Learning to Dance

have, you know. You must have known.”
He kissed her again, his hands in her hair, getting lost in
her mouth, her taste, her breath, her small hands on his
chest, the shape of her pressed against him. He kissed her
until they both were gasping for air. Taz closed her eyes
against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, tightly,
marvelling that she was his, that she loved him, that she
was here, after everything.
“I know I promised you a dance,” she said, after a few
minutes. “But I don’t think I’m ready to go out there yet.”
“Well, I suppose you’ve still got a tough son-of-a-bitch
reputation to maintain,” Up said. “Even if mine is shot.” He
stepped back and held out his hand. “Dance with me here?”
There wasn’t any music, but they didn’t need any. They
listened to the waves, to the wind, to the stars, to the sound
of each other breathing. They danced slowly, simply, and all
Up could think of was her body pressed to his, her face
tilted upward, the love he felt for her reflected in her eyes.
The moment was disrupted when she laughed as he
tripped spectacularly over a stray rock, taking them both
tumbling into the sand.
“You’d think that after all these lessons we would have
learned to dance by now,” he said, a bit ruefully, rubbing his
side as she rolled over, still laughing.
“I think we’re getting there,” she said, bending over him
with that smile he loved.
And then everything was Taz, and her kiss on the
moonlit sand, and Up knew that she was right.