"Footprints": Adi-Metz FF, Ch.7 up! 06/16 - Page 2

* Hey ya'll, you may recognize a scene in this part... I can no ways replicate it, but its one of my fav AM ones, and l decided to piece it in. Sorry for any mistakes!

Chapter 3: A Shower of Reminiscence

The ancient creaking of the chair was the only sound echoing dully off the silent walls. Mumbai City lay at the mercy of the wild temper of a storm having steadily amassed… resembling the tornado gaining momentum in the silence inside.

Back… and forth… back… and forth. The chair protested in unheard groans, but the owner refused to hear them. His mind revisited the events of the day… He didn't know what to make of them, but then his fate was never trustworthy. The ceiling seemed to sway with his vision as he rocked the crude chaise, an emblem of his grandfather's pride. The rocking abruptly stopped standing immobile for a second, before he raised and walked towards the closed door.

The cool gush of water felt refreshing upon his burning skin… Dabbing the towel over his face, he held it momentarily over his eyes, pressing the soft fabric against them. Her calm features etched clearly against his blank mind… the shower of minuscule droplets clinging to her skin, determined to hold on to its caress-able texture. The feeble veil of lavender did the same at her head, as she clung to it, holding herself against time… It was a sight he had seen before… but the context had been different. Suddenly feeling nauseous, he pulled the towel away, barely catching a glimpse of the twinkle in gaze as he left the front of the mirror. Throwing the towel to a side, he proceeded to take unbutton his dark shirt… He stood now in front of the shower door, the shirt hanging loosely to his side… parts of skin peeking through. Pulling off his socks, his belt… the image continually retained itself in his mind, refusing to budge now. The drops of moisture on her skin… the lavender material clinging to her… Suddenly, he opened the sliding door and stepped in still clothed… Pulling the tap, he allowed the water drown his thoughts… A buried memory now came arising through the dust… their third meeting… God, he hated her.

(Flashback)

The coals burning within him ignited with immeasurable intensity… he could feel the anger burn within him. This, he thought, is not the end of it, Pranay Kaul… "Not the end…" he whispered vehemently into the air. Each syllable hung in the air like fog… In a fit of passionate rage, he banged the top of his white, classy, mutilated machine. As if to add air to the coals, a voice filtered into his frenzy like a savvy wind, dripping with sarcasm.

"Tsk… Tsk… Tsk… Kissi valet ne tumhari gaadi ki ye halat kardi Adi (Tsk… Tsk… Tsk… Some vale did this to you car Adi?)" The voice was not unheard of, rather quite familiar… detestably familiar. "Magar tum jaante ho, ab tumhaari gaadi bilkul tumhaare jaisi lag rahi hai… (But you know, now your car looks more suitable to you…)" His jawbones twitched, while his fingers tightened in their curl… This was the last thing and the last person who needed to be near him at this moment. "Bade baap ka bigda hua beta… aur uski bigadi hui gaadi. You must be very sad na Adi? Bahut burra lag raha hoga tumhe… (A rich man's spoiled son, and his spoiled car. You must be very sad na Adi? You must be feeling so bad…)" There was a high content of amusement in her tone and it seemed enough to incense the embers, now flaming with wrath… His body began twitching and he found himself turn around and capture her wrists with force.

Her pleasure at seeing him thus was beyond explanation… It seemed too precious a moment to let by without some spice. Walking nonchalantly to his side, she observed the anger creased so firmly in his features… it was as though they had been moulded in. The unexplained thrill she got out of this encouraged her further as she voiced her amusement. His presence spelled danger, yet she could not seem to stop her tongue… nor her feet, which continually forwarded towards him. "Bade baap ka bigda hua beta… aur uski bigadi hui gaadi…" she stated with utmost sarcasm. "You must be very sad na Adi? Bahut burra lag raha hoga tumhe…" Her false pity cut short, as did the movement of her fingertips upon the wrecked vehicle. Feeling an unexpected force, her body responded to a momentarily unseen temper.

