Dancing Under the Moon

The cool breeze lifted a strand of hair to slide over cheek as she looked up at the sky. In the middle of the downtown landscape no stars could be seen, just darkness with a halo of light. But she knew the stars were up there and so was the moon and that was a little comforting.

So much had changed in the last few years with her life that it was hard to slow down and really look at it as a big picture. There were times where she still wished things were different but she had ceased pining and let the past go.

She sat out on a Friday night, alone, on the wide marble ledge of a planter where a tree was reaching up into the darkness. The night club before her was filled to capacity, people out on the patio and music filled the air along with laughter.She watched couples and groups stroll by, chattering and laughing as well as staring at their cell phones. One gal walked by and she could see she was posting on some site somewhere and it saddened her how disconnected we all were.
Sure, all these people were out being social but she could see the decline in social manners. Hell, she could see how people just did not know how to interact with each other anymore. So many blunt rude people as well as people who would just cut you off at a moments notice when the next pretty bauble came into view. She found many to be shallow and wanting only the quick fix they needed at the moment rather than those who wanted to hammer out a real connection with someone. Where both parties had a stake in what was going on.
Communication was done on little screens where you could say whatever you wanted because you did not have to look someone in the eye.
People were bold, mean and rude when they did not have to face someone down.
People did not like to be held accountable for who they hurt.
They danced around the truth and left carnage in their wake.
Then they wake up one day realizing the mistakes they made along the way.
But they were happy for a moment right?
She shook her head again and sighed.

"That's a pretty big sigh there." she heard a male voice say next to her and she turned to see a man sitting on the other side of the planter box smoking.

"Yeah well that's what happens when a girl thinks too much of the past." she said.

"The past should remain there." he said as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"True. But at times it does creep up to tickle your mind with its broken promises."

He stood and walked to stand before her. He was a nice looking man; tall, leather jacket, jeans, boots, dark hair touching his shoulders and eyes that she could see twinkling in the lamplight. She wondered what color his eyes were, he was intriguing.

Another exhale and he said. "Lot's of promises are broken."

"Sure they are. Via text. Via instant message. Via email.Kind of a disconnected world we have these days."

His head tilted as he watched her for a moment. Interestingly, she was not uncomfortable with this and her eyes met his unflinchingly.

"I agree. Society is truly disconnected. People have forgotten how to just sit down and talk." he said and then he leaned over to crush his cigarette out in the nearby trashcan.

"I think people talk, but not about the important things. I think the talk is about what they saw on television or who they saw having drama on Facebook the night before. funny cat videos and webpages of nonsense fill their brains. No one sits down and talks about how they feel. what they want or don't want. It is a guessing game. I think people spend too much time staring into screens and not enough time drinking wine, tongue kissing and dancing under the moon." her voice had grown soft at the end of her speech because he had stepped closer, his gaze intense.

"I completely agree. Tongue kissing, tasting the wine on each other and dancing to a slow song under the moon is underrated." he held out his hand. "I'm Adam. Want to go have a conversation over a glass of wine and maybe we can go find the moon?"

A soft chuckle and she stood, placing her hand in his.
"I'm Sky. It's nice to meet you Adam. And I would love some wine, conversation and a good moon chase."

"Excellent." he said as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked.

His eyes were blue she noticed as they walked into the club. She hoped there was some serious moon chasing.

Drunk

  Her drink sat before her on the table, watered down as she watched the people come and go from the bar. It was a Friday afternoon and the bar had quite a few people stopping by for that after work imbibe.
Her notebook was open, pen laying across a blank page, and she hoped the bustling place would get her creativity flowing again.
So much had happened in the past few years her little, battered soul was barely scooting along at the bottom of the barrel. She was picking herself up pretty good, she thought, but damn it was tough work.
Many had it rougher. So she tried not to think of her situation as terrible. It was just a set back,

Her attention was caught by a woman who had just stumbled from a group by the pool tables. This was someone who was down low, she could tell by the dark circles under her eyes and the worn look on her face.
The woman reached a bar stool and clumsily settled down, yelling out a drink order to the bar tender who was close by. Soon she had, what looked like a shot of whiskey set before her. She slammed it back, slid the back of her hand over her mouth and wiped it off on ratty cut off jean shorts.
Her red cowboy boots had seen better days. Scuffed on the toes to the point where the red was gone and the under material showed. Maybe those scuffs were from lots of dancing or perhaps scuffles while she was drunk.
Her shirt was red and covered in sequins that spelled out something she could not make out.
Blonde hair teased to the max and a lot of makeup to hide those sleepless nights.

She realized as the woman slammed back her second shot, that she could see, that she was not just getting drunk for the hell of it. She's getting drunk to numb the hell out of it.

Those words made it to the page before her. A sadness washed over her as she watched the woman with the chipped red nails and mickey mouse watch on her right arm that this could be anyone at any time.
We all could get side swiped by some tragedy in life and there is no one to shake us out of our own self destruction.
Sometimes we feel like those worn cowboy boots; too scuffed to be presentable but too comfortable to walk around in to get rid of.

She stood, gathering her items and walked slowly from the bar and its quiet, subtle desolation.

Wild Hearts

   "Oh, the sprinklers are on! Let's go run through them!" she said as she danced around in front of him.
Her gorgeous green eyes were alight with excitement.

