She flashed me a wry smile. “My parents ... they’re not country music fans at all. They like folk music and some rock from the eighties, but I never heard country music growing up. The first time I ever heard a Garth Brooks song was my first day of college. My roommate loved him, and she’d play country all day long. I started to enjoy it, too. I thought at first my parents might disown me.” She laughed.
“Ah.” I still didn’t see where she was going with this. Maybe she was making small talk until we got to my house, just to keep the awkward at bay.
“My favorite song of his isThe Dance. Do you know it?” When I nodded, she went on. “It’s from that bull rider movie. I’m pretty sure it’s a biopic. Anyway, I’ve always loved it. And something you said before reminded me of the lyrics.”
“Really? What’s that?”
“When I told you that you’d missed a lot of fun by playing it safe, you said that you’d missed a lot of pain, too. But you know, there’s that line in the song ... where Garth says that he could have missed the pain, but he’d have had to have missed the dance, too.”
I shifted in the seat. “I guess the question is whether or not the pleasure of the dance—or whatever it might bring—is worth the pain that might come along with it.”
“There’s no way to know that ahead of time. The dance could bring us incredible joy.”
“Mine is the third townhouse on the left. And if the pain is crushing?” I hadn’t realized I was clenching my jaw until I spoke.
“I still think it would be worth it.” She slowed the car and turned into my drive. We were quiet as she shifted into park.
“Life would be monotonous and boring if it were utterly safe. It’s the moments of pain—and the hours of joy—that make it ...” She paused, thinking. “Beautiful.”
I sat, unmoving, staring at her hand on the gearshift, willing myself to open the door, say thank you for the ride and good night, and then turn my back and go into my house. It would be the smart move. The best move.
And it would be boring, and monotonous, and cowardly. Suddenly safe didn’t seem so appealing.
Before I gave myself time to second-guess it, I laid my hand over hers, curling my fingers until they linked with Samantha’s.
“Come inside with me.”
She lifted startled blue eyes to mine. Surprise and then passion flared before, to my relief and terror, she nodded.
“Okay.”
