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The air was brisk and Matthias could swear a few bugs had bitten at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. Besides, he had warned Wylan of the concerns of hosting this party outdoors, but still, he had gone ahead and done it anyway. Little reminders of why this was a bad idea came in the forms of little brushes at his arms (he could swear he felt the blood leaving his body).
But no, all that doesn’t seem nearly as significant anymore when he saw her.
Standing at the door separating the feverish weather from the cool air indoors, dressed in a halter top rose-colored dress that ended a few inches above her knees, was the only woman who managed to get Matthias’ pulse racing the way it was now, just at the sight of her. For a second, he thinks back to how he was always known as the steadiest soldier, the one who could never be shaken. Often, he was the one they would look to for leadership in the toughest times. But if anyone had asked for his direction at this moment, they would only get a messy assortment of words that described the beauty of the girl in front of him. But none of them would be correct because there were no words in his language or hers to accurately describe the way Nina made him feel.
If he tried, it would be all that he has said before: a stampede. A tidal wave. Overwhelming. But right now, none of those descriptions seemed big enough. Not when she was easily the brightest light in the room. Not when his heart was pounding so hard and so fast, he feared he might go into cardiac arrest and couldn’t tell what the man next to him just leaned in close to whisper. None of that mattered anyway. Not when Nina had caught his eye from across the room and that big, beautiful smile stretched across her face.
“I knew Wylan was doing well, but not this well. I guess I’m still used to having to get by with what we have.” Nina said as she approached Matthias.
“You look beautiful.” He said to her once she was within his grasp.
“I know, but thank you for the reminder.” She winked at him before leaning up to press a kiss on his lips.
Matthias grasped her waist and what started as a quick “hello” kiss became one of an eager boyfriend who hadn’t seen his girlfriend in days. Nina quickly accommodated, letting out a low squeal when Matthias nibbled at her bottom lip, something she had taught him just days before. Matthias’ heart was nearly beating out of his chest with the question of whether he was going about this the correct way, and in public no less, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much when Nina Zenik was in his arms.
Finally, they pulled away, Matthias with his heart in his throat and Nina glowing as beautiful as ever. He took a moment to notice the way her usually untamed hair was pulled back, allowing him to admire the soft angles of her face and the rosiness of her cheeks post-kiss.
“Mm, I like that I’m rubbing off on you. You would have never down that two weeks ago.” Nina bit her bottom lip in the same place Matthias had just a few moments ago as she looked him up and down. She took in the way the first few buttons on his pink button-down were left untouched and how his tan dress pants fit his legs nicely. “You look very nice. May I ask what inspired this look?”
“Nina, you know you picked this out for me.”
“I really am a genius, aren’t I?” She murmured, her eyes focused on the chest hair that peeked out of the “V” in his shirt.
Despite the many times Nina had seen him without his shirt, it still felt strange to know that he was so desired. The way Nina trained her eyes on him in any setting; at home, at the gym, or in public like this, always made him wonder about what he had been missing out on for those first few years of his life.
Matthias’ thoughts were interrupted by a loud gasp. “I love this song, let’s dance.” Nina turned to him with bright eyes, eager to get out on the floor.
His whole face flushed red, just the way Nina liked, evident by the smile that crept upon her face at his expression.
“Nina, I don’t– I’ve never–” He released a frustrated sigh. “I can’t.”
The smile never left her face. “Oh, come on. I’ll lead.”
I’ll lead. That’s been the dynamic in most aspects of their relationship, considering how inexperienced Matthias was with dating. She led in relationship conversation, in kissing (though Matthias had gotten the hang of that pretty quickly), and in other things that would cause Matthias to become a brighter red just thinking about. Sure, Matthias planned dates for them and was often the big spoon when cuddling, but there was a part of him that wanted to be able to take charge a little more.
He loved Nina and he loved how headstrong she was, and he knew she didn’t care about his inexperience, but he did. He looked around at the couples scattered throughout the room and he thinks about how long they may have been together. How even if they weren’t together long, they had probably been with dozens of other people beforehand, they knew how a relationship worked, they knew their respective roles. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure where he stood with Nina.
