I'll Take That One

The dance hall was warm and only a few couples shuffled arm in arm along the wooden floor, under the watchful eye of their adult chaperones. Isabel Rampy and Arliss Sears sat in their party dresses, swapping secrets and casting flirtatious glances at potential young suitors. Arliss was the first to notice the two boys across the room. She tugged at Isabel’s sleeve while staring starry-eyed in their direction.

“Oh, Liz,” Arliss giggled nervously”, I think their looking at us.”

Liz, which the Rampy family decided was somehow short for Isabel, peered around the bodies of her classmates to see what sort of specimen her friend had discovered. She didn’t expect much since Arliss was know to swoon over anything in coveralls.

“The one with blonde hair”, Arliss explained, pulling her in for a better angle. “Isn’t he handsome?”

Liz recognized him as Steven Burgess. He was a year older than them, a tall lanky fellow with fine blonde hair and light blue eyes. Aside from his exceptional height, his features were rather plain and Liz had hardly given him a second look when he playfully slugged the shoulder of the boy next to him. James Wyatt Harrington quickly retaliated with a few air jabs toward his friend’s ribs. He and Steven laughed and poked at each other. A breath caught in Liz’s throat as he glanced her way.

Wyatt was average in height and had soft brown hair that curled up in the front. His lean but muscular frame and the warm brown tone of his face and forearms told of a summer of hard work in his daddy’s fields. He and Liz were the same age but he had fallen behind a grade and wouldn’t be allowed to graduate with his class. His strong square jaw and thin lips would have given him a stern face if not for the sparkle in his smiling gray eyes--beautiful eyes that were looking right into hers.

She turned away to realize that Arliss was still chattering, oblivious to the heat that warmed her cheeks and the sudden dampness in her palms.

“Isn’t he incredibly handsome?” Arliss pressed.

“He’s okay.” Liz responded, stealing one last sideways glance at Wyatt. “But I’ll take that one.”

Amie Sexton
Copyright 2002