hand on the small of her back,
and she turned to smile at him.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You
really earned this, Miss Bella.” He said with a genuine smile.
Sarah took the large glass trophy and held it
in her hands. She was surprised by the heftiness of it, and she set
it down carefully on the table next to Joe's champagne glass.
While the crowd sat waiting for her speech,
she drew a complete blank on what to say. How do you even put into
words what happened over the last month? She looked up at Joe, who
gave her a confused shrug.
“Say something!” He goaded quietly.
“I don't know what to say!” She said with a
timid shrug.
“While they're waiting, I wanted to give you
something else.” Joe said.
In one smooth motion, he hooked his leg
behind hers and dipper her low. She reflexively grabbed his lapels,
and gave him a wide eyed look. It was then that he leaned in and
kissed her. Just the way she wanted. While the crowd broke into
another round of raucous cheering, it was all just distant noise.
Joe tilted, and pivoted, and kissed her like it was some kind of
dance. She just held on and curled her toes while she got the award
she really wanted!