Dance Hall Days // Wang Chung

I knock and wait. I have no idea how April will react, but I'm hoping for not-too-pissed. Chances are slim, however, so once again I cover my junk while approaching this woman. I hear footsteps as I deep breathe. I've never been this nervous around a girl but April is something else. Nerves are the norm now.

The door opens. I don't smile, but I do feel some kind of lip lifting on my face. A smirk maybe? Jeez I need to get myself under control.

"Um...where's Emily?" April looks past me to the street, glancing side to side. No one else is out here but me. All she sees on the street is the car I drove over here. The one I haven't set eyes on for seven months.

"Just me. Turns out Emily doesn't have enough seats on her cycle for you and your new roommate." I open my arms wide, a total act of trust because now my junk is fair game. "Nico to the rescue."

April slams her mouth shut then closes her eyes. It looks like she's working on calming down so I give her a minute to put out her inner fury. Her eyes open, her gaze meets mine, and something softens.

"No truck?" Her words are gentle.

I shake my head. "No truck. Not tonight."

April once again glances behind me to the car parked just outside of her house. My dad's Challenger. Well, my Challenger now. The first car he and I ever worked on together. It took a full thirty minutes sitting behind the wheel, breathing in and out, before I was able to put the key in the ignition and start her up. It took another five before I was able to pull out of the driveway. But I made it. I'm standing here, in front of this amazing girl, wanting to be the one who gets to drive her around. Wanting her to be the one to ride in that car with me. Unfortunately, I'll be driving her to the Lot, but someone's got to make sure she's safe if the girl insists on going.

That guy's going to be me.

April's soft gaze stays linked to mine. Her lips curl into an understanding smile. And miracle of miracles, her hand reaches out to grab mine. Her fingers curl around my fingers and squeeze just enough to tell me she gets it. April understands the step I just took, and it means something to her.

"Let me get Ko." April releases my hand, to my disappointment, and turns back to her house. So far so good, however. I'll take a little hand holding over a knee to the jewels any day.

I wait at the door and a few second later April emerges with a girl standing behind her who must be Ko. They both have on tight jeans with rips, but the rips in April's jeans are so big you can hardly call the jeans pants. I see more leg than if she was wearing shorts. No complaints from me, though. April's entire outfit is badass. She is every bit the goddess of my dreams. Ripped classic rock concert t-shirt under a fitted black tuxedo type blazer. It shouldn't be as sexy as it is, each piece on its own. But April's attitude mixed with the tough look she's got on...I'm drooling.

Ko is less in your face with her look. She's got a really fuzzy pink sweater with her jeans and ankle boots in a salmon color. A highly impressive camera is hanging from her neck and I'm curious.

"You must be Ko. Hey, I'm Nico." I give a half wave to the girl as she smiles at me and nods.

"Hello, Nico. Yes, I am Ko. Thank you for taking us to this party."

"My pleasure," I say as reach for April's hand. The second miracle of the night happens when she opens her palm and lets me. As we reach the car, I open the passenger side door and point to the bench seat in the front. "We can all fit upfront, if you want."

I'm hoping they'll take me up on the offer and April will slide in right next to me. I can practically feel her pressed up against me already. I walk around to the driver's side and get in...right next to Ko. April is on the other side, elbow resting on the door, smirking at me.

What happened to all the hand action? I thought she was warming up and tonight might lead somewhere. Guess not.

"Buckle up, everyone." I keep my words short, so I don't give away all the disappointment I'm feeling. I've known that April does things in her own time, and in her own way. I'll let her. No pressure from me. But I'm still disappointed.

It's only minutes later and I'm pulling into the back lot of our school. On Friday nights, the place transforms. I'm not a regular, but I have shown my face a time or two. The lot bends around a thick grove of tall trees, and that's where the hidden hang-out lives. Cars line the edges, some with windows open and music blaring. Somehow, they sync everything all up so the place is buzzing with the same beat. The trees swallow the sounds and the lights are kept low.

Tonight, is no exception. The cars are already bouncing, and the drinks are flowing. This is not my scene. But keeping my eye on April as she experiences this for the first time is more important than my comfort level.

"Oh my gosh!" April whispers. Meanwhile, Ko is snapping away at every angle.

"I warned you. It's over the top." I park the car away from the main event. I don't need beer spilled on this paintjob and I certainly don't need any dings or scratches from idiot high school kids who have no appreciation for the effort it took to get the car this cherry. They just see old, not classic.

"It really is."

I sense the wariness in her voice.

"We can leave any time you want, April. You don't have to hang out just because Emily decreed it."

April sits up straight. "I'm good. Come on, Ko. Let's check things out."

The girls slide out of the car quickly. I, on the other hand, take my time. I'd rather leave as soon as possible, but I follow behind the path April and Ko take and keep my eyes locked on them. I pretend not to notice the bumping and grinding that surrounds me. I try really hard not to picture April swaying up close to me, pressing herself against me. Not gonna happen and I need to let that thought go.

Ko continues to snap away with her camera while April searches the crowd, probably looking for the girls. I watch as she pulls out her phone and starts typing. She must be texting Emily because I don't see Emily here anywhere.

