Hearts Desire
What if something could reveal your deepest desires
Connie touched the glass separating her from the sparkly blue shoes in the window display. She heaved out a sigh and retracted her hand. They were the prettiest shoes she had ever seen.
“You do not need another pair of shoes.” Tammy crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at Connie. “Your closet is so full now you can barely walk in there without tripping.”
“But look at them.” She gestured with her hand. “They are sparkly, and I don’t have any sparkly shoes.”
Tammy rolled her eyes. “But you do have three pairs of blue shoes.”
“These say they will fulfill my deepest desire. No other shoe I have ever said that.”
“It’s your money. If you want to spend it on shoes, I’m not going to stop you. Just make sure you can pay the rent next Friday.” Tammy walked away, toting her bag of groceries.
Connie pursed her lips together and stared at the shoes. Tammy was right, she did have three blue pairs already. But none were as pretty as these. What would it hurt to get just one more pair? Having made her decision, Connie walked into the shoe store, grabbed the first employee she could find, and bought the shoes.
The walk home seemed to take longer today as the bag of shoes hung from her hand. She couldn’t wait to try them on. The small, two-bedroom house came into view, sandwiched between a yellow brick house and a tan building missing the bottom windows.
She took the steps two at a time and burst in through the front door, barely shutting it before depositing her bag of groceries on the counter and barricading herself in her room. She ripped the shoe box out of the bag and set it gently on her bed.
Bubbles of joy drifted up and burst out in a fit of giggles. Slowly, she lifted the lid and smiled at the light dancing across the sparkles. They were even more beautiful now. She kicked off her sneakers and, with great care, slipped the first shoe on, then the other. Perfect fit.
Connie looked down at the shoes glistening on her feet. “You are supposed to fulfill my deepest desire. Let’s see how well you do.”
She switched on the radio and closed her eyes, swaying to the soft music that filled the room. Her mind transformed the small bedroom into a dance hall with couples, hand in hand, lost in each other’s eyes as they glided across the dance floor.
Connie imagined herself as one of those couples, a man holding her hand, leading as she followed.
“Why are your eyes closed?”
The male voice startled her, and her eyes popped open. Her hand flew to her mouth to stop the gasp that escaped. A man stood before her, blue-green eyes twinkling as he flashed her a smile.
Connie looked around the room, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows and burgundy drapes hanging from the corners. Pictures of dancers were scattered on the walls, and in the corner sat a band softly playing a melody that encouraged the dancers to stay close.
The man held out his hand to her. “May I have this dance?”
Connie hesitated before placing her hand in his and allowing him to whisk her onto the dance floor. One hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, the other held tightly to her hand.
Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it. She let out a shaky breath and breathed in the fresh scent of cologne. An intoxicating smell that tickled her senses and made her want to lay her head on his shoulder.
He dipped his head down, his breath tickling her ear. “Don’t resist. I feel how much you want to be close to me.”
Heat burned in her cheeks, knowing he could sense her desire, but it didn’t stop her from relaxing against him and letting her head rest on his solid chest. She could spend a lifetime in his arms, and she didn’t even know his name. Her desire to be loved and cared for could be fulfilled if only he were a real man.
This story was inspired by a prompt from the publication, Promptly written. Thank you, Bella Smith ⭐for the great prompt!