"Bahut zubaan chalti hai na tumhaari?… (You love to talk don't you?…)" He felt the fury overpower him as he clung tighter to her struggling wrists. Pouring his dark pools into her hazel reservoirs, he felt a blind current of nameless satisfaction whiz past the fast pulsating anger. "Tum jaisi ladkiyon kuch teekh karna mujhe ache tareeke se aata hai… Agar main chahoon toh issi waqt… (I know perfectly well how to deal with girls like you… If I want, right this instant…)" Her averting eyes positioned themselves with a momentary challenge against his… Again, an anonymous rhythm of curiosity ran blindly against the fire, but that too dissipated just as quickly. " Tum jaanti ho kii main bigdaa hoon, lekin ye nahin jaanti ke kitna bigdaa hoon. Jis din jaan jaoge na, uss din uss din kissi ko muh dikhaane ke kaabil nahin rahoge. (You know that I am spoiled, but not how spoiled. The day you find out, that day on, you will not remain capable of showing your face to anyone)." As he spelled out the last bit to her, his face edged severely close to hers… mapping the side-movement of her cheek. Her eyes were away from his, but he could see the cloud of moisture glaze over them as he continued with consistent edge. "Mere ghar waale kehte hain kissi ki ehri gehri cheez ko muh mat lagana. Isilye chodh raha hoon warna… (My folks say that you shouldn't touch others' things lying around randomally. Hence, I'm leaving you this time, otherwise…)" There was a threat in his voice that he perhaps didn't recognize himself, but the flat warning in his words was mighty evident. "Aaj ke baad, kuch bhi bolne se pehle soch lena, (After today, think before you say anything)" he concluded definitely, before releasing her with utmost disgust.

A hurricane of emotions ran against her like a fountain of rocks at a window… She had no idea what was happening. "…Agar main chahoon toh issi waqt…" The words interrupted the estranged feelings and she managed to stare into him with the defiance she felt. Throughout, her wrists struggled uselessly under his iron grip. " Tum jaanti ho kii main bigdaa hoon, lekin ye nahin jaanti ke kitna bigdaa hoon. Jis din jaan jaoge na, uss din uss din kissi ko muh dikhaane ke kaabil nahin rahoge." A great disgust mixed with a strange fear ran through her veins… As his face hovered closer to hers, she turned hers to the side instinctively. For a moment she felt her eyes squint shut, as though hoping for this to be unreal. "Mere ghar waale kehte hain kissi ki ehri gehri cheez ko muh mat lagana…" It was. The reality of it pinched her with a sharp pain. His words were cruel and wounding, as though dipped in venom. Her defiance suddenly dulled as the soft woman within her recognized the proximity of this man… who spewed at her with hatred…

As he turned to leave, he noticed the material stuck loosely at his collar. Stopping mid-step, he turned slightly to the side… and back, while gathering the soft fabric between his solid hands… The contrast was perfect, and he again felt that fleeting content whisper between his raspy breaths… Ignoring the sensation effectively, he turned to her with distaste… shoving the bundle of softness with force at her pitiful figure. There was no remorse in his action, just pure evil… as he walked away confidently.

Her heart seemed to have stopped… Or began running to an infinite pulse. She couldn't decide… as she watched him turn away, noticing the end of her dupatta trail after him as though somehow beckoning his fiery presence. With a heaving chest, and raspy breaths she looked into his back with a tremor ache her body. Seeing him hold her veil, she felt as though somehow he had uncovered something no one ever had… could. It was more than her crust, which now lay in shatters before her… Turning her face instinctively, as the fabric fell lifelessly against her, her hands clung tightly to the whiteness of the vehicle behind her. Watching him walk away with arrogance in his stride, she felt the shame block her vision with the acidic moisture stinging the edges of her eyes… He had not only uncovered her, but cunningly stolen something too… something precious… Her eyes lowered slowly in humiliation as the drops of disgrace and loss fell through her… She wouldn't forgive him… or herself…

(End flashback)

She woke up with a start… Beads of perspiration formed upon her forehead and she ran a shaky hand through her open tresses… The presence next to her did not stir and she felt relief swarm over her as she looked around at the familiar shadows of her room. Without much thought, she found herself throwing aside the covers, heading silently to the closed door. As the water gushed over her skin, she relished the cool against her warmth… Looking through the glass, she realized the reflection stare back at her pensively… Startled, she took a step back… The day's events ran back to her… Her mind was stirred in chaos… and relief seemed nowhere near. Standing next to the door to the tall shower, she suddenly undid the satiny tie of her night robe before stepping in… The water came over her like a flood of memories….

