Page 13 of Until You Came Along

What’s happening to me? Control yourself, Delfina!I told myself.

We weren’t speaking, but I can assure you that I had never felt so connected to someone as I felt with Hermes Darwich in that moment, and that made me even more nervous.

The song came to an end and I tried to step back to separate us, but he prevented me by pulling me closer to him. I looked at him in surprise; he looked back at me and for the first time I saw him smile. That dazzling smile accentuated his beauty, and if he hadn’t been holding me, I surely would have fallen backward onto the floor.

“Don’t go because I assure you the song will start again, and it’s only fair that we dance to the whole thing,” he said, and seconds later the singer began to sing “Come Away With Me” again. “I knew it! It’s my mother’s favorite song and she always asks them to repeat it.”

This man had changed; he wasn’t the ogre who had been in my apartment. Now he was behaving in an approachable way and even with a certain friendliness.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, referring to the song and just to say something, because I was finding it difficult to put together a coherent sentence.

"It certainly is," he said, but he was looking at me in such a way that, for a second, I thought he was referring to me.

"And the party is very lovely," I commented, having no idea what else to say.

"What’s going on between you and my brother?" he asked, without beating around the bush, looking directly into my eyesand completely abandoning the formality with which he had always addressed me.

"What?"

"You heard me," was all he said.

"Why do you think I owe you any explanation about my relationship with Baco?" I responded, because I was annoyed by the bossy way he asked me, returning to being the distant and authoritarian man.

"Do you always answer with another question?"

"Maybe because I don’t like the way you ask them, they sound like orders that I have to obey immediately."

"Are you going to answer me?"

"No."

We challenged each other with our gazes, green versus blue, his an authoritative look, but this time also seemed somewhat lost, mine a look that tried to be worthy of its opponent, but was losing the battle. Fortunately, the song came to an end and, this time, I was able to move away. As I was leaving, he took me by the elbow again and lowered his face so that his mouth was at my ear.

"You owe me a shirt and I intend to collect," he whispered, looked at me and left, leaving me standing there completely bewildered.

Baco approached me looking at me strangely.

"Did my brother bother you?" he asked, with a furrowed brow.

"What?" I said again, totally confused by what I had experienced with that man.

"Did my brother bother you or was he inappropriate?" he repeated.

"No, not at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, really. Was your mother happy that you asked her to dance?" I asked, to change the subject.

"What do you think! It was her favorite song," Baco said. "Do you want to keep dancing or shall we get something to drink and eat?"

"Let’s get something to drink, my throat is dry," I stated, and in that I wasn’t lying.

As we were leaving, I could see Hermes dancing with the same woman he had been talking to earlier. She was hugging him around the neck and trying to press her body against his. That gave me a feeling in my stomach that I didn’t like and confused me even more.

What’s happening to me with that man? I’d better keep as far away from him as possible,I told myself.

We took some glasses of champagne and sat on some benches arranged around the gazebo. At that moment, "To Live" also by Norah Jones was playing. From there we could see all the couples dancing, including Hermes and that woman. I felt the need to find out if she was his partner, but I didn’t dare ask Baco, I had the feeling that he had been puzzled by our dance.