"Gabi?" She jumped slightly at the sound of her name, and the warm hand on her bare shoulder, fingers barely grazing the thin spaghetti strap of her dress.
"Antonio!" She turned to face him, and was greeted by the familiar face of her brother-in-law.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized as he removed his hand after leaving a second or so longer than necessary. She smiled at him, proving that she hadn't been bothered by the welcome intrusion. In fact, she had been wondering if anyone she knew were going to approach her. They were at a party being thrown by Liberty Corp., and Gabi had been invited personally by Maria, but everyone that she knew were off with other groups, leaving Gabi alone until now.
"It's all right. So…what are you doing here, Antonio?" She hadn't expected to see at all tonight, one of the reasons she had come. And she had especially not expected to see him dressed out of his normal attire, and looking devastatingly handsome in an outfit that was fitting for the black tie environment.
"He was invited by me." An unfamiliar voice entered from behind Gabi, then approached them.
"You know, Father, you really should wear your priest outfit more often. I almost didn't recognize you. If I hadn't, I would have thought the two of you were here together, but that's not possible is it?" The handsome blonde man said, comfortably easing into the conversation with the refinement of a seasoned businessman. "Hello, Miss. I'm Jude Cavanaugh." He introduced himself to Gabi, and properly lowered his lips to her hand. "And hello Father Antonio."
"Please, Jude, call me Antonio. I'm not wearing the collar tonight." A fact that Gabi had already noted. "Jude, this is my…sister in law. Gabi Torres." He stumbled to find the proper, yet still not right, introduction as to what Gabi was to him. A flood of more suiting words came to mind, but he pushed them away.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Torres. And where would Mr. Torres be tonight? I'd love to meet him." Jude said, looking around the room as if he would somehow be able to spot Ricardo by sight, though he had never seen the man before.
"Ricardo is…he's at…" Gabi tried to explain, but the words escaped her.
"My brother had a stroke not too long ago, and he's been confined to a wheelchair." Antonio helped her with an explanation, for which she was immensely grateful.
"That's awful…hey, is he Ben Even's wife's brother? I heard that happened to him, too…" Jude made the connection between his boss' wife and the crippled man.
"Yes it is…in fact, I'm here because Maria asked me to come. I don't usually attend events like this." Gabi had assumed as much, knowing how Antonio despised formal gatherings.
"So am I. Ricardo wanted to come, but the doctor's didn't think he was up to it yet, so he told me to come in his place." Gabi had been extremely surprised when Ricardo had asked her to come. He had been very watchful of where she went and with who, but she figured that he had probably thought Antonio wouldn't be coming, either.
"Well, I hope your husband does well…if you'll excuse me, there's someone that I need to speak with. Mrs. Torres, I hope we can speak again. I might just have to steal a dance later. And Fa…Antonio, it was good talking to you again, too." He said then gracefully made his exit, slipping away to mingle with the other Liberty Corp. exec's.
"He seems nice." Gabi commented absently as Jude walked away. Antonio nodded in agreement, wondering what Jude would think if he knew that Gabi was what he had been 'exorcising' in the gym the day that they had first met.
"Yes, he is…have you talked to Maria?" Antonio asked, seeing his sister and Ben dance across the crowded floor.
"I saw her when I first got here. Have you?" Gabi returned the question, becoming acutely aware of the tension surrounding them. She shifted slightly, accidentally brushing her hand against his. The contact between then sent a shock throughout her body, a not altogether unpleasant experience.
"Yes, I talked to her for a few minutes, then Ben came and took her away." He answered, and the conversation lagged. For a few minutes, they stood there quietly watching others dance. They were both rather glad that they didn't have to stand off by themselves anymore, but the unsteady silence between them now was quite unnerving. As he watched the couples swaying, the song turned from an upbeat tune to a slow, mellow one. On a whim, Antonio grabbed Gabi's hand. Surprised, she looked up at him.
"Let's dance." He suggested, to her rather
pleased shock. She wasn't sure it was a very good idea to be so close in
such a public place, but how could she say no to Antonio Torres? She had
certainly never been able to before.
Nodding, she followed him out on to the floor.
For the first few seconds, neither of them moved. Then Gabi nervously inched closer to him and he moved his hand to rest very lightly on her waist. Moving even closer as the song grew slower and more romantic, and as their moods mellowed from the wine and contact with each other, Gabi let her arm wind it's way around his neck as she slowly, making sure that he didn't mind, rested her head on his chest. To her pleasure, he certainly didn't mind and even tightened his arm around her waist. Her dress was quite more daring than most, dipping down in the front as well as the back, and he moved his hand to caress the unclothed skin on the small of her back.
A small sigh escaped her lips as she sank into his embrace. It felt so good, warm and natural. Like coming home after you've been gone for too long. Lights grew dim above them as all of the coupled moved out onto the floor to take advantage of the lover's music that was playing now. Antonio, now to caught up in the dance to realize that what they were doing was wrong, brushed his lips against the top of her head, then slowly her forehead. As she lifted her head from his chest to look at him and see if he was actually doing what she thought he was doing, he gently kissed her eyes, her nose, and finally touched her smiling lips to his.
"Antonio…"She whispered him name as their tender, brief first kiss of the night ended. Suddenly, it was as if she had been transported back in time as she let her face press into his shoulder once again. As if by magic, she and Antonio weren't dancing in a ballroom at a Liberty Corp. party. They were at Ricardo's birthday party, being told to dance by Gabi's then boyfriend Ricardo. She was in Antonio's arms, just like now, but then she had been looking at him, staring really. She remembered looking into those gorgeous soulful eyes and seeing something that she had never seen before in anyone's eyes. Something she had been unable to identify then, but knew with a certainty now. It had been, and still was, love. A pure, passionate, adoring, admiring, and even a but lustful love. It had been there all those months ago, and it was still there even stronger now. She couldn't help but wonder what he had seen in her eyes that night – and this night.
Antonio held his love tightly, knowing that the moment would be broken when the music ended, but still wanting it to go on forever. For these precious few seconds, he could have Gabi on the condition that he gave her back. Like Cinderella and midnight, except midnight would have been a dream come true for him. He only had seconds – a minute at the most, but it was enough to satisfy him for a while at least.
"Oh, Gabi…" He murmured into her hair as the song came to an end. He hated the thought of letting her out of his arms, but he had to. There was no choice. Gabi wasn't his…well, not completely at least.
Sure enough, as the last notes fluttered out upon them, his grip on her tightened and she slid loose of his embrace. As they made their way back to a table, he let go of his last hold upon her and released her hand from his. A wave of disappointment came over her face. She felt unbearably empty now. It was a feeling she knew all too well, one that always accompanied Antonio's leaving her. It was as if a part of her was missing without him, and even the barest of contact like holding hands was enough to revive it and make her while.
But she supposed that she would just
have to get used to being half a person…because as much as she hated to
admit it, a dance every now and then was all she and Antonio would ever
be able to share.