Max Dancing at Dark
Max
Dancing at Dark
"How many pictures do we have to take?" I grumble to Howie.
"We need the groomsmen. Line up over here, please, and smile. We’re almost done." Olive’s mother commands us, snapping her fingers toward the group.
The photographer, a fierce-looking woman dressed in all black, smiles at our group half-heartedly as we make our way toward the water—if I had to guess, she’s as annoyed at Anne Bowman as the rest of us. She snaps a few pictures, directing us to make a funny face before the last one.
We’ve been at this for a solid forty-five minutes, and my palms are itching to get to Sadie.
She looked out of this world when I saw her, the green dress accentuating the golden flecks in her eyes.
They were narrowed at me for most of the ceremony—my surprise apparently didn’t have the desired effect.
"You’re free to go. Sam and I will take a few more before we come to eat dinner," Olive coos, grabbing my brother’s hand and dragging him toward the wedding arch while her mom looks on with something similar to icy approval.
The staff has cleared most of the seating, leaving the lawn clear for the dance floor to be set up.
But I’m not sticking around to watch. Howie and Ari lead the way, marching across the grass toward a large white tent with tables underneath it.
The walls have been rolled down, probably so the guests didn’t have to watch the production that was us taking a million and one photos.
Stepping inside, music rolls through the space, something classical—maybe Beethoven. I’m sure Olive’s mom picked it since the vibe screams trust fund.
"We’re over here," Ari says, pulling Howie’s hand toward a table near the front.
Approaching, only a few of the seats are occupied, and Sadie’s isn’t one of them. Glancing around, I search the tables for a green dress. Only stopping when my eyes snag on the bright emerald near the bar. Swerving right, I slow my pace when her melodic laugh reaches me across the makeshift room.
It’s soothing, like a warm hug—one I’ve been longing for all day.
"Put her drink on my tab, Walter," I say, slinking up beside her.
The bartender is a family friend who’s been working weddings for at least thirty years that I know of. Always flirting his way into his next fling, like an older George Clooney slinging drinks.
"Max… I’m pretty sure it’s free." Sadie turns her body toward mine, rolling her eyes.
"Nah, Walter’s just been giving you freebies in an attempt to steal my date." I wink at the man in question.
"Wait, really?" Sadie reaches into her purse, pulling out a couple of bills. "I’ve been up here twice, let me—"
A chuckle roars from my chest, and Walter follows suit.
"I’m kidding. Does this look like the type of wedding that has a cash bar?"
Sadie smacks my chest.
"No." She shoves the money into Walter’s tip jar. "But… to be fair, I didn’t even know I was coming to a wedding, so anything’s possible, right?"
Grinning, I wrap my fingers around her arm gently and pull her toward me. "Fair. Your expression was so worth it, though."
Sadie scoffs before grabbing her glass of wine and my lager from the wooden bar. She steps toward our table, taking her seat just as our meals are set down—steak for me, salmon for her.
"You should’ve told me." She grabs her napkin and drapes it across her lap. "I look like I’m going to a backyard barbecue, not this wedding." Her eyes widen as she scans the reception.
Taking a sip of my beer, I reach below the table, grab the leg of her chair, and pull it closer to mine before settling my hand on her upper thigh.
"You look amazing. So good it took my breath away when I saw you seated in the front row." Leaning in, I press a kiss to her cheek. "Could’ve passed out and dropped the rings if I hadn’t looked away."
"Max…"
"Don’t Max me. I’m serious, even wearing a paper sack, you’d still be the only woman in this room that I see. The only woman in any room, actually."
Sadie turns to me, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "Okay, Casanova. You win."
She stabs a fingerling potato with her fork, but pauses halfway to her mouth. "How did you know to order me fish?"
Chewing my bite of steak before answering, I hold up a finger. "Well, you liked the oysters so much I assumed it was the safe choice. Was I wrong? We can trade."
She smiles at me while simultaneously cutting into the fish in question. "It’s one of my favorites, just shocked you put that together."
"I notice things, Sade." I smirk at her, relishing the way she’s digging into her plate like she hasn’t had a meal in years. I eat a lot, so I need someone who can match my energy with food.
Someone who won’t judge me for ordering double meat everywhere I go.
We eat in amicable silence, talking to family and friends as they approach the table.
Sam and Olive make their grand entrance, and the mood shifts as dinner wraps up.
I’m looking forward to dancing, but there’s a special spot that I had set up just for Sadie—a final surprise for the evening she wasn’t expecting.
"Hey," I whisper in her ear. "Sneak out the back of the tent. I’ll follow in just a second."
"What? Why?" Her expression shifts, clearly confused.
Grinning, I nod toward the spot where the walls meet, a section that will be easy to slip out of. "Trust me."
Sadie nods, sliding off her chair and heading toward the exit. I lean toward Sam, filling him in on where I’m headed. He smirks at me, but shoo’s me away. He probably thinks I’m headed for a quickie, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
When I sneak between the walls of the tent, Sadie is on the other side pacing. Wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, I inhale her peach scent.
"I’m not sure it’s good form to crash a wedding, then sneak off for a quickie."
Jesus, does everyone think I’m that obvious?
"While I wouldn’t turn it down, you’re oh for two." I nip her earlobe, and Sadie squeaks. "You didn’t crash… you were on the guest list. And I have a surprise for you—one that doesn’t involve my cock… unless you want it to."
Stepping in front of her, she rolls her eyes again. And I loop my arms behind her knees, hoisting her against my chest to head toward her surprise. She yelps, but sinks into my hold after a second of squirming.
"You don’t have to carry me."
"I want to."
"Why?"
I shrug. "Your legs are two feet long, we’ll get there quicker."
