Flynn's point of view:

Hilda led me straight and true when she said Elora was by the stairs. When she turned around it was like magic in every way possible. The silhouette of a beautiful, fern green dress that cascaded around her beautiful and curvaceous body. Her dark hair was curled in big rolls, definitely forties. I felt my heart beating fast in my chest as she turned around and shone those pearl white teeth at me in a radiant and angelic smile. As she walked over to me I realized I was only standing in one place, unable to move.

"Nice tuxedo, I'm impressed," she said to me. I chuckled and smirked at her, a hair flip from Elora following it.

"I never miss out on a good date," I said. She raised her brow and nodded at my boldness. I wasn't new when it came to flirtation. I was twenty eight years old, I knew my way around the line, so to speak.

"So this is a date?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders and played coy. I didn't know how Elora was, but based on my experience, women like it when a man is a gentleman but plays hard to get as well.

"If you want it to be," I replied. Elora thought for a minute. She turned her head around the room and examined the surroundings. There wasn't anything totally eventful around us.

"Alright, if this is a date, I'd like to make it a little worthwhile. Do you want to take one of the cars and skip out of here? I'll ask my mother, she won't mind at all," she asked. I nodded and followed her to Hilda. She asked her if we could use one of the cars and she said it was fine as long as we stayed safe and didn't stay out until morning. I found it odd having to ask permission at the age we were at, of course I was eight years older than her, but still, it was the same idea.

"I have an idea. Washington has a lot to offer if you go to the right places. I know just the place. You want to drive?" She asked. I nodded and hooped in the driver's seat. We drove out of the way and were on the road. "Oh, can we stop at the house? I want to change out of this thing and I'm sure you aren't keen on staying in that tux for the whole night, as dapper as it looks on you," she added a few minutes later.

We pulled up into the house and quickly changed into comfortable clothes. They still looked nice on us enough for us to go out and be socially acceptable, though. Elora was dressed in an off-white, lace dress with thick straps around her shoulders. It was simple, elegant with its floral design clad on the lace. She kept her hair down since she liked the way it looked so much in the style it was in. I really didn't care what she wore, she was beautiful in everything.

"Do you know where seventh avenue is? Well, I want to go there. That's where all the fun is," she explained to me as we drove away from the house and back on to the city roads. I nodded, knowing Washington like the back of my hand. I had lived here since I was a young child. I knew the best and worst parts of this place, just sometimes not what they contained.

"Where exactly do you want to go?" I asked her as we arrived on seventh avenue. She spied out for a moment and eventually pointed to a building that resembled a ritzy hotel lobby door. The front was golden and black, with large and intricate plants on either side of it. The ceiling had rounded but jagged appendages going out of it, and two windows on either side showed the people bustling around inside.

"This is called East of Eden Club. It's a great dance spot. I want to have the date here," she replied. I didn't want to debate as to whether this was a legitimate date or not. I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted to do something for a change, instead of thinking and mulling it over until it just wasn't fun anymore.

I took Elora's hand and led her inside the dance club. I opened up the golden doors and it revealed a crowd of men and women, doing all of three things: dancing, laughing and drinking. Despite the drunkenness of everyone, the club seemed lavish and very much in the style of the golden Jazz Age of the twenties. It became apparent to me why she chose to wear the dress she was, because it looked like she jumped right out of 1925.

"Told you this place was the best! Now, I want a drink!" She shouted, having to so I could here her. The modified jazz music was extremely loud and made it difficult to hear anything but itself. At least I heard what she said about the drink, and I walked her to the bar. I ordered a whiskey, and when I was just about to order her a champagne she waved it off and ordered a whiskey with a twist of orange for herself. I was used to getting women weaker drinks like champagne or wine, but if she wanted whiskey, she'd have it. At first I thought maybe it was just to seem like she was no girly girl, but she gulped that whiskey down like she was a professional.

"You want to dance?" She asked. I was no dancer. I never went out dancing or when I went to clubs I stayed around the bars. I could be constituted as a wallflower, I suppose.

