"I hate weddings," Bella whispered under her breath. They always reminded her of her horrible luck in dating. Her first boyfriend cheated on her with his ex; his second boyfriend ditched her for some girl he met at a bar; her third boyfriend she dated for 3 years but the second she mentioned marriage he up and left.
Now she was at her best friend's wedding, and though she was happy for her friend Elizaveta, she couldn't help but feel a bit of jealously towards her friend. She had found the one; a German albino named Gilbert.
The nagging thoughts of her unfortunate love-life were interrupted when Elizaveta tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey Bella!"
"Hey Elizaveta. Congrats on the wedding," Bella said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster; which in hindsight wasn't that much.
Elizaveta made a worried frown. "I know you're upset about your last boyfriend, but I think I found the perfect guy for you!"
"Really?!" Bella said excitedly. Her drastic change in mood was understandable, as it was no secret that Elizaveta was a master in match-making. It wouldn't be the first time Elizaveta had successfully found a soul-mate for one of her friends. Bella had much faith in Elizaveta and trusted her with every fiber of her being.
"Yep! He's one of Gilbert's best friends and between you and me," Elizaveta whispered, "He has a REALLY nice butt."
"Eliza!" Bella said a bit to loudly, gaining the attention of several nearby party goers.
After a few moments the people went back to what they were doing, and Elizaveta and Bella could resume their conversation. "What? It's amazing! But that's beside the point. He's right over there," Elizaveta said, pointing towards the tanned man laughing with Gilbert and a blonde man named Francis. "He's from Spain," she added.
"I will admit he is very handsome," Bella murmured just loud enough for Elizaveta to hear.
"Wonderful!" Elizaveta exclaimed. "I'll go introduce you to him!"
Suddenly Bella felt herself being dragged by her wrist over to the trio of men. "Hallo frau," Gilbert said and gave his wife a peck on the lips.
Elizaveta giggled like a school girl. "Hello Gilbert," she turned to Antonio. "Antonio I have someone I want you to meet. This is my friend Bella."
Bella twisted her short blonde hair in her fingers nervously. She mumbled a quick hello and looked down at the floor. Elizaveta patted Bella on the back and walked to the food area. "You two get to know each other and We'll be over here."
Francis elbowed Antonio and Gilbert winked and patted him on the back before following Elizaveta. Antonio smiled and waved his friends off and turned to Bella. He took his thumb and forefinger and tipped her chin up to look at him. "No need to be so shy chica! I don't bite." He exclaimed with a wink.
Bella took a moment to absorb his appearance. He had chocolate brown locks and vibrant green eyes. His white teeth gave him a gorgeous smile and Bella was extremely tempted to reach up and plant a kiss on his lips; they looked really soft.
"Sorry, I guess I'm just a little shy," Bella whispered, finally able to keep her head up to look at him.
Antonio gave an even bigger smile, "Elizaveta has told me a lot about you. She seems to be convinced that we're destined to be soul-mates."
Bella giggled shyly. "She likes to play match-maker."
"So I hear. You're even more beautiful than she described. I would be honored if you would dance with me." He said and held out his hand, inviting her to the dance floor.
"I'd love to Antonio." Bella said and placed her hand in his own.
"Now for a change of pace," the DJ said into the microphone, "Get ready to salsa!" If they had turned their heads toward the DJ they would have seen Francis behind it with a proud look on his face.
"Do you know how to dance the salsa?" Antonio whispered in her ear.
Bella was ecstatic. She took dance classes for fun and the most recent dance she had learned was the salsa. "Yes I do," she replied with a smile.
"Muy Bueno," Antonio said with another radiant smile.
'Gosh his smile is amazing." Bella thought to herself as she grasped his hand and felt one of his hands place itself on her waist.
When the music started the two started to dance. They moved around the dance floor matching each other's moves perfectly. Every eye was on them as they danced passionately with fluidity that is difficult to match. The dance finished and Bella felt herself being dipped down with one leg wrapped around Antonio's waist, and one of his hands on her lower back and the other between her shoulder blades.
She could feel his warm breath on her face and they stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. When he lifted her back up there was loud applause from the onlookers. Flushed and panting from the vigorous dance the two walked outside of the building to cool off in the garden.
"I have to admit, I've danced with many different girls, but you were by far the best woman I've ever danced with," Antonio confessed.
"I'm really flattered Antonio. I had a lot of fun dancing with you," she replied, blushing like crazy.
"You're so cute chica! Your face looks kind of like a tomato when you blush like that," he laughed, "I would be honored if you'd go on a date with me."
Bella was hesitant. She liked Antonio, he was nice, he had a great smile, and he respected her, but she had a hard time trusting any man after her last boyfriend disaster. "I..don't know.."
Antonio smiled sympathetically and put his hand on her cheek. "Elizaveta told me about your previous relationships. I promise that I'll never do anything of the sort to you. I don't understand how someone could do something so cruel to a chica as beautiful as you Bella."
With his words all of Bella's hesitation disappeared. She somehow knew she could trust Antonio, she knew he would never intentionally hurt her. "...I- yes," she whispered.
Looking into his vivid green eyes she saw nothing but sincerity and...love? Yes that was definitely what she saw. Their faces inched closer and closer until their lips touched softly.
Antonio pulled away and grinned. "Today must be my lucky day! I met a beautiful chica and even got a kiss from her. I should buy a lottery ticket!"
Bella giggled and playfully shoved him. "If anyone is lucky it's me Antonio."
The two lovebirds spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing. Before they knew it it was dark and the reception was over.
"It's getting late, do you have a ride home?" Antonio asked.
"Now that I think about it, no. My brother left early so I was going to catch a ride with someone else,"
"I could drive you home if you'd like," Antonio offered, hoping she would say yes so he could spend just a bit more time with her.
"That would be wonderful Antonio," Bella breathed. She was secretly delighted that he had offered. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before she had to go home.
"Here it is Antonio. Thank you very much," Bella said and kissed him on the cheek.
"Let me walk you to the door chica," Antonio asked, but he was going to walk her to the door regardless of her answer.
Grateful for his chivalry she answered, "Oh. Thank you!"
"No problem. It would be rude of me to let you walk to the door by yourself."
As they walked up the porch steps the front door opened and Bella's older brother Govert stepped out. He looked over Antonio and frowned. "Who is this?" he asked, eyeing Antonio suspiciously, though Antonio didn't seem to notice and continued to smile.
"Brother, this is Antonio. Elizaveta introduced me to him and he offered to drive me home," Bella said, sensing that Govert didn't really like Antonio all that much. To be fair Govert had never liked any man that came anywhere near Bella. He didn't want his little sister to leave him, as she was the only family she had, not to mention Bella's past boyfriend's had left her in a depression and he wasn't keen on having that happen again.
Still oblivious to Govert's disdain for him, Antonio vigorously shook Govert's hand. "It's very nice to meet you Govert. Bella has told me all about you. I hope we can get along well in the future."
Govert simply grunted and walked back inside. Bella shot a glare after her brother and said goodbye to Antonio and went inside after her brother. She knew he would have a hard time accepting Antonio but she was determined to change his mind.