girl next to him. Their eyes were turned toward the dance floor, and their bodies were moving in the seats.
“Why are you all sitting down? I told Kurt we had fun when we went out, but now I fear we’ll bore him to tears!” Peter turned and flashed me a smile and a wink.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Oh, no!” he laughed. “Don’t tell me you don’t dance!”
I looked down at my feet for just a moment, then brought my gaze back to him. How I was going to answer that? I didn’t dance, but I didn’t want to disappoint him. The light in his eyes shone with laughter. I didn’t want to be funny to him. His gave me another wink.
Someone bumped into him from behind, and suddenly he was closer to me. All I could see were his beautiful lips. I felt my skin heat with a blush.
“You don’t have to dance,” he said quietly, “but please don’t think poorly of me when I do.” “I would never think—”
Peter cut me off by placing his hand on my elbow for just a moment. “I’ll come back, I promise. Until then, enjoy.”
I stood there as he headed back into the crowd. Leo kicked out a chair, and I very carefully positioned myself in it. My eyes were still glued on Peter’s strong shoulders as he disappeared in the mass. A snap followed by a hissing noise caused me to turn. Leo was holding a match to a cigarette.
I took in the table. Glasses of alcohol and packs of cigarettes littered it. It surprised me. Both drinking and smoking were seen in a poor light since Hitler came to power, but everyone was indulging openly. How could it be? My uncle had always said even though they weren’t forbidden, they might as well have been. It did nothing to further the German people. According to my uncle, the posters and restrictions should be enough for all decent Germans to follow the Fürher’s lead of abstinence.
Leo held out a cigarette to me, but I declined, just as I declined the invitation to indulge in the alcohol. Instead, I indulged by staring at Peter. He’d situated himself in the middle of the dance floor. He was so free as he moved to the fantastic music to which I’d never been allowed to listen. I’d heard it before it was outright banned, but I’d never seen it played, or people dance to it.
It was remarkable.
He was with a thin young woman in a green dress, practically throwing her about, then catching her. Music must’ve flowed through his veins. Not only was he an accomplished and talented musician, he was obviously very good at dancing.
For a moment, jealousy seared within me. Peter had more talent. He was a virtuoso who didn’t have to think about music. His body was a vessel for it. It moved through him—on stage and on the dance floor.
A voice sounded to my left. “He’s fantastic, isn’t he?”
I turned to Leo. He flicked his eyes off in the direction of Peter before bringing them back to me. He was nice looking with dark hair and even darker eyes, but nothing like Peter Waldenheim.
“He is.”
Leo took a deep inhale from his cigarette, then blew the smoke out toward me. I tried to avoid it by leaning away. Heavy laughter brought my attention to Marcel and Steffen, who were standing up with their ladies. With linked hands, they made their way to the dance floor to join Peter.
“He likes you,” Leo said softly. I thought I’d imagined it, but when I looked at him again, there was no mistaking the violist’s expression.
I wasn’t sure what to say to that or even sure what he meant. I couldn’t tell this man I barely knew that I fancied Peter, so I simply said, “I find him to be very nice.”
The look on Leo’s face did not change much, but there was a gentle shift into something knowing. It worried me. Perhaps I was transparent to everyone. But when I looked deeply into this man’s eyes, information that I couldn’t actually know exploded into my consciousness.
Leo was homosexual.
I glanced over at the girl next to him. She wasn’t sitting close. In
“Why are you all sitting down? I told Kurt we had fun when we went out, but now I fear we’ll bore him to tears!” Peter turned and flashed me a smile and a wink.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Oh, no!” he laughed. “Don’t tell me you don’t dance!”
I looked down at my feet for just a moment, then brought my gaze back to him. How I was going to answer that? I didn’t dance, but I didn’t want to disappoint him. The light in his eyes shone with laughter. I didn’t want to be funny to him. His gave me another wink.
Someone bumped into him from behind, and suddenly he was closer to me. All I could see were his beautiful lips. I felt my skin heat with a blush.
“You don’t have to dance,” he said quietly, “but please don’t think poorly of me when I do.” “I would never think—”
Peter cut me off by placing his hand on my elbow for just a moment. “I’ll come back, I promise. Until then, enjoy.”
I stood there as he headed back into the crowd. Leo kicked out a chair, and I very carefully positioned myself in it. My eyes were still glued on Peter’s strong shoulders as he disappeared in the mass. A snap followed by a hissing noise caused me to turn. Leo was holding a match to a cigarette.
I took in the table. Glasses of alcohol and packs of cigarettes littered it. It surprised me. Both drinking and smoking were seen in a poor light since Hitler came to power, but everyone was indulging openly. How could it be? My uncle had always said even though they weren’t forbidden, they might as well have been. It did nothing to further the German people. According to my uncle, the posters and restrictions should be enough for all decent Germans to follow the Fürher’s lead of abstinence.
Leo held out a cigarette to me, but I declined, just as I declined the invitation to indulge in the alcohol. Instead, I indulged by staring at Peter. He’d situated himself in the middle of the dance floor. He was so free as he moved to the fantastic music to which I’d never been allowed to listen. I’d heard it before it was outright banned, but I’d never seen it played, or people dance to it.
It was remarkable.
He was with a thin young woman in a green dress, practically throwing her about, then catching her. Music must’ve flowed through his veins. Not only was he an accomplished and talented musician, he was obviously very good at dancing.
For a moment, jealousy seared within me. Peter had more talent. He was a virtuoso who didn’t have to think about music. His body was a vessel for it. It moved through him—on stage and on the dance floor.
A voice sounded to my left. “He’s fantastic, isn’t he?”
I turned to Leo. He flicked his eyes off in the direction of Peter before bringing them back to me. He was nice looking with dark hair and even darker eyes, but nothing like Peter Waldenheim.
“He is.”
Leo took a deep inhale from his cigarette, then blew the smoke out toward me. I tried to avoid it by leaning away. Heavy laughter brought my attention to Marcel and Steffen, who were standing up with their ladies. With linked hands, they made their way to the dance floor to join Peter.
“He likes you,” Leo said softly. I thought I’d imagined it, but when I looked at him again, there was no mistaking the violist’s expression.
I wasn’t sure what to say to that or even sure what he meant. I couldn’t tell this man I barely knew that I fancied Peter, so I simply said, “I find him to be very nice.”
The look on Leo’s face did not change much, but there was a gentle shift into something knowing. It worried me. Perhaps I was transparent to everyone. But when I looked deeply into this man’s eyes, information that I couldn’t actually know exploded into my consciousness.
Leo was homosexual.
I glanced over at the girl next to him. She wasn’t sitting close. In
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