Waltzing In Florentino

**"It's like the whole world disappears when we dance, Asta. Just you and me."**

I was lost in her eyes. Noelle looked beautiful, a radiant vision of red hair, green eyes, and porcelain skin, reflecting the light of the moon. The warmth of her body, pressed against mine as we danced, made my heart race and my head spin.

Just then, she leaned in and kissed me. I felt her soft lips press against mine, at first tentative, and then growing more urgent. She broke away after a moment and pressed her forehead to mine.

"Asta," she murmured softly, "you make me feel so alive."

I pulled her close again and whispered into her ear: "You make me feel like I can do anything." I smiled as I saw her blush. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against my chest as we continued to dance.

The balcony overlooked an ancient city—laid out in a grid pattern with buildings made from white stone that seemed to glow under the moonlight. It reminded me of old drawings of Rome from history class back home. We were high on a cliff overlooking the sea; there was no way down except by jumping. The only thing separating us from a long drop into the water below was a rickety wooden railing that was no higher than my waist. Luckily for us, our magic kept us from feeling the chill wind that blew around us as we danced slowly in time with the music in our hearts and minds alone. The magic allowed us to feel warm even though we were wearing clothes that would have been considered too revealing if worn in public back home—nothing more than a pair of shorts and tank top on Noelle and a pair of undershorts on me. And yet it didn't seem inappropriate at all; not with the way Noelle looked up at me with those big green eyes as we swayed together on the edge of the cliff beneath the starry sky while waves crashed onto rocks far below us.

* * * * *

"That's him!" A man pointed towards where two figures stood on a narrow balcony high above them. They were both slender with red hair—one boyish-looking and one almost femininely delicate—with large green eyes and translucent skin that reflected moonlight as they moved slowly to some unheard rhythm in perfect unison with each other. They had been dancing for hours it seemed to everyone watching them but they showed no signs of tiring or even needing to take a break; they just continued to move slowly together without ever looking away from each other's eyes until finally...they stopped moving altogether as one of them leaned forward to kiss the other passionately right there where everyone could see them!