Breathless

This is a fictional story written for the GBE2's writing prompt.  I hope you enjoy it.

       Of course she knew him.  They had a class together.  He sat in front of her.  Occasionally he would say hello before taking his seat or smirk when he handed papers back to her, but that was all.  She had a secret crush on him and loved him from afar.  He was gorgeous and perfect and successful at every sport he participated in.  She would have had to have been blind and stupid not to lust after him.  Hell half the student body were in the same boat!  Even a guy would lust after him.  He was that good looking.  Each day she would rush to school in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him.  It was like a game between her and her friends.  

          One day the teacher had decided to pair them up in groups of two and to her delight and horror she was stuck with Mr. Wonderful.  Holy hell, what would she do?  What could she say that wouldn’t make her look like a blubbering idiot?  He was smooth.  She would give him that.  If he noticed how uncomfortable he made her, he gave no clue.  She tried to remember to breathe and act normal.  He seemed oblivious.  When the bell rang, he grabbed his books, flashed her one of his drop dead gorgeous smiles and a little wave and left her breathless.

         She left the room in a daze to meet her friends who were all excited about that night’s dance.  They were all going.  It was going to be a blast, and to be honest she couldn’t wait.  She didn’t think she could stomach watching Mr. Wonderful dancing with someone else, but what choice did she have?  She was certain she barely registered on his radar.  Still, it would be fun to get all dressed up.  It really didn’t matter that she didn’t have a date, she had her friends and that is all that mattered.  At least she wouldn’t be alone.

        There was an air of excitement in the air when she arrived at the dance.  The DJ played excellent dance music and she laughed, danced, and thoroughly enjoyed herself with her friends.  Then the DJ announced a slow one.  She headed to the side line with her friends as couples quickly formed on the dance floor.  Maybe she would get a drink of water.  She peered on to the dance floor searching for him.  Where was he?  She knew he was there.  Her friends soon began an animated conversation about who was with whom.  All of a sudden there was a collected gasp, and her friends were silent.  She turned to discover Mr. Wonderful heading purposefully straight for them.  Holy hell!!  He was looking right at her!  Certainly not!  It couldn’t be!  He stopped in front of her and smiled his sexy grin, and asked quite politely if she would like to dance.  Her jaw dropped and her mind went fuzzy.  There has to be a mistake.  She felt a sharp jab in her arm as her closest friend in the world attempted to jar her back into reality.  He held out his hand and without a word she took it.   He led her out onto the dance floor and spun her into his arms.

        Their eyes locked.  He smiled and she smiled back.  He whirled her around the dance floor and she felt as if she was floating.  As the song ended and the music died away, he kissed her leaving her breathless.  A rousing beat had begun and other people began dancing frantically around them.  “I didn’t know you knew I existed!” she burst out.  He laughed.  “How could I not know?” he asked.  Ever since the first moment I saw you I have been summoning up the courage to let you know how I felt.  I knew if I kissed you I would know for sure if it was all in my imagination.  Now she was confused.  What the hell was he talking about?  She smiled and said “Well, what did you figure out?”  He took her hand and led her off the dance floor.  He looked at her again, turned a little red, and admitted “You leave me breathless”.   “How did you know?” she asked in a whisper.  He leaned closer to hear the words “You leave me breathless too!”
  

       Over 50 years later they sat side by side holding hands on their front porch watching the sun set into the horizon.  A lifetime had passed since that long ago night filled with too many breathless moments to count.  She glanced his way and caught a much older Mr. Wonderful gazing back.  He took her hand and said “You still leave me breathless”.