Through the red doors, I never expected to see joy radiate along her curves. She glanced my way and held it there, motioning with one finger a punishment.
“You are late.”
“Valentina, wait—”
She grabbed my hand and put it on her waist and began taking my breath away. Close and personal, we glided higher on the rhythm of the floor.
Silence filled the room as she anchored her leg around my waist.
“You can do this,” she leaned into my ear, “dear, I taught you well.”
Eye to eye, I never dreamed of being this adventurous, never this courageous.
✍️ Author’s Note / 🎨 Creative Glimpse
This story was sparked by “Valentina” by The Hunts — a song that drifts between joy, ache, and the courage to step into something new. There’s a lyric that caught me: “You taught me dear, to be courageous.”
That line became the heartbeat of this piece. I wanted the dance to carry that same pull — intimate and daring, the way someone else’s hand can draw us past hesitation into a braver version of ourselves.
Here are the initial first drafts that we were deciding on for the over.
I am looking forward to posting the Zine for this final story, as well as the animated version.