Atonement(67)

We enjoyed drinks in the very Hollywood atmosphere which didn’t surprise me since the club was owned and designed by avant-garde director David Lynch. The club was busy and the music terrific. I couldn’t say anything bad about the place but I truly thought Colin brought me here just so I could wear my brand new sequined, navy blue one-shoulder bandage dress and black spiked patent-leather Christian Louboutin five-inch heels. I’d wrapped my hair up in a messy French Twist which fit my clothes perfectly and as usual, my makeup was extremely understated thanks to my flashy wardrobe.

He leaned over and kissed my neck. “Have I told you you’re the most beautiful woman in the room?”

I smiled as I sipped from my vodka tonic. “I’m sure you say that to all the women you spend an evening with,” I teased slyly.

“If you don’t believe me, look around.”

I tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear and did a surreptitious glance around. More than a few men were checking me out in a not-so-subtle way.

“Shit.” I grabbed his hand on the table. “They probably think I’m famous or something. How many people wear a dress like this except to a premiere of a movie, a night out in Vegas or perhaps to the Last Supper Club in Seattle?”

“Who cares why you have that dress on? You look smokin’ hot tonight.”

“I should as my dress and shoes cost more than thirty six hundred dollars total.”

He shook his head. “You women and your clothes…”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you I’m usually a department store girl? It’s just…well, when in Paris I might as well do what all the wealthy Parisians do.”

“Would you like to dance?” Colin inquired after a short smile.

“As long as it’s a slow song. I don’t think I can actually groove in these shoes. I am certainly not Aubrey in that regards. That girl can dance something awesome whether she is in a pair of flats or seven-inch heels. It is definitely an acquired skill and one I don’t have yet.”

It was a slow song the DJ had chosen and the sound was terrific. The singer, obviously a French pop artist, had a great voice though I couldn’t quite place if it was Shy’m, Vitaa or perhaps Sheryfa Luna. I was actually surprised a David Lynch bar wouldn’t play Mylène Farmer non-stop or even David Guetta.

We both stood and I grabbed my vintage little black bag courtesy of Chanel. It was the kind of slow song that was perfect for me to slip my arms around Colin’s neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close. I thanked God his dress shirt was black as it wouldn’t show any makeup stains if I accidentally ventured too close and rested my head on his shoulder.

Time seemed to stand still as we rocked back and forth in one another’s arms and the whole experience was too perfect to describe. In his arms, I realized I didn’t want to know all his secrets because I feared the one he wanted to tell me most could cause a schism in our relationship and I wasn’t ready for that.

If someone had asked me how I knew, I couldn’t tell the person but I had a gut feeling and usually my gut never steered me wrong. It was capable of telling me so much about a person or a situation, like the night when my mom called to tell me about the accident with my father. She didn’t have to speak, didn’t have to say a word as somehow I already knew it wouldn’t be good news and how do you respond to something like that?

I wanted my relationship with Colin to stay exactly as it was now and I knew that sounded foolish and immature but I didn’t care. I could afford to be frivolous in my private life because my life outside that had become so ugly and public. Now, I would have a real job and hopefully make my mother as proud as she was when she spoke of Caitlyn. That is what mattered at the end of the day. Those ordinary relationships turning into something extraordinary and beyond one’s wildest imagination and I didn’t ever want that feeling to end.

The slow song changed into yet a dance song by David Guetta and although I’d insisted to Colin it would be difficult for me to dance on five-inch stilts, somehow I managed and we continued to dance and I lost myself in the music and found myself singing along with him.

“All the crazy shit I did tonight…those will be the best memories…I just wanna let it go for the night…that would be the best therapy for me,” we both sang at the same time and it felt great.

The chorus started, he twirled me around and we continued to dance and sing, “Hey, hey…yeah, yeah…hey, hey…yeah, yeah!”