He smiled at her and shook his head.

"Those are big powerful sprinklers." he watched the long arcs of the water spray over the park's grass.

"Then we will just stay in spray, don't get too close to the head and we are good. Come on. Live a little." her hands slid up his chest and he trembled. He loved it when she touched him. It unnerved him that one touch from this little slip of a woman could unravel him. Oh what the hell, she was right, time to live a little.
He took her hand and with a wink tugged her off to run with her through the cold water.

It showered down over them as they ran through. Laughing and screaming as the cold water touched their skin.
After a moment she stopped and he found they had made it across to the other side of the field. He turned back to watch the water pass by.
She placed her hands on his cheeks, turned his head down to hers and all he could see was wild, love filled green eyes. It set his heart to pounding in his chest and then his whole body shivered as her lips touched his.
Wrapping her in his arms he deepened the kiss, swirling his tongue through her mouth and he thrilled at her moan.
 Their wet bodies clung to one another as they kissed deeply in the darkening park on a hot summer night.
He never wanted this to end but her love was so intense, so wild, it scared him. He pulled back from the kiss and stared down into her eyes.

"You terrify me woman." he said softly allowing his fear to show. "Your love is wild."

She pushed a wet tendril of hair from his forehead, her fingers trailing over his cheek, his jaw and then over his lips. She smiled, that smile that always melted him.

"Hearts are wild creatures." she said with a grin and spun in a circle, wrapping her arms around herself and stopped, looking at him. "That's why our ribs are cages. You are in no danger of losing your wild heart to me. Just allow me to feed it through the bars."

She was against him again, her arms sliding around him and her eyes blazing love.

Wild creatures indeed. Well his felt as if it were a lion ready to burst free to take down its prey. His woman. He crushed her to him and took his kisses hard from her mouth. She moaned louder and he knew that her own wild lioness of a heart was racing like his.

Dances

    He sat staring out at the snow covered mountains and let out a sigh. He watched his breath flow out before him in a cloud of cold, harsh memories.
Yeah, he was alone and he wanted it that way. He liked the way his life was. Uncomplicated. No one to tell him how to do things or control his movements. He could come and go as he pleased. Stay out all night if he felt like it.
He shook his head sadly as he crushed the cigarette out in the ashtray.
Fuck, who was he fooling with his adolescent ramblings. One would think he was a mere slip of a boy when he was a man. A successful man. He had made it. Not without scars but he made it.
He turned and went back into the house, the cold air finally driving into his skin enough he felt chilled to the bone.
The house was quiet.
He stood looking into the living room wondering if a good movie was on tonight.
Fuck it. Bed. He would just go to bed.
Was easier to sleep and not feel the crushing loneliness.

    The beer before him had gone flat and he stared at the television over the bar without really seeing it. His mind had gone to thoughts of her. That gorgeous little thing he left behind so long ago. He wondered what his life would have been like if he had taken her hand and run off with her. He knew she was a wild thing. A woman who was incredibly alive. It scared him. To be around someone who could fade into the background as easily as light the room up with her incredible smile.

"You're thinking hard aren't you?" a voice said next to him and he turned to see one of his friends there. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. A lot on my mind these days." he said and looked back to the television.

He noticed his friend settled down next to him and waited quietly. That is what he liked about him, he never pressed but then most guys knew not to press. A woman now, they would press but that one, she did not press. She understood. Truly. Deeply. Honestly. Understood what he was about and even if she did not agree, she still saw the good side of his soul. Fuck. Fuck. He messed up. He knew it.
The small crack in his steel wall he built around his heart to protect him from such emotions cracked and he almost groaned aloud at the pain that lanced him.

"I miss her." He said softly staring now at the golden liquid in the glass.

His friend knew who she was, he was the only one who ever knew of this little fireball that entered his life for a short time. The one he wanted to just lay down and be who he was with. But that was too scary and it pissed him off to know he was afraid so he did what he always did. Shut her out.

"What do you miss the most?" his friend said softly.

He thought about that a moment. He missed how she smelled. How her skin felt under his hands. How her green eyes would go so dark with desire when he kissed her. How she could make him laugh, even when his day was so bad. She made him smile and feel true joy for being alive. The mountains were more magnificent. He wanted to dance to every song. And each love song reminded him of her.

"She dances to the songs in her head, speaks with the rhythm of her heart, and loves from the depths of her soul. She made me want to dance with her and learn those fanciful songs. I wanted to be the reason her heart skipped a beat. And most of all..." he looked at his friend who was watching him with sad eyes.
"I wanted to know the depths of her soul. To know her completely and not be afraid of losing myself."

He stopped talking for the lump in his throat would not allow him to continue. This is what he could not handle. These wild and deep emotions. They were not allowed in his life. He wanted to love but on his terms. Not a slave to someone else.
But then kneeling to her....would it have been so bad?

"It sounds like you need to go dancing. Take a chance my friend. You might surprise yourself." his friend squeezed his shoulder and walked off.

His gaze lifted to the television and there he saw a woman dancing on the beach, long dark hair flowing out behind her as the sun set behind her. He felt his heart skip a beat and he looked away.

How could he ever mend what had been broken?
Dare he try?

He sighed not knowing what to do.