"I'm not sure. I'm not much of a dancer," I replied. She chuckled and took my hands, pulling me away from the bar and leaving our drinks as we arrived at the dance floor. She dragged me into the centre as the new swing song began to play. She started to snap her fingers and sway in little motions around one spot. I stayed across from her, feeling a little awkward as she moved confidently.

"Just let the music take you. It isn't that difficult. Just move with me. Like this," she said as she continued to move and step from one side to another. I tried to clear my mind and moved on the floor with her. I tried to imitate what she was doing, but I felt so odd that it was hard to look as loose as she did.

"Come on, if you and I were alone, and you had to dance with me to save my life or something, and it was this song playing right now, what would you do?" She asked as she stopped dancing. We stood across from each other still as I decided what I was going to do. I tried to imagine what she was saying. As if it was actually happening. Like she would die if I didn't dance with her.

Thinking that was the truth was enough to motivate me. I just thought I would put some of my own methods in with the dance. We wouldn't just dance across from each other. So I took her waist and moved her close to me, holding her back as we moved around to the beat. She was taken aback by my quick movement but she took comfort and moved with me eventually. I spun her around and she let out a giggle as we swayed around the room.

Our foreheads touched as the music in the background vibrated around us in a cloud of frequency. My fingers traced along her waist as she slowly shook her hips in a seductive manner. She turned around and pressed her back against my torso, letting me feel every inch of the dress with my hands. Her fingers fled down my arms and to my hands as I felt her skin come into contact with mine. Just as I was about to move my lips to her neck, I grabbed her wrist and swung her around, taking her by happy surprise as she laughed out loud.

Before we knew it, the song ended and we went back to the bar and ordered a drink for each of us. Elora had the widest smile on her face that I had ever seen. To think me dancing with her made her that elated. Just seeing her smile made me smile. I never went out like this, but going out with her made it more fun than I ever thought it would ever be.

At around midnight, we decided we should make our way home. We took the car and hopped in, driving off. The radio buzzed quietly in the background as Elora and I giggled uncontrollably. I didn't notice it until she turned the radio up and Putting on the Ritz came on. It reminded me of when she sang along to it while making pancakes. The time when all I felt was calmness and I was completely carefree. Elora made me feel looser, cooler and relaxed. My mind wasn't as tensed up when she was with me, it was like when she came in I had nothing to worry about anymore. Anxieties didn't exist when Elora was in the room with me.

"Have you seen the well-to-do, up and down Park Avenue? On that famous thoroughfare, with their noses in the air. High hats and Arrow collars, white spats and lots of dollars. Spending every dime, for a wonderful time. If you're blue and you don't know where to go to why don't you go where fashion sits, Puttin' on the ritz," she sang out loud like no one was watching. I chucked and had to sing with her, it was like her voice was contagious.

We pulled into the driveway and saw the other car was already parked and the lights were off. Everyone must have gone to sleep by now. It was already half past midnight, they must have just fallen asleep. Elora and I snuck inside, trying our best to keep quiet. She held her shoes and her feet gently padded on the wooden floor, creeping over to the stairs. I followed her up, walking her to her bedroom. When we arrived at her door, she tripped on herself and almost fell if I wasn't there to catch her. She was laughing as quietly as she could, her eyes closing in concentration.

"Sorry about that," she whispered as I helped her stabilize herself. I shook my head and grinned at her.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone trips," I replied. She nodded and moved her little strands of dark hair out of her face.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. It's been a while since I've been out dancing. This was definitely my favourite time," she said to me. I was glad that she had as much fun as I did. I liked knowing that I was part of the reason she was happy. Her eyes lit up every time she was in a good mood. The green seemed to get brighter, if that was possible. They almost gave off an emerald feel when she was excited. Maybe it was the dark hallway and the moonlight, but I saw it and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"I had a good time too. We should go out like this again some time," I replied. She nodded and her face went down as we became silent. Elora cleared her throat and scratched her nose, and I tried to think of something to say.

"Well, maybe I should go to bed," Elora finally said, breaking the silence. My mind was at a crossroads. I didn't want to end the night here, but I knew that I didn't have to worry about having to say something to make the time comfortable. Maybe it was better if I called it a night and just waited to see her in the morning.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well," I said to her. I began to walk away from her so she could go to sleep when I heard her say my name quietly. I turned around and stood in one place as she watched me from her door.

