4th Episode: Santorini - The Wedding Dance

*Tring Tring*

"Hello sir. Good morning. It's 10 A.M. Your cab driver has arrived to pick you up and the other tourists from our hotel and he will be starting from here with everyone in another half an hour. Since it is a group tour, he cannot wait more than five minutes sir. So kindly board the cab in time or you'll miss the tour" said the receptionist

He just got reminded that his itinerary had a half day sunset cruise tour to nearby Delos-Rhinea islands. Jumped out of his bed, showered quick, dressed up in a casual trousers and a t-shirt. Took his day tour inventory, stuffed them inside his trek bag, went to the restaurant, had some scrambled eggs and orange juice and headed to the cab. That was his best speed of getting ready and still he was late. If he was late by one more minute, the cab would have left. Fortunately, he boarded the cab and reached the boat pier.

The boat started at around 12 P.M. It was a midsize cruise speedboat. There were families, kids, couples and singles like him. It was a mildly sunny day. There wasn't much heat but the sunlight was eye-poking. Thanks to his duplicate Ray Ban shades that he bought, back home. It was a beautiful sail on the Aegean sea, amidst the Cyclades Archipelago. He was standing on the corner of the deck and enjoying the gushes of water created by the slicing of the boat through the water currents. His phone rang. It was her. He was surprised because she said she'd be busy on that day but she was calling him. Why? He answered his phone.

"Where are you?"

"Sailing somewhere in the middle of the ocean"

"Okay! Jump into the ocean, swim back to the shore, get well dressed for attending a wedding, wear a blazer and reach Santorini before sunset. Come to the Perissa beach there"

"What? Are you crazy? I am in the middle of a day cruise. On the way to Delos. These guys are definitely not turning the boat to the shore"

"Remember our deal? Whenever I call you, you should come wherever I ask you to. Forgot?"

"Remembering it very well. You could have told me in the morning or atleast before noon. I might have cancelled this whole cruise and had come wherever you asked me to. But now, I don't think there's a way out of here"

"Chill monsieur! I was just pulling your leg. I am in Santorini. It's a beautiful place. Evening is the wedding and later is the party. Was feeling bored without anyone here. So just called you to play you"

"You don't sound bored. You sound like missing me"

"In your dreams boy"

"Yeah? We'll see tomorrow"

"Yeah let's see. Okay have a great cruise and a great time at Delos. Visiting any other island?"

"Mmm. Rhinea too"

"Great then. See you tomorrow. Have a nice day. Have fun ogling"

"Oh yeah? You too. Don't forget me after coming across those handsome European best men of that groom"

"I wish!"

"Keep wishing. Bye"

"Bye. See you tomorrow"

They both cut the call and carried on with their day.

It was evening. The beautiful and soothing sun rays were lighting up the mood in Santorini. Perissa is a small village in Santorini with some great locals and a stunning beach. It was a beach wedding on the Perissa beach. Arrangements were made, decors were beautiful, the best men and bridesmaids were smoking great looks too. The married-to-be were from different ethnicity and so the place was filled with different faces from different races. It was a provoking sight. She was sitting under a palm roofed hut like cabin gulping a tangy crushed ice, looking at the tangy sun and submerged in deep thoughts of solitude.

Just while looking around, at a visible distance, a tall, brown and handsome man, well dressed and styled was walking towards her hut. After seeing him, her neck could't turn an extra degree and rather got fixed on him. It was a stunning view with the sun at the background, an orange horizon, a beautiful beach and a man with a blazer and an attitude walking towards her. Yes! It was him. The same guy she asked to jump into an ocean to come and meet her. He didn't jump really, did he?

"Hey Queen! Your Sugar Packet at your service"

"This is some illusion. You're trying to fool me. You're not you. You must be somewhere in the Rhinea, picking pebbles. How in the god damn reality, are you here?"

"I jumped"

"You did? The same guy who said he would fight with me for that log of wood in the ocean if our flight fell into it? Tell me more"

"Okay okay. Chill! I didn't jump. I would but I didn't"

"Then how are you here?"

"For a while, just been a sassy liar and I am here"

"Elaborate"

"Told the boatman that I just got a call from my girlfriend and I really have to go meet her immediately and for that I have to take the evening flight. So, he should turn the boat back to the shore, drop me off and again start the cruise. He asked why can't I go later after we return to shore. I said that I wish I could but should go and elope with her immediately"

"Didn't he ask what's the urgency to meet her and also elope?"

"He did. And I said that.. Err.. She was pregnant"

"Did you really say that?"

"I did and here I am"

She laughed uncontrollably till she got tears in her eyes.

"But how did you know he will turn the boat back?"