I pause in place, scanning for Emily more intently. The entire reason we're here is because Emily insisted. She better show her face. That's not the kind of friend April needs right now. She needs people in her corner. That's what's been missing for her too long.

When I look back toward April and Ko after my failed attempt to locate Emily, I find that the crowd is blocking my view. The panic is just below the surface for me. This scene is the exact opposite of what someone in April's situation should be wandering through. I should have insisted she stay by my side. I don't hesitate to push through the crowd, continuing forward as I scan the area, looking for April's profile, her long gorgeous hair, and listening for the tone that only she is capable of.

"Get your damn hands off of me, asshole."

And there it is. I follow her voice through the masses, finding her just on the other side of the makeshift dance floor next to a line of overpriced imports. Matt McKinnely, the junior who seems to own the idiots at this school, is standing with his face just inches from April's and no fucking way.

"You heard her, back off before I have to intervene." On the last word I'm standing nose to nose with Matt, looking down an inch or two at his beady rat-like eyes. He is trying really hard to look intimidating. Gaze narrowed and jaw clenched. But the slight tremor in his eyelid is a dead giveaway.

"She needs to tell her friend no pics. We don't want to blast this all over social media and then get shut down. All devices are collected at the door."

I laugh. "Who do you think you are? No one gives a crap about your parking lot party. Ko is just documenting her experiences abroad. No one in Japan is going to shut you down." It's ridiculous how serious Matt is taking this. I can't help the scoff that escapes, full of distain and irritation.

Matt clearly doesn't like my attitude. He steps back looking like he wants to deck me, but the idiot knows better than to make the first move. Before I can react to his physical threat, April steps between us.

"Nope," she says with her palms pressed to my chest. Dang it, now I'm distracted and all I can think about is kissing her. My eyes travel to her lips. It takes all of my concentration to hold myself back from taking her in my arms and just pressing her close.

"Um...," her voice faulters a little, "let's just leave, okay?" I watch in awe as her eyes slowly descend to my lips, as though it's now beyond her control and she has to look.

And it's on.

No more hesitation. No more second guessing. I pull her in, my lips finding hers and finally. Every inch of my body relaxes with that first touch. Like I've been anticipating it for weeks, which I absolutely have, and it's better than I imagined. Because yeah I fucking imagined the hell out of it.

Her arms are around my neck, mine looping her waist and pulling her closer. I can't get close enough. Her lips part and I don't hesitate to dive in, tasting and oh my god, she is like heaven. She whimpers, yes a freaking puppy whimper that amps up every feeling. There's some kind of clicking noise near my ear but I ignore it because all I want to hear for the rest of my life is that whimper.

It's April who pulls away. More accurately, she pushes me back and turns her head slightly. "We're making a scene."

And that is literally the worst thing she could have said after an epic kiss like that. But I get it. Rumors have ruined her, and now there's more fuel to that fire. I wish she could let that worry go. I've got her and I won't let her fall.

Matt laughs. "I knew she had to be one crazy bitch to get that close to someone like you."

I don't step closer to the asshole, just incline my head a fraction to make eye contact with him. It's just a look that I give but it's enough. Even Matt isn't interested in the consequences of pissing me off, threatening anyone I care about.

I look back at April. I still have one arm around her waist, not letting her go to slink away in embarrassment. I don't care who knows I'm here with her. I want them all to know she's mine. Because hell yes, I care about her, more than I can tell her. She's not quite there yet, but I hope she will be soon.

"Hey, let's get out of here," I say so only she can hear me. I don't need the innuendo to be publicized. I look over April's shoulder, seeing Ko with her camera aimed right at us. That must have been the clicking sound I was hearing. I'm almost excited that she's got evidence of that kiss. I can't wait to see if it looks as hot as it felt.

"You ready to leave, Ko?"

Ko pulls the camera down and nods, and enormous smile on her face. "Yes. We can drive in your car to find hamburgers."

I laugh. "You took the words right out of my mouth." If only she knew about my grease addiction. April knows all about it, though.

I take April by the hand, relieved that she still allows it but worried because she hasn't said a word for the last few minutes. We head straight back to the car but this time I make sure April is sitting right next to me.

"Burgers and fries on me, ladies. This was quite the introduction to the Lot and I think that calls for some comfort food." One hand on the wheel and my arm around April, I pull past the still raging party and out of the lot.

It isn't until two blocks later when I know everything will be fine. April leans her head on my shoulder and I'm a man on top of the world.

Was that satisfying or disappointing? Maybe a little of both??? Anyway, this led in a direction I wasn't expecting and I ended up splitting the end of this chapter off into part 10. It's also just past 40k words, so we are just passed the halfway point...unless these two surprise me with new events! It could happen.

Also, did you see that my Contemporary Romance, inevitable, hit #1 in Dark Romance this week?!?!?! I was so shocked and excited! It gained 1.4k reads in 24 hours! I absolutely loved writing that story. Brax will always have a special place in my heart. He's kind of a bad boy softy, which seems to be my go-to hero for some reason.

If you read More Than This, you know the Lot is a big deal. I wanted to bring it back for this story. And I don't think we've seen the last of it, or Matt, yet! Dance Hall Days is my nod to the Lot.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]