house at the very back of his grandparent's property, in a wooded area. We can still hear the music and party going on but the sound is muted here.
Manny helps me up into the wooden structure and I sit down on the dusty floor. It's not a very big space, just enough room for the two of us to lie down together. If we choose to.
"Is this safe?" I put my palm against the tree trunk which the house is nestled against.
Manny grins and stretches out beside me. "Sure, it is. My old man built it, it's still solid." He holds an arm out to me and I lay down beside him, my cheek on his chest and my hand on his ribs.
"Where are your parents? I didn't see them."
"They're in Mexico actually. My sister Rosa just had her first baby." He wraps himself around me and I scooch up a bit so my face is next to his.
"I've had the most wonderful time tonight," I tell him. Reaching up I trace my finger along his jaw. I can feel the rough stubble coming in and wonder what he'd look like with a goatee?
"By the way, what was that word your Aunt Sophia called me when we first got here? Amant or something?"
Manny cracks up. "Amante. It means "lover"."
I flush and smother a giggle. "Oh!" I snuggle into him, laying a leg over his and he runs his hand up my bare leg, caressing the back of my thigh.
We lay there staring at one another and then I press my lips to his. He kisses me back; those slow Manny kisses are so different from the way other guys have kissed me. It's like he has all the time in the world. I love it.
We break apart and go back to looking at one another. Finally, I ask the question that has been swirling around in my brain for the last two days.
"Do you like me, Manny? I mean, like, really like me?"
He raises an eyebrow at me. "Can't put anything past you, can I?"
I ignore the sarcasm. "No, come on. I mean seriously. This isn't just about you scoring with me is it? Because, that's not what I want. I'm ready for someone to be serious about me and for me to be serious about them. I'm so sick of playing games with people."
Manny raises himself up on his elbow. He's not smiling now. "Seriously? I'm fucking crazy about you, dummy. I kind of thought you would have picked up on that by now? You know, the way I've been kissing you and introducing you to my family and all that?"
I sigh. "Yes, but you've also spent a lot of time yelling at me, and getting angry at me and making fun of me with your friends. So yeah, I don't exactly know for sure what is going on here. And I'd like to know, thank you."
Manny's lips are twisting and I can tell he's trying not to laugh.
I glare at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't laugh at me!"
But he does laugh and then leans down and gives me a chaste kiss on my firmly closed mouth.
"Listen. I'm sorry for all the times I was an ass. Truth is, I