"Come in, you can sleep in here," she said to me, opening the door and going inside her room. She wanted me to sleep in there with her? What did that mean? Did she mean---no, she just wanted to sleep. She would have been more straightforward if that's what she wanted to do. No, I need to stop overthinking everything. I'll have to go back to war at some point, might as well live it up now so I have something to think about while I'm there.

I entered her bedroom and shut the door behind me. She dropped her shoes down on the floor and went to her closet, shutting the door of it as she went to change into sleepwear. I took off my shirt and pants but left the rest on. I saw in the full length mirror on her door my full torso, bare save the tattoos that covered it. I wondered if she would like my tattoos, if she'd embrace them. A lot of women didn't like them, preferring a man who was in his own skin. My tattoos meant what I had done in my life, and they were here to stay. Elora talked about them before with high spirits, so maybe she would like them?

Elora came out of the closet in a little shirt and shorts. She smiled at me and nonchalantly climbed into bed, motioning for me to follow. I did so and moved my body under the covers with her. She shut off the lamp and moved over to me, so close that I could feel her breathe on my chest. "Do you mind if I lay here?" She asked me as she went to my chest. I shook my head as she let her head drop onto it, listening to my heartbeat as she shut her eyes. Elora was so warm and soft on my chest that it relaxed me enough to let my eyes shut with her, both of us falling asleep to the blue moonlight.

•••

Elora's point of view:

I felt the soft sheets of my bed on my skin, serene and comfortable. My eyes slowly opened to find I was alone, but the clear mark that someone was in the bed with me. I remembered the night before, when I asked Flynn to come in the bed with me. I didn't know what had come over me that night, but I had this rush of confidence that made me feel the way I always felt when I was with men. Now I knew that when I came down those stairs and saw Flynn again, I would be back to being this nervous wreck that didn't know what to say to him at what time.

With all the courage I had, I stepped off the bed and left the room as I wrapped a white robe around my body. The house was always cold in the morning, and warned up as the day progressed. None of us could figure out why, but it had become a customary thing with our family.

The house was pretty much empty. My mother was probably off running this morning with Lorelei. Carina was home with Peter and Kamila, Jacob probably upstairs with Percy doing something or other. My dad could be heard in the living room, listening to the television buzz quietly as he sat in his wheelchair. He would be seeing his physical therapist today to exercise his leg. We all assumed it was going to be a tough day for him. I decided instead of going to look for Flynn right away that I would go see my father.

"Morning, daddy," I said to him as my arms crossed along my chest. The living room was bright from the large windows projecting the sunlight. The lights were off. My father never turned lights on when it was this bright outside.

"Hey, baby girl, how are you?" He said to me as his eyes left the television screen. I sat down in the chair next to him, holding his hand as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I'm alright, how are you?" I asked.

"Just watching television," he said, his head motioning to the screen. My eyes travelled to it and I noticed he was watching the news. It was reporting some sort of riot directed at black people. I saw the words KKK Strikes Again! on the bottom of it, the man reporting the story talking above.

"What is this about?" I asked as I kept watching the show.

"The Klu Klux Klan, Elora. They're a pretty nasty white extremist group. They aren't big on African Americans or other minorities in America. They have been causing a lot of trouble for a few years now, but I think they've been around for a long time," he replied. I nodded and kept watching. Some of the things people did to others was absolutely horrendous. Especially the black people targeted these days. You would think there had been enough damn racism in this world, and then it just hits us again like a hurricane.

"That's horrible," I said to him. He nodded in agreement, holding me close as we watched the news together. My father and I used to do this all the time. He and I would sit on the sofa and either watch television or read books. I loved those memories with him, I didn't get to see him much because of his work, but those nights made all the difference.

"The world can be horrible, baby girl, it's up to you to make sure you see the good things in it, though. Bad can only function if good is present," he said to me. I nodded again, my head remaining on his shoulder as we kept on, taking in the good parts of life.

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