"I saw him kissing his family's photo in his locket just before the cruise started. So, I've just been smart and cheeky"

"Hail your smartness! But sure Zeus is going to punish you for this"

"Oh yeah? He, who came down to earth often, impregnated his human girlfriends and let them give birth to a number of demigods and then abandoned them to go live in the heavens? I am game"

"Haha! Blasphemy"

"Be it"

"That's real sweet of you to come here. You kept our deal alive"

"I told you already. When a smart and cute woman calls, any man will naturally get the guts to even swing on the blades of a windmill. Won't he swim across an ocean?"

"Oh! I am flattered. But still don't maintain that swimming part. You did not swim"

"Yes I did not. Because, I don't know to swim"

"Oh really? Join the club mate"

"Et tu, Queen?"

"Si eu, Sugar Packet"

Meanwhile the wedding started and they were called in. They both went inside and enjoyed the magical marriage moments. She was no more a lonely bird there. She was all smiling and happy for her friend. The priest pronounced the couple as wedded and they kissed with love. These two clapped hard to relish the moment and he went a step further and started whistling like he used to back home, whenever he sees something marvelous happening. That kid in him never died. She loved that flawless purity in him. She loved his craziness. Loved the way he carried himself, the way he was flaunting his smartness, the way he listened to his heart, the way he made his moments magical and definitely loved how much he made her feel special right since he sat with that coffee mug in front of her, in the airport. Love is ever inevitable, isn't it?

The wedding bells had rung. Happiness prevailed. Everyone went to the party. What's a party without dance? Yes! Others started dancing.

"So madame, will you dance with me?

"I would love to but I think one of the best men is irresistibly cute and I wish I can dance with him a while", she tried to annoy him

He slightly turned pale and said, "Oh yeah! They looked great"

"Why don't you go pick one of the bridesmaids mister?"

"Ah! I am fine. You carry on", his eyes smoked

To make him more pale, she really walked on towards the best men. Others picked their own women and only two looked single. She went towards them and started talking to them. In a while, all of them looked at him and started talking. He was puzzled. He was a little embarrassed already and hence started imagining if they were only joking about him. He was quite confused as why should she call him there and embarrass him like that. He was a cool man but these things would annoy any man, wouldn't they?

Then she hung her head and came towards him. She looked embarrassed.

"What happened? Did those idiots reject your proposal?"

"No!"

"Really? Why look dull then? You want me to go speak to them?"

"Man! Stop it. Don't embarrass me more. I confess! I tried to play a game to annoy you. I didn't like them and all. I just went and asked them if they could fake a dance with me so that I could see if you're getting annoyed"

"Annoy me? Why?"

"I know any guy would be annoyed. I called you here for the party and now when we should dance, I wanted to see how much you feel bad if I danced with someone else. These are girl instincts. But really I just wanted to play for a while. Not hurt or embarrass you. Sorry if I did"

"I did feel awkward but I understand your game. That quantifies the bond between us and I am happy about it. Let's talk about that later. Now tell me. Why do you look so embarrassed? What did those guys say?"

"They said they are okay with helping me but they asked something else in favor"

"Favor? What kind of favor?" 

"They asked for a hook up but it's not with me. They asked if I could hook you up with them. They are gays!"

He just blurted out laughing. She had a crybaby face. On seeing that face, he started laughing even more.  He couldn't stop laughing for next five minutes.

"But why are you embarrassed for that?"

"Though just for a prank, this was the first time in my life, I suited up, gathered all courage to go and ask a man to dance with me and he turns out to be a gay. Well, two of them actually. Isn't that embarrassing?"

"It sure seems to be", he started laughing again.

"I am not insulting them. Being gay is anyone's choice and I respect that. But why them? Aargh!"

"I respect their choice too. Gays are okay and it is completely natural. But I also specifically respect your concern for me that you didn't hook me up with them"

"Hell I would have, if I had another partner to dance with"

"Haha. That eyes say something else"

"Let them. So, ask me out for dance again"

"Why would I? You ask me out"

"I won't"

"I won't too. I already did and you rejected. Now it's your turn"

Both remained silent for two minutes while he was smiling at her all those two minutes.

"Okay sorry gentleman! I would like to dance with you. Will you?"

"Any day of my life, lady. Yes!"

Love was dispersing. Happiness was sounding louder in people's laughs around them. Everyone was enjoying the night. The mood was divine. The carpet was enjoying those little steps people made while dancing with their love held in their hands. The flowers were spreading fragrance all around. The wedded couple took the center stage. Some were kissing each other passionately.

