Dylan and Sophia

         It was 10pm, and Dylan Nelson, a young insurance agent from New York, feverishly worked to finish his latest assignment. It was a claim about an employee of a theme park who had fallen off of a test ride on the park's newest coaster. He had been working on it frantically all week. Finally, he finished it off and headed to a nearby bar for a much needed drink to decompress.

         As Dylan sipped his beer, he saw his friend, Nathan, who was sitting a few seats away. Dylan approached Nathan with the words, "Hey, man, how's it going?"

         "Dude! I haven't seen you in weeks. How have you been?" said Nathan. They bumped fists.

         "Not so great," said Dylan. "I've been working on this killer assignment at work all week, plus I found out my girlfriend's been cheating on me." He took another sip of beer.

         "Aww, bummer. I'm sorry, man," said Nathan.

         "Yeah, it is what it is," said Dylan. "I think it's time for me to find someone else."

         "Are you still doing the party gigs?" asked Nathan. Dylan had a side job doing characters at birthday parties.

         "Of course," said Dylan.

         "I may have a gig for you this Saturday," said Nathan. "My friend's son is turning eight and loves Cat in the Hat."

         "Cool. I've been doing that character for a while now," said Dylan. "He's pretty popular."

         "I will give you the dude's number and you can work it out," said Nathan.

         "Sweet," said Dylan. "Thanks, man."

         "No problem." Nathan finished his glass of wine, and they hung out for awhile.

         That Saturday, Dylan got into costume and makeup and drove to the house with the party. He parked a couple of blocks away so the kids wouldn't see him arrive. He knocked on the door. A pretty young blonde opened the door. "Hello, you must be Mr. Nelson?"

         Dylan's eyes widened. She's gorgeous, he thought. He admired the curls in her long hair and her flawless makeup. His auburn eyes met with hers, which were green.

         "Yes. Dylan Nelson, nice to meet you." He shook her hand. Her touch was warm and soft.

         "I'm Sophia," said the lady. "I love your costume. It's adorable."

         "Thanks." Dylan smiled at Sophia, and she smiled back.

         "Come on in," said Sophia. "You spoke to my husband on the phone..."

         Damn it! She's already married! thought Dylan. "Yes," he said.

         "So you read the kids a Dr. Seuss book and play guessing and trivia games with them?" asked Sophia.

         "That is correct. Will that work for you?" asked Dylan.

         "Of course. Our son will love that," said Sophia.

         Dylan entertained the kids while the adults visited and shared stories of their children. After his performance was finished, he joined Sophia in the kitchen for some cake. Sophia cut a large corner piece for Dylan and handed it to him on a beautiful plate. "This is delicious," he told her.

         "Thanks, I baked it myself."

         "So, what do you do, Sophia?" asked Dylan. "Besides baking awesome cakes?"

         Sophia chuckled. "I'm a swing dance instructor," she said.

         "I love swing dancing!" said Dylan. "I'm part of an organization that holds swing dances at the library every Saturday night. Would you like to join me this evening?"

         "I think I would enjoy that," said Sophia. "I can't do it tonight because I have to clean up after the party. I could join you next week, if you like."

         "That's cool," said Dylan. He checked his watch. It was already 8 pm and he had to get to church early the next morning. "I have to get going. It was lovely meeting you."

         "Thanks for entertaining them," said Sophia as she handed him the check.

         "No problem," said Dylan. "I will see you next week. The dance starts at seven on the top floor of the library."

         "I will see you then. Have a great week, Dylan." She smiled at him while simultaneously washing dishes.

         "You too, Sophia." Dylan tipped his hat to her and took off.

         For the next week, Dylan kept daydreaming about Sophia. Even as he worked on assignments at his job, she was constantly in the back of his mind. Finally Saturday evening came. Dylan put on a blue button down shirt, a velvet jacket and matching pants before heading down to the library. He pushed the button for the elevator. As it opened, he saw Sophia, in a beautiful vintage sapphire blue dress. "Hi Dylan," she said.

         "Hi Sophia." He gave her a quick hug.

         "I've never been to this before," said Sophia. "You said it's on the top floor?"

         "Correct," said Dylan. "You will enjoy it."