“Matthias?” Nina was still wearing her smile but her eyes shone with concern.
She held her hand out to him, and Matthias followed the length of her arm, up to her shoulders, along the line of her neck, his eyes resting on the little spot underneath her ear that made her sigh when he kissed it. Finally, his gaze met hers and she raised her eyebrows a little as if she had been waiting for him to finally look up at her.
“Dance with me,” A simple request. One any man would be able to accomplish.
But Matthias was not “any man.” He was to be the man Nina deserved. And that man would give her all that she wanted. So, he reached out and took her hand, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
His eyes skipped over to the wooden board placed out on the grass to serve as a dance floor, where couples were pressed together, swaying slowly to the soft music that played. He watched as Jesper pulled Wylan away from a conversation with an important-looking man to join in. Wylan looked flushed at being interrupted but once Jesper had wrapped an arm around him, it suddenly seemed unimportant.
“I’ve never danced like this before,” Matthias said quietly.
“Then we can add it to our list of firsts,” Nina replied easily, already leading him onto the floor.
That was another thing: our firsts. Matthias wasn’t dense, he knew that many of the things he was doing for the first time Nina had already gone through or at least was not new to the idea. But she treated each event as one to check for the both of them on the list and that meant more to Matthias than she could ever know.
Nina had walked them onto the center of the dance floor and stood in front of Matthias. She lightly squeezed his hand and brought it to her body, placing it on her hip. She placed her hand on his shoulder and then took his other hand in hers.
“And now we just sway.”
She took the initiative, stepping to the side first as Matthias followed. He looked down at their feet as they shuffled from side to side and Nina couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey, Fjerdan. My eyes are up here.” She whispers in his ear and Matthias picks his head up quickly, his face having gone pink.
“I wasn’t–”
He sounded like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. She let out a loud laugh and Matthias swallowed back his own. He couldn’t help it–her laugh, her smile–it was so contagious.
“I know, Matthias. But you are welcome to.” She had that sultry smile as she rolled her shoulders back, showing off exactly what the halter top was made to show off.
He gulped, trying to force himself to focus on the dance and biting back the urge to allow his eyes to drift downward. “Right.” He took another look down at his feet. Was he doing this correctly?
He looked out at the other couples on the floor: some were talking and laughing, others were just looking at each other as they let the music move them. Some were pressed together with no room between them, and others allowed a bit of space as they spoke. There were too many options to pick from and Matthias' mind became scrambled. He wanted this to be good for Nina. Which way was the way that Nina and Matthias danced?
“Hey,” A hand came to his chin and turned his face back to the woman in front of him. “Don’t pay attention to them. It’s just us.”
A rush of warmth flooded Matthias at her words, and despite the muggy air around him, he embraced it. It’s just us. That became his mantra, and he repeated it as he continued to allow Nina to sway them along the dance floor.
Instead of placing her hand back into his, Nina let it rest on his cheek for a moment before placing it on the side of his neck. Matthias’ eyes fluttered closed as he felt her cool skin press against his own. Her other hand came down on the other side of his neck and her fingers linked behind him.
Matthias moved his own hand down to her hip, giving her a light squeeze.
“Thank you,” He said, in a voice low enough just for them to hear.
He knew he didn’t need to clarify what he was thanking her for. Nina knew how grateful he was that she was allowing room for him to grow, to give him the chance to be the man she believed he could be. The man Matthias believed he could be as well. The simplest things, like this slow dance, were everything to him. They were little parts of Nina that she wanted to share with him, that she trusted him with. That meant more to Matthias than anyone could ever know.
Nina let out a content sigh, then leaned forward to place her head on Matthias’ chest. Matthias was glad his heart was beating at a steady rate now and he relished in the feeling of Nina pressed flush against him. His arms wrapped around her further and pulled her in tightly, his eyes closed as he forgot about swaying back and forth, simply happy to have her in his arms.
“I love you so much, Matthias Helvar.”
“And I love you, Nina Zenik.”
The couples that remained had to continue dancing around the two, as they stood in the middle of the floor. They simply held onto each other, even as the music changed, even when the music stopped. The sound of each other’s heartbeats was enough.