He took her hands, pulled her closer, held her hips, looked her directly into her eyes with passion overflowing through his lacrimals and started to tap some feet to the rhythm of the music playing. Music was like a smoke of drug they both were inhaling together and getting high. Every time the beat changed, he tapped his fingers that were holding her waist and every time he did that, there was a sense of slight and sweet electrocution running right through her spine. Inspite of the sea breeze, she started to sweat behind her ears not out of exertion but out of an unexplainable fear tickling her lower abdomen. Her smell did wonders on him. He mildly sniffed her neck everytime he turned her around. Her breath became hotter, her eyes became glittering, her lips became tangling. He is the not the first man to hold her this close but this was the first time she felt her womanhood tickle her brain and heart in an unified tune.

She looked like a princess, who comes in the fairy tales he read in his nursery. Her eyes were casting spells that he never heard of. Her hairs dancing on her forehead looked like a translucent curtain covering a beautiful painting. She wasn't the first woman he gazed at so closely but this was the first time he felt weak and vulnerable. Yes! His legs were shaking a little not because of the dance but something else. Cold chills were running through his spine. Being a very practical man, he never believed in a cliched romance but he was experiencing it right there and he couldn't escape from the charming spell it had cast on him.

Both had such an exhilarating dance not because of the steps they performed but the dips in their heartbeat they experienced while holding onto each other's bodies. It was the best dance of their lifetime, atleast until then.

Music dropped. Dance ended and they marched towards the dinner tables. They couldn't speak or look into each other's eyes for a few minutes. Then, air got cleared and they started enjoying their dinner. She introduced him to her friend, the bride. Her friend shook hands with him and also complimented that his blazer was looking great and trendy. 

After her friend left, she asked him "I too was about to compliment your blazer. It looks great on you. Must be pricey" 

"Who knows?"

"What who knows?"

"The price"

"Why? Didn't you see when you bought it?"

"Who bought it? I don't spend for pricey looking blazers"

"Then, what about this one?" she pointed at his blazer

"It's rented"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously"

"Where did you find a blazer rental shop in Mykonos, within this short time?"

"It's not a shop. I rented it from a street performer who performs magic tricks on Mykonos roads"

"Don't tell me! He might not even know you. How did he give away his pricey looking blazer for rent?"

"I pledged my Ray-Ban shade as mortgage and accepted to give him 20 Euros rent per day"

"You definitely are crazy! Who would pledge a Ray-Ban for a duplicate blazer and also pay 20 Euros as rent?"

"I would, because that Ray-Ban is a worse duplicate than this blazer and I had bought it on the roadside nearby where I live. It costed me lesser than a burger"

"You're crazy, Sugar Packet"

"Yeah?" he winked 

She laughed at his cheekiness and admired him even more. He was a surprise package, wasn't he?

The dinner was over. Everyone left. She had a room booked for her already but he didn't have one. She didn't want to leave him alone. They both didn't really need a room actually. They talked the whole night lying on the lawn adjacent to the beach side hotel, sky watching, stargazing and listening to the musical waves of the Aegean Sea.

"Hey Mister!"

"Yes?"

"I thought you wouldn't come"

"Why is that?"

"I don't know. I just didn't feel it. It was too much to ask for"

"But I did"

"Why?"

"You sounded dull and alone"

"Really? Don't bluff"

"No! You did. If it was just for fun, I'd not have turned the boat around, booked another boat and came here. But your voice was different. That sparkle in your words were missing and I cannot leave this beautiful lady just like that. I wanted to see the spark back in her eyes and hear her quick-witted words flow like a river. I didn't want a dull version of you to make a fun filled Santorini an irony"

"Don't mesmerize me"

"Not even trying. But tell me. Why were you dull?"

"You smart ass! Yes, I was dull. I just reached here and didn't even know what to do. I can travel alone anywhere in the world but that's a travel and I don't need anyone around. But here, attending someone's wedding, seeing everyone in groups or as couples or as families, I miss home. And the closest to home I have near me is you. Even you told me that you feel home around me. Right? May be that's why the heart felt that it needed you around here. I don't want to lie. I missed you suddenly. I felt that we could have shared another frappe here"

"And where am I?"

"You're here!" she reached out to him and pinched his nose. She smiled endlessly.

They continued their random talks and slowly both dozed off in the lawn itself. Night and darkness, which were their secret admirers, slowly sunk into the Aegean and eventually dawn was desperate to visit the beautiful sight of those two beautiful souls lying beside each other, a couple of feet apart only tired of admiring each other and falling in love simultaneously, a whole night. The night didn't wish to end. It got carried away by that magic of romance happening in presence of a dewy sea breeze and wished to stay but it also had to do its duty. It should end to give way to a beautiful Santorini morning's light and happiness to spread. So it did end.

The dawn bloomed.