         The elevator reached the top floor, which was outdoors, with a large metal dome over it. The tables and chairs had been moved to the sides to create a dance floor. The location offered wonderful views of the surrounding downtown area. "I can dance both the lead and follow parts," said Dylan.

         "So can I," said Sophia.

         "I figured that, since you're an instructor," said Dylan. The "Charleston" song came on. Dylan put his right hand on Sophia's back and joined his left hand with her right. She placed her left hand on Dylan's shoulder.

         "Your jacket is so soft," said Sophia.

         "Thanks," said Dylan. They started with the basic step before Dylan led Sophia into a tuck turn and side pass. He sent her out into open position and did a 20's Charleston, spun her a couple times, and turned her around for a tandem Charleston. "This is my favorite move," he told her.

         "It's a fun one," said Sophia.

         Dylan pulled her into closed position and did a crossover for a few bars before dancing a 30's Charleston. "You can tell I like Charleston moves," he said.

         "So do I," said Sophia. For the entire dance, they looked towards each other but not eye to eye, smiling politely. "Do you know how to do the shag?"

         "I haven't learned that yet, but I would like to," said Dylan.

         "Let me show you," said Sophia. After demonstrating the lead part, Dylan picked it up and soon they were doing the shag. This is so hot, thought Dylan.

         The song ended, and Dylan pulled Sophia into a dip. "That was awesome," said Dylan. "Thank you."

         "Thank you!" said Sophia.

         They each danced with other partners through the night, but none of their other dances were as hot as the first. After a couple hours, the dance was over. Dylan approached Sophia. "Let me walk you to your car. It can be dangerous downtown at night."

         "Thanks, I appreciate that," said Sophia. "I'm parked a couple of blocks away." Sophia forgot to look both ways and stepped into the street as a black SUV approached. Crap! thought Dylan before pushing her out of the way. He got hit and landed on the street on his stomach.

         "OMG! Dylan! Are you ok?" cried Sophia. She frantically called 911.

         A few days later, Dylan woke up in the hospital. As he groggily opened his eyes, he saw Sophia at his bedside, rubbing his hand. "He's waking up!" she said to the nurse.

         "What happened?" asked Dylan.

         "You got hit by a car and broke your leg," said the nurse. "You pushed your girlfriend out of the way of the car and you may have saved her life."

         "Oh, we aren't together," said Sophia. She looked at Dylan, taking her place in the hospital bed. Or are we? she thought.

         Over the next few months, Sophia helped Dylan through his physical therapy as he relearned how to walk. After a session, she said to him, "Dylan, you know I'm married, but John has been acting like a dick lately and you almost died to save my life. I don't want to be with him any more...I want to be with you."

         Wow! This is beyond awesome! thought Dylan. "I've wanted to be with you since the minute we met," he told her.

         "I am filing for divorce from John this week," said Sophia. "You're a much better catch."

         "You're quite a catch yourself," said Dylan. They drew close to each other and kissed.

         After Dylan completed therapy, he asked Sophia out on a few dates. They went to theme parks, movies, dinners, and bowling alleys. One evening, he invited her to the top of a local mountain at sunset.

         "What a beautiful sunset," said Sophia.

         "Yes, it is," said Dylan before pulling out a ring and getting down on one knee. "Sophia, will you marry me?"

         Sophia gasped. "Of course I will!" They hugged and shared their longest kiss to date.

         Dylan and Sophia were only engaged for a few months. A few evenings before the wedding, Dylan met up with Nathan at the bar again. "Congrats, man!" said Nathan. "How does it feel to be losing your bachelorhood?"

         "I'm a little nervous about it, but still looking forward to it," said Dylan.

         "It will be amazing," said Nathan. "You won't want to trade it for anything."

         The morning of the wedding, Dylan stood near the altar in front of all his family and friends. The Canon in D played, and as Sophia entered, Dylan's heart skipped a beat. She's so beautiful, he thought. How did I get so lucky?

         Sophia's son followed behind her, carrying the ring. They exchanged vows and rings before kissing and walking down the aisle hand in hand.

         Dylan adopted Sophia's son as his own, and the pair had three more kids together. Dylan bought his new family a spacious, beautiful home. Dylan and Sophia shared a wonderful, happy life together.