A whistle sounds from the back entrance of the theater.
Dex.
“By all means, take your time, friends,” he calls out. “Sayla and I have all day and nothing better to do.”
“On our way,” I tell him, my gaze still locked on Loren.
She blinks, and light flickers behind her lids. “You’ll never what?”
I take a beat. Squeeze her hand.
Never not worship you.
Never expect you to love me back.
Never want another woman for the rest of my life.
“GUYS!” Dex yells. “Come on!”
Loren’s mouth tips into another tentative smile. “He’s extra impatient today, huh?”
“He is.”
“So.” Her shoulders bunch up. “To be continued?”
“Yeah. Another deal.”
We pick our way across the gravel and up the stairs to the back of the theater. Inside, the space smells like new paint and freshly cut wood. A velvet curtain is raised to reveal candlelight in the front of the house. Music spills from tall speakers flanking the stage.
Loren and I pause for a moment, listening.
“What’s this song?” I tip my chin. “I’ve never heard it.”
“‘Marry Me’,” she whispers. “By Train.”
Good old Dex, going with the obvious.
“AND NOW!” his voice booms over the state-of-the-art sound system. “The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Adams will perform their first dance.”
Loren quickly sets her purse on top of one of the speakers, and we step out into the spotlight.
Across the stage, Sayla and Dex have set up a dozen white taper candles in silver candlesticks. There are also a dozen tall, thin vases with white roses, one long stem per vase.
Sayla has her phone up, filming, so I pull Loren into my arms, and she tilts her face to mine.
I place my hands on her hips, and her arms come uparound my shoulders, resting along the back of my neck. She’s so beautiful, my ribcage feels like it might crack wide open. So as we sway slowly, I try to distract myself by listening to the lyrics.
Big mistake.
This whole song is about a guy who’s been pining away for a woman he sees in a cafe. She’s just some stranger he’s never even said hello to. But he’s fantasizing about a time in the future when he’s suddenly going to get the courage to propose.
Like that would ever happen.
I mean, sure, it’s romantic. But he doesn’t even know the woman he’s supposedly obsessed with. And yet, he’s singing about how he’ll marry her not just today, but for every day. Yeah right. That’ll totally work out.
Sayla moves across the stage to get a different angle of us dancing. Off to the side, Dex pumps his fist, grinning at me. Then he mouths, “Kiss her!”
He even makes fishy lips, like I didn’t catch what he meant.