Comments/Criticims/ Suggestions, etc. All welcome!

Cheers,
dc

1ce agian u r fabulous wid ur Ff part...

agree with Mona...the way u write we can visualize everything so clearly...

A bland expression fell across her face, much like the failing stream of light cascading sleepily across the floor. The night outside was rich, but falling prey to a slow morning. Sound was feeble against her numb ears, while she sat slightly bent forward in her crouched position. From a distance, her silhouetted figure probably looked much like a cucoon of sorts. The cool surface of the hardwood stuck like ice against her flat feet, but she didn't remove them. She could still feel the fast drops of water rushing against her body... The soft ticking of a clock desperately vied for attention against the reigning silence. She had stood there, underneath the watery flow for minutes uncounted... trying to drain the thoughts. But they were as relentless as the water. At some point she had pressed her fingers against the steel knob, enclosing it tightly in her iron grasp... for a pause, she the ambitious thought of controlling the thoughts like the water ran past her mind. Holding her hand there for a minute longer, it occurred to her that her ambition was beyond her control. Instead, she had stepped loosely outside, slipping carelessly into the soft robe awaiting her warm presence. Now, she sat unmoving… vulnerable to the gulf of the past readying to choke her…

(Flashback)

Oh god Maithali, dus minute! Indeed, if she did not get to Janki madam's office within the ten minutes, the lady would have her head and that being the last thing she could lose when she had three papers due in four days! Grabbing her blue notebook, she shoved her locker shut and stepped urgently down the hall. The hall was quite vacant, with the odd person hanging near a door, or sitting on the floor… their nose lost in some fat, non-interesting book. A breezy, inward smile crept on her lips as she passed one such yawning figure… The smile faded almost instantly as her eyes transiently caught sight of him.

The absolute last person she wanted to see right now would be that idiot Vikram-Aditya Mehra. Too late sweetheart, he's already filled your eyes, she thought bitterly. She could feel her arteries already begin to constrict at the mere thought of his arrogant name. Breathe baby, she reminded herself mutely and continued past him in a whiff of ignorance. "Bijli…" Freeze. Hell, why does he have to do this every single time, she thought with a flicker of irritancy. Squinting her eyes shut for a passing second, she clung tighter to her notebook and turned. Why do I even bother, she thought disgustedly. Looking up, she perceived the expected… That damn grin… as lazy as himself! His eyes were clearly mapping her, as she tried to control the fire emitting through her eyes… Shouldn't he be a pile of ashes by this point…

If looks could kill, he thought amused. She irritated him to no end, but still, there was this inexplicable thrill he got out of annoying her thus. He could almost feel the heat from the embers glowing through her eyes… those eyes… shrugging them off, he continued his lazy, nonchalant tone of addressing her. Its payback time for the last humiliation, he thought vilely. A polished smile snaked across his lips as his mind mapped it out. They had encountered each other enough times, and each time it was more than an encounter… it was an unnamed friction. Last time she had the upper hand, this was his day… He knew where she was headed and the person she was supposed to meet in ten minutes was in another building. If she were late, Lady D (Janki Ma'am, the principal) would unleash hell, he thought with an intense thrill. "Chakarborty ne bola… apna wohe paper waper utaane ko…" (Chakarborty said… pick up that paper of yours) An electric amusement ran outwards through his body seeing her rigid features try stubbornly to remain so. The embers of her eyes betrayed the thought… he could see them dim mournfully. Sweet revenge, he thought while casually striding around her frozen figure. His feet stopped teasingly at one point as his lips hung devastatingly close to her left ear… "Aur waise bhi, tum toh jaanti ho na… Chakarborty ko addat hai, na ek minute upar… na ek neeche… Run fast." (And anyways, you know… Chakarborty has this habit, not a minute before… not a minute after… Run fast). He hung there, in the midst of her fog… a part of it. He could smell a crisp combination of lavender and something else tingle his nose. It was a strange mixture, whatever it was… strangely enticing. Lingering for a few seconds more, he stepped back just as casually… the fragrance still loitering on his lips… just as he left the words in her broken bubble… Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his denims, he inhaled deeply… satisfied.