"Wow. What a gentleman!" Her sass is just one of the things I’m coming to love about her.
Running across the grass, I get us to the brick pathway in less than a minute. It’s tucked between trees, purposely hidden like a secret garden. Setting Sadie down, I wrap my hands over her eyes.
"Okay, you have to walk for this part because I don’t want you to see it before it’s time."
I planned the whole thing with Burt, the groundskeeper. He’s supposed to turn on the lights at exactly seven. Checking my watch, I see we have two minutes.
Leading Sadie down the pathway, we enter the opening to a small cobblestone patio with candles lit on the ground sporadically.
"I need another minute. If I uncover your face, do you promise to keep your eyes closed?"
"Yes."
Running my hands up her arms, I lean in and kiss her.
It’s soft, sweet, but Sadie leans into me and I can’t resist deepening the kiss.
Tangling my hand in the hair at her nape, I angle her head to the right as I run my tongue against the seam of her mouth.
She opens for me, and I savor her taste, nibbling on her bottom lip.
We break apart as the twinkle lights turn on, but Sadie keeps her eyes closed.
I should tell her to open them, but I steal the moment, drinking her in.
Freckles dot the bridge of her nose, and I trace them with my finger.
Her lips are swollen, pink from the kiss we shared, and I steal a peck.
Sadie’s long chocolate hair cascades in effortless waves down her back, and the swell of her breasts rises and falls with each breath she takes.
I feel like I’m looking at a painting, a picture of perfection.
I’m pulled to her in a way that’s illogical, like a moth to a flame, not afraid even though I know I’m going to be burned.
"You’re enchanting." Kissing her cheek, I reach around her middle, spinning her in my arms so her back is pressed to my front. "Open your eyes, Sade."
She gasps as she takes in the scene before her. Twinkling lights hang from the trees like tiny fireworks dripping from each branch. Candles of varying shapes and sizes dot the ground, illuminating the stone beneath our feet.
"This is… I’ve never seen… oh my God." Sadie spins, wrapping her arms around me. "You did this… for me?"
Smiling, I squeeze her back. "To be honest, there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you, Sade. This was nothing compared to the lengths I’d go to see that look on your face."
Music drifts into the space, a slow beat that I know is Sam and Olive’s first dance. It whispers through the trees, just loud enough to hear over the sound of my heart beating in my chest.
"You’re the best man I’ve ever met." Sadie peers up at me from under her lashes. "Thank you, Max. Not just for this, but for everything."
I’m overwhelmed with the need to stay in this bubble, to dance with the girl and pretend she’s mine forever.
I’ve hinted to her that I’m falling for her, but I haven’t told her outright.
And I know I can’t. That wouldn’t be fair—to either of us.
But if circumstances were different, I’d hold on and hope she would never let go.
"May I have this dance before we go back?"
"Of course, Max." Sadie slides her hands around my neck and into the hair at the base of my head. "I’m not sure I ever want to dance with anyone else." A single tear streaks down her face, and my heart triples in size.
She’s not an overly emotional woman. I’d describe her as pragmatic most of the time.
A tear of any kind is unusual. I’ve watched her talk about her dad abandoning them, her stitches being placed, and a lot of other things that would make me cry—but she always remains stoic.
This display is confirmation that she’s just as torn by our predicament as I am.
"Me too, Sade. Me too."
We sway to the sound of the music, leaning into each other with each slow turn. It might be the most romantic moment of my life, a moment that could only exist in a movie. But that’s what she inspires in me—a need to move heaven and earth to make her happy.
As the song ends, another rolls through the trees just as beautiful as the last, but a little faster.
I spin Sadie, making her giggle when I dip her back for a film-worthy kiss.
She closes her eyes as she’s bent backward and smiles.
It takes up her entire face, a look of pure, unadulterated bliss.
But when I lift her back to standing—small pieces of paper in every color rain down on us.
Blue, green, pink, orange, yellow, white… They are everywhere, whipping in the light summer breeze. They weren’t part of the plan, and my mind races with questions.
Did Burt go rogue? Is this more magic?
"How did you—"
Shaking my head, I release her, bending to grab one from the ground. "I didn’t."
Sadie snatches it from my hand, unfolding the two-by-two parchment, and reading it aloud.
"The answer to most questions can be found in the silence that sits between laughter." She looks at me, then back at the paper. "Do you think this was Beth?"
"It has to be. What’s the next clue in your book?"
Sadie digs in her purse, and I don’t fail to notice how she shoves the tiny scrap of paper into her bag for safekeeping. She removes her phone and opens the photo app, turning it toward me.
6. Down
To grant indulgence
"What the hell does that mean?" I ask, looking at another one of the papers. I’ve unfolded a few, and they all say the same thing.
"Humor… I think." Sadie zooms in on the picture she took. "It has five letters. I’ll have to try it when I get home."
My heart leaps into my throat as the book and a pencil appear suddenly over her left shoulder. I know I’m not dreaming as I blink a few times and it remains.
"Or… you could try it now." I grasp Sadie’s shoulders, turning her around so she can see it—floating in front of the tree, suspended weightlessly in mid-air.
She sucks her teeth, releasing a hissing breath.
"I guess now’s as good a time as any." She smiles softly, grabbing it and opening the book.
Sadie scribbles in the letters. As the lead-colored letters melt into gold, Sadie slumps against me like she’s relieved or defeated—possibly both. But I can tell from her expression she doesn’t want to discuss the wild thing happening to her.
"Let’s go back to the party." I tuck the book under my arm and guide her toward the path.
Sadie stops, turning to press a kiss on my cheek before grabbing the book and placing it on the ground.
"Just leave it here. It’ll follow me home, anyway."