Page 66 of Light in Your Eyes

My heart almost stops as I hear that sentence from him. Instinctively, I reach out for his hand to comfort him.

Kellan

Even though I can't see her, I know that she can feel my pain. I can hear the sound of her shaky breath.

A part of me wants to shut off. A part of me isn’t ready for her warmth. She makes me feel vulnerable, and a part of me hates the way she's trying hard to cut my heart and see what's inside it.

But then, just like what happened before, I know that I can’t resist her.

I feel her stepping away, and it makes me wonder what she’s about to do. The sound of her footsteps gives me a sign that she's walking to my desk.

"Can I turn on the music player?" she asks.

I don't know what to say. I'm not against it, and I think she knows because the next thing I hear is the sound of music from my vinyl record player.

Melody of classic ballads echoes in my room, and my heart sinks. It's been ages since I turned on this music player. I usually listen to music from my phone using my headset when I find it hard to fall asleep, so when this song is playing from my vinyl record, I can't help but remember the last time it played in my room.

It was when I did what my therapist suggested a year after my parents' death. He told me to grieve the loss of my parents, to let out the pent-up emotions for good. The song used to be the one my parents played when they dancedtogether.

The last time I heard it in this very same room, I was sobbing uncontrollably. I was twelve back then.

It's amazing that the music player is still functioning right now.

Layla hums softly. "I think I know this song," she mumbles. "Yeah. I think this song was playing when I was practicing slow dancing at my school."

Dancing.

My mind wanders to the time Layla asked me to dance in the rain, and I badly want her to feel like that again. I need the sound of her laughter again.

"Do you want to do it?" I blurt.

She doesn't say anything back.

Of course, she doesn't. She won't understand what I'm trying to say if I don't make it clear. I suddenly feel fucking stupid.

"Dancing," I say. "Do you want to dance to the music now?"

After a while, Layla laughs softly. "Only if you dance with me," she says with a slightly teasing tone. "The dance is for two people, anyway."

I don't say anything, but I bet she can see that I'm not objecting to it.

"Come here," she says in a cheerful voice.

I reluctantly approach her. I don't know what I just fucking said. I can't fucking dance, and this is going to be fucking embarrassing.

"Come on. It's okay. I won't bite," she teases again, earning my scowl, which only makes her laugh.

My pulse quickens as she takes my hand. She places herother hand on my shoulder.

"Have you ever done this?" she asks.

"You think?" I ask menacingly.

"I was just asking."

I can feel the movement of her arms when she shrugs.

"If that's the case, I'm going to teach you a bit," she says. "I'm not an expert, so I'm just going to tell you about the basic steps."