A thousand things ran blindly against her mind… The fog created by his words had successfully affected her vision, at least for a few minutes. Could he be lying, she thought contemplating his news. But why would he lie. She paused for a sarcastic chuckle at this, why wouldn't he… duffer. For another pause, she thought the situation over. Well, what harm could it cause? She was already in the building, and Chakarborty's office was just on east end of it. She could probably reach there in two minutes, grab the paper, which she had handed in for editing for the actual one, and then run quickly to Jank ma'am's office. I can do that, she thought resolutely. No doubt, she couldn't stand him, but at least he was good at something… khadoos.

"Arre yaar, ye dhuaan kaisa?" (Hey man, where is this smoke coming from) he wondered aloud to none of his buddies in particular. His eyes were fixed on a steadily growing fog coming from the eastern sector of the science building… the one he had left but a few minutes ago. Suddenly a blaring sound erupted in the air. A sort of chaos began to form and he could catch fragments of conversation… "Aag lagi…"… "Science…"… "Third floor…" Bijli struck him… the colour slowly falling from his face. Without a further thought, his feet voluntarily raced towards the building, leaving behind faint traces of calls…

Smoke had just begun to descend into the first floor. Taking the staircase two at a time, he raced to the eastern side of the building. He could now start to feel the competition between oxygen and smoke in his lungs, while his eyes squinted through the dismal fog… A raw tension attacked his muscles as a nerve pulsed erratically at the side of his neck. With wild eyes, he scanned the hallway… Chakarborty's class was near the far end. Stirring up again, he reached the room to find it quite filled with smoke. There was little he could see… and time seemed to pause for a defying second. No. The pulse at his neck hammered harder now, ready to burst in anxiety… and then the subtle cough set the dials of time clicking again. He wanted to yell out her name, but a part of him felt she would not respond… something he could least afford. With alert ears, he found her rather close, fumbling blindly against the wall to his right. A hand covered her mouth, while the other supported her disshelved figure. Thoughts were amiss. Grabbing hold of the oblivious hand still searching aimlessly against the wall, he led her out back into the hallway. "Mehra?" he heard the choked voice whisper questionably in the air. He let it hang.

He could sense the heaviness of her legs, her pace had slackened considerably. She had in fact tolerated the smoke much longer than himself, and now they were standing on the first floor… searching for escape. While he scanned the deteriorating surroundings, her sharp voice whispered into the inferno, "Tum kyon aaye ho?" (Why have you come?). Goddamit woman, he thought… Turning calculatedly to his side, he looked at her with gravity, "Maine tumhe yahan bheja, aur main hi le kar jaoonga" (I sent you here, so I will be the one to take you out). A pause held sway until her voice betrayed it, "Mere liye…" (For me…) She gave out a low, sarcastic chuckle. Immediately, the tone changed. "Jiss din mujhe tumhaari zaroorat padehgi na Mehra…uss din waqt toh kya, saari kayanaat ek pal mein tham jaayegi…" (The day I need your help Mehra… that day, not only will time stand still, but so will the entire universe…) Silence hung in slow motion in the background of the scene… And then the clatter of a fallen piece lit with fire brought it back into the immediate pace.

He looked around once more, noticing things fall apart… Rubbing a hand over his stubble, his mind contemplated the situation. In the midst of wandering aimlessly, his eyes caught hold of the closet… A distant memory whizzed past as he realized the door was hanging loose… but above, flames threatened the wooden composure of upper floor baseboards.

