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Day 21: A Song That You Listen to When You're Happy

"Secret Love" by Hunter Hayes

Stayin' under cover and out of sight,
If nobody knows, then we're doin' it right.
Secret love.
When you walk by each other in a crowded room,
And nobody sees how I'm looking at you,
But we'll meet in a minute at the rendezvous.
Only you know what I mean.

The soft classical music welcomes me as I enter the ballroom, my white masquerade mask hiding half my face from the world.

But I know one person who would be able to spot me: Romeo.

(And no, I’m not talking about Shakespeare’s Romeo.)

He secretly invited me, even though it was his father’s annual business ball.  After asking why, invitation in hand, he simply stated he wanted to see me dressed up looking “ravishing”.  (His words, not mine.)

His father and mine hated each other, always trying to outdo one another in the world of business.  We had met at one of those joint business dinner parties, unaware of who the other person was.  After getting to know each other, we were called back to our separate seats and only then, as I see him take the seat next to my dad’s rival, do I realize that I had spoken to the enemy.

And I had liked it.

After the party, I had pulled him into an empty hallway and we talked for a bit, agreeing to be friends and even making plans to secretly grab coffee the following week.  As the weeks wore on, I had developed a crush on him and found out soon that he had a crush on me.  We begin dating and I eventually fell in love with him (and he with me), all without anyone knowing.

To say that it’s been hard would be putting it mildly, but I drive those thoughts out of my mind as I walk over to the refreshment table, my teal colored gown swishing across the floor.

The table is laden with so many fancy foods, half of them I frankly find disgusting, but I finally snag something that looks recognizable.  After eating the small morsel, I grab a flute of champagne and sip on it as I survey the dancing scene.  Couples twirl across the dance floor, men dressed in expensive tuxes and women clad in beautiful gowns that much cost a small fortune.

I search for Romeo but come up empty handed.  Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder.  I turn around, a grin on my face, thinking it’s Romeo, but my hope are quickly dashed.

A tall, blonde men stands behind me… Romeo’s raven haired.

I quickly try to cover up my frown with a small smile, but I most likely have a grimace on my face.  “Hi,” I greet the unknown man.

“Hello, would you care to dance?” the man asks me.

I nod.  “Sure.”  I set my champagne down, and he takes my hand (but I wish it’s Romeo’s) and leads me out to the dance floor.  I put my hand on his shoulder and he places his hand on my waist before taking my free hand with his.  The musicians begin playing a slower song and I hope that Romeo doesn’t see us and get the wrong idea.  I look up to ask this guy a question but he puts his lips right by my ear.

“Meet him at the rendezvous in ten minutes,” he tells me quietly.

I knit my eyebrows together in confused until it clicked.  I nod.  “Thank you,” I reply, knowing where to go.

Rendezvous is me and Romeo’s secret code for our secret meetings.  Romeo always texted me the location several hours before hand and all I needed was the time.

“No problem.  He’s one lucky fellow though,” the man says, looking me up and down.

My cheeks flame with embarrassment.  “Um, thanks.”

He chuckles.  “Anytime.”

The dance soon ends and he bows to me before walking away.  I check the grand clock mounted on the wall and see I have five minutes left before I need to meet Romeo in the back gardens.  I grab my shawl from where I dropped it off, making a small comment on the need for fresh air, before escaping to the sprawling backyard gardens owned by Romeo’s family.

I enter the maze and get to the center before finding my way to the other exit, a path I long ago memorized.  A gazebo is located near the entrance of the other exit and that’s where Romeo and I would spend most our nights sitting and talking.  No one ever saw us, thus we were free to do whatever we wanted.

“Romeo?” I call as I step into the gazebo.  The night air was just a tad nippy and I draw my shawl closer to me.

“Wow, and I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful,” a familiar voice says behind me.

I turn around, blushing like a tomato, and find Romeo staring at me with a look that I can only describe as love written across his face.  “Thank you,” I murmur, suddenly shy around him.  Like me, he also has a masquerade mask on.  But a silly little mask could never hide his high cheekbones, chiseled jaw, piercing green eyes, or silky raven-black hair from me.  “You look quite handsome,” I compliment him; my eyes roaming up and down his tux-clad body.

He advances towards me until we’re only a hair’s breadth apart.  His eyes look into mine as he takes my hands and brings them to his mouth, his lips brushing along the knuckles.  “Being with you wants me to quote Shakespeare,” he tells me and I laugh, letting out the breath I unintentionally held in.

“Well, I tend to do that with people,” I reply, a grin on my face.

Romeo’s eyes sparkle with mischief and before I can comprehend what has happened, he pulls me close and kisses me.  “No, you only do that to me,” Romeo retorts teasingly after he pulls away.

I laugh and don’t reply.  Instead, I move my hands to his mask and slip it off before he can object.  “There.  Much better.”  I smile.

Romeo does the same to me and presses his lips to my forehead in a sweet kiss afterwards.  “I’m actually glad you had a mask on tonight.  Now none of the men in there will be enchanted by you.”

I giggle and roll my eyes.  “Who, me?  I don’t think so.”

Romeo brushes a curl away from my check.  “To me, you are the most beautiful thing that has ever walked the earth and I don’t want anyone to steal it from me.”

I shake my head.  “Instead of proclaiming your undying love to me, why don’t you just kiss me?”

Romeo sends me a cheeky grin.  “Or I could do that.”

And that’s exactly what he did.