Last night, few friends and I met up at a local club. The night started off slow. I kept staring out the window towards the line-up forming outside. I was simultaneously hoping and dreading the idea that my ex would appear on the other side of the glass. To top it all off, my well-intentioned friend invited along a guy for me to meet. He conveniently shared the same first name as my ex. Wonderful.
It was the usual club scene. Underagers trying to look like they legally fit in while those above 25 years of age are left feeling downright old. Loud techo and house music accented by an overpowering light display that could surely put any individual into epileptic shock. But all of it in good fun. For most anyway.
By now it was about 12:30 am and for me the night hit a point where it could have gone one of two ways. I could've called it quits, cabbed it home and pouted in my misery like the masochist I sometimes am. Or say the hell with it and hit the dance floor. Thankfully, I chose option two. My friend and I decided to make it our mission to find some boys who would be willing to dance with us. Not necessarily a huge issue at a club, if you aren't picky. Any guy will be more than happy to grab at various parts of you if you let them, sometimes even if you don't. This, to them, passes off as dancing. Not to us.
We found a group of guys we thought looked quiet, somewhat respectable. Danced our way over and before long one of them had me by the hand and was quickly proving himself to be a decent partner. His interest was not elsewhere, he was focused on spinning me around the floor in tune to the blaring bass. Oh yes, I said spinning. I had found myself a makeshift salsa dancer, which was way more than I could have asked for. He was flirtatous, but respectful. Felt the music without feeling the need to be all over me. He didn't care how silly we may have looked to his buddies, or to any others around us for that matter. We danced non-stop until the club shut down for the night.
I've had a dance here and there with a boyfriend in the past. In fact, dance played a big role in the beginnings of our relationship. We paired up to teach salsa to our classmates as a project in teacher's college, and the rest was history. But in recent years that joy was quelled by a variety of factors, mostly who else was around at the time and what they might think. I am trying hard right now to recall, but I can't remember at all the last time he made the rest of the world disappear, put his hands on my waist and swept me off my feet.
I danced with someone last night for the first time in a really long while. And even though it was only for a few hours, it took me back to where I long to be.