Immediately, he turned towards her unstable figure. She coughed again… and again, oblivious to his observation. As though sensing the presence of his vision, she paused after another weak cough. Her face was blank as she looked from him to where he looked again momentarily. "Oh no you don't Mehra…" she started defiantly, while approaching him. "Go," he stated firmly. Her face twisted in a mixture of emotions… The fire outside began to show itself within her as she put it all into context. Stepping in front of him thus, she allowed not a breath of exchange by without her touching it. Acidic moisture stung at the edges of her blurring vision, which she tried to match with his. Her eyes bore into the coals of his… it occurred to her rather alarmingly how dark they were… was it possible? It seemed almost as though they held another unexplored world beyond… Shrugging off the thought, she felt the cough tingle at her throat and she released it wheezing. "Aisa kuch bhi nahin hone laga Mehra…Main… main mar jaoongi, lekin waha… tumhaare bina hargiz nahin jaoongi… samjhe tum?" (Nothing like that is going to happen Mehra… I… I will die, but won't… go there without you… you get it?). She cursed inwardly at the whispering tone at which her voice trailed off. Cough. Was it that cough?… Her eyes blurred again… The smoke hit her again… She could feel her shoulders slouch, but her heart was steel… impenetrable… It irked her, that he did not respond… His face was blotted by the stains of smoke. She watched him look back towards the only exit. It could hold only once… the moment someone ran past it, the baseboard above would fall over. She knew not anything, but she was not leaving him here. "Tum chahte ho ke main wahan… akeli… akeli jaoon na? Taan ke tum hero banjao… Aisa… kuch bhin nahin…hoga…" (You want me to go out… alone… alone right? So you can… become the hero… Nothing… nothing like that is going to hap… happen…) She again stubbornly pulled at his empty gaze. A moment passed again, as he remained unresponsive. And then the earth fell through… she watched it confused for a second, as it passed her vision with such quickness. Her body suddenly felt very light… and it dawned on her, she wasn't the one carrying her own weight… he was. She watched with her neck strained up as the baseboard fell through, barely as they did… him, with her over his shoulder…Feeling utterly exhausted, she felt herself being placed… somewhere… His eyes were the last sight her vision captured as the rest of the world fell into that black abyss…

(End Flashback)

The moment freezed for him then… the rest of it was blank as he had blanked out… Getting up from the warmed leather of the couch, he wandered to the full length window… Mumbai was alive, even at this hour… It was one such night, when fate restored itself through another encounter…

(New Flashback): Next Time!

Comments/Suggestions/Criticisms, etc.!

Chapter 5A: Dj Vu

 "Beep beep… Arre chal bhi aab!… Ye gaadi ko kya hogaya abh… beep!"

(It starts with)
One thing / I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time

Typical Mumbai. Voices… unheard… People… unseen… Time… timeless… Mumbai, sapno ka shehar. Or so was the claim. The familiar thought left a bitter taste in his mouth once again. People came to this city with dreams… aspirations… hope… life… Indifferently he shifted his glance across the tinted black glass to his side. Behind it, lay the city… Mumbai City… While reflecting off it, was the distant outline of a man… a man who had come to this very city… and left… without anything. Once there was a dream… an aspiration… a hope… there was even life. But now, there was nothing… but the crusted outline of footsteps. He turned his eyes towards the muddy puddle laying beneath a street vendor's cart. An oblivious foot stepped into the freshly moist dirt… Faintly, he could hear the cursing voice of the owner, as he continued without a look at the imprint he had unknowingly left…

All I know
time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away

"Honk honk…"

Jerking back to the present, he returned to his current occupation and pressed down on the gas.

It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on / but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to
Watch you go

He could feel a strangeness tingle at the ends of his fingertips today… it seemed to expand slowly throughout the course of his body… It was a feeling… For years, he had forgotten it… lost it within the monotonous rhythm of his self-made life. That feeling of familiarity… It disgusted him… in fact he abhorred it… Because familiarity had brought him only pain, anguish, betrayal… There was only sense that he had come to know… Bitter, she had called him. A bubble of ironic laughter welled up within his innards. Was there something he was supposed to feel sweet about… clearly, the notion had slipped his mind. Perhaps there was… afterall, living the way he did, was certainly an accomplishment. His life was perfect… perfect… monotonous… The steady hum of the engine droned to a stop and he looked up expectantly. Stepping out of the black machine, he stood facing the dazzling letters jumping off the top of the entrance… "dj vu"… Sweet irony, he thought as the significance of the name swept him back to another time…

I kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

(Flashback)

Khaab dekhe jhoote moote

Batiyaa banaane kaise

Sajna anari baiyman…

Holding the silvery shawl closer, she entered into a coloured world of shadows… the regret steadily increasing with each step. Already, she could feel unseen eyes caressing her silhouetted figure… but she shrugged off the uncomforting thought with a tight smile as a bright face shimmered at her. Just this once, she told herself comfortably. "Maithali, kya hua? Chal na" (Maithali, what happened? Com'on). Before a thought crossed her mind, she felt herself being dragged between a throng of bodies drugged by the enticing melody…

… Kaise batoon tujhe baat jiya kii

Jaanu main toh jaanu saari chaal piya kii

Chain mera loote loote

Ratiyaan jagaye mujhe

Sanjna anari baiyman…

As she passed the various bodies moving to the tune, she could see the world condense for them… it was as though nothing else existed. She hated crowds. But the thought of their unabashed bliss held an inspiring note, and she felt the corners of her lips turn upwards sparingly… while joining the still smiley-faced owner on the dance floor.

