Free Underwater by Maayan Nahmani

it.
    “Well, hello there,” the man said with a smile.
    “Are you Toby?” I asked timidly.
    “The one and only. What can I do for you, ladies?”
    “I’m Aria and this is Ella,” I said, pointing in her direction, “I wanted to ask if maybe you have a guitar I can borrow? Just for a few minutes.”
    “A guitar?”
    “Yes, a guitar.”
    Studying me for a minute, he finally nodded. “Alright. Yeah, sure. I got a guitar.”
    And that was how I found myself on stage, all alone and nervous as hell.
    When I finished the song, I was met with silence.
    Did they hate it? Was I too much?
    Sighing, I directed my eyes towards Ella and found her watching me with a trail of tears streaming down her face. In the midst of her crying, she winked and then the silence was replaced with applause.
    Feeling relieved, I bowed and rushed off the stage. Ella congratulated me with a hug. “You did well,” she whispered in my ear.
    I hugged her and whispered back, “Thank you.”
    “Are you ready to party?”
    “As I’ll ever be!”
    She led us back to the dance floor and Love Me Again By John Newman began to play. People congratulated me and tapped my shoulder. When we reached our previous spot in the middle of the dance floor, we got lost in the music again. We danced, jumped, laughed and made up silly dance moves that earned us amusing expressions from the people around us. Everything bad in my life was shoved into a box in my head.
    At some point, Ella disappeared after saying she was going to get us a drink. I danced alone with my eyes closed, concentrating only on the music, and not paying attention to my surroundings. That was until I felt a pair of hands sneaking from behind me and wrapping around my stomach. My body went rigid as I was yanked back and was pressed against a hard chest.
    I turned my head and was met with a pair of black eyes simmering with desire. A tall frame towered over me. The man was attractive but I wasn’t interested. When I tried to break free from his grip, he tightened his hold and pulled me harder against him. I gasped as fear took root in my body. I was trying desperately to find Ella among the crowd but I couldn’t find her.
    Who the hell did he think he was?
    I could smell the alcohol on him when he breathed in my ear. His hands started to trail across my body, and as I was contemplating the best way to kick him in the balls, his hold on me loosened, and from that moment everything happened in a blur. One minute I was free, the next I was pushed forward and about to fall on my face. I gasped, about to hit the floor, when strong arms held me and prevented my fall.
    Hesitantly, I raised my head and was met with a familiar face, looking with murderous eyes at the guy who’d manhandled me. Dorian seemingly sensed I was watching him because he lowered his head and when his eyes met mine the intensity of his anger softened.
    He drew me back to stand behind him, protecting me. Then, he took a few steps forward and gripped the guy’s shirt. With a hard jerk, he brought him closer to his face. Dorian, with his tall and built frame, towered over the other man. In a deadly calm voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise, he spoke, “If you touch her again I will end you.”
    The guy looked like he was going to shit his pants. Dorian gripped the guy’s shirt even tighter.
    “Dorian,” I said softy. I didn’t want him getting into trouble because of me.
    He turned his head while still keeping his hold intact.
    “It’s okay. I’m fine...let him go…please.” Again, I spoke softly. This time, I added a smile for good measure.
    Ella had made her way back to me and clenched my hand.
    He gave a sharp nod and then turned back to the guy. With an icy cold voice, he said, “Get the fuck out of here.” He freed him with a shove, making the guy lose his footing and fall to the floor. Wasting no time, he stood and ran towards the exit.
    Dorian’s fists clenched by his sides. His head was bent