The music was louder where she stood… she could almost feel it thump within her… the vibrations were slender, beginning to become demanding. She had always loved dancing… but there was a strange awkwardness hanging over her… a sensation of being the object of another's conscious glance. Looking up expectantly, she found nothing but the haze of bodies. It was rare when she stepped into places like this… In fact, she could only discreetly recall doing so once. Then, it was almost a duty… a need… a need to prove herself… He had provoked her. The thought broke off quickly much to her relief, while the smile afore turned into a concerned frown, "You alright?" asked the tender voice. Shaking her head loosely, she waved off the worried look on her companion's face, which read her discomfort. "Pakka?" Offering a small smile, she squinted her eyes in response.

She found herself concentrate on the smile again… the one that belonged to a friend, a dear friend… Shalini. Shalini Mehta… her best friend… who apparently is in "love" with a guy she had barely met – didn't even know the name of - while attending a sangeet ceremony of another friend, this past summer. Love, she thought. It was inexplicable, beyond her understanding… It was an bizarre passion, a hint of which she had gathered in Shalini's dazzling eyes. She had always admired those kinds of individuals… people with passion. It was more than a feeling, it was an experience. She only recalled a depth within her once… a few years ago… That raw intensity… she recalled the embers it had ignited within her… something she had never believed capable of… But then he had always driven to her an edge. He. Her throat suddenly felt dry…

Gesturing to Shalini, she threaded rigidly through the unfazed throng. Her throat already burning with thirst, she increased her pace to the counter. At last, her hand reached the marble of the counter. "A glass of water, please," she fumbled with the words. As soon as the glass was laid, she grabbed it between her fingers, allowing the liquid to thunder down her throat. Why the hell was he invading her thoughts all of a sudden? Khadoos…

Feeling slightly anxious, she shifted her weight into the tall stool to the side. With empty thoughts and scattered vision, she looked around the crowd, and back. The ice juggled in the glass… It was Shalini's birthday, and here she was… forced by friendship. Her friend was in another world… and she felt happy for her, in a strange way but…

God, she hated crowds. She had always sought the open sky…

"Tumne kabhi socha hai, maine tumhara naam bijli kyun rakha?"

The ice slowed in its looseness… dulling to a stop. In place of the aimlessness moments before, a name writ itself in her mind… Vikram-Aditya Mehra. For a moment, she was idle, while the name accompanied a picture… which came an unexpected ease to her memory. Turning around with a controlled nonchalance, she addressed the familiar features… the familiar grin… This time her arteries did not flex… "Vikram-Aditya Mehra… Aap yahan?" It came more as a statement rather than a question, she realized too late.

His grin famously deepened… but only a little.

"Tumhara peecha kabhi na chodne ka tehka joh le rakha hai." (Since I've been obliged never to leave your side). The sarcasm was there… of course, dipped in reminiscence. Something flared up within her again…

Awkward silence.

Subconsciously, she pulled the shawl back over the part of her shoulder, which lay bare to the wandering eye… while her own cascaded past him. There was no thought in process, but a strange friction.

"Sach kehte hain… kuch cheezein kabhi nahin badaltee," (Its true… some things never change) he stated flatly, observing her hand swiftly pull up the betraying cover. An unknown comfort entered his zone…

She raised her eyebrow sceptically at his observation. There was an irony in her glance… she peered into his eyes. If she knew anything in this world, it was those eyes… Yet, she always found herself confused in their midst. He was sipping on something… some clear liquid… water? The shock of his presence was still strong… but she held it within, deep within. Her thoughts, his presence…

"You want to dance?" Her thoughts… his presence… rendezvous. What did he just say…

Comments/Criticisms/Suggestions, etc.

Cheers,

dc