As I approach them, Denise tosses her head to acknowledge me. “Hey, Joe. How are you?” she asks.
“Good. Thanks,” I reply. Christina and Aimee look at me. Thankfully, Aimee is on the far side of the group, so I don’t have to go around her. Looking into Christina’s eyes, I say, “Uhm…the band is back…would you like to dance?”
“Uh…yeah…sure. Give me a minute, though, okay?”
“Uhm…sure.” I take a few steps back and turn away to give her the privacy she’s asked for.
The band begins to play, and thankfully it’s a fast song. Someone touches my shoulder, so I turn around…It’s Christina. I take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor, where we begin our gyrations. I’ve always been a confident dancer. My favorite thing to do is swing…or disco, as it was called in the ’70s. The band’s playing a song with a good beat, so I take Christina by the hand and swing her around. She seems game, so I put my moves into action, and we take over the dance floor…well, not literally, but the couples around us give us space to have some fun. When the song ends, I thank her for the dance, and we part ways.
Crud! I didn’t introduce myself; I silently scold myself. I’ll have to ask her to dance again so I can do that.
Going back to the same patch of the wall I’ve been holding up all night, I watch the crowd. A girl I’ve never seen before walks over and asks me to dance, so we go onto the floor. She wants to swing too, so I take both of her hands and go to town. She has a huge smile on her face as we dance, and when the song is over, she leans into me and introduces herself.
“I’m Sarah.”
“I’m Joe. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I love the way you dance. Can we dance another one?”
“Of course.”
We end up dancing the rest of the night together, even the slow songs. Afterward, I tell her how much fun I had and that it was nice to meet her. Her face tells me that she’s expecting more, so I ask for her number. She smiles and gives it to me before we say goodnight.
I went to the dance alone, and that’s how I’m leaving. Sliding into my Subaru WRX, I start it up and head over to Bob’s. I’m not the first one to arrive, but I don’t know the others there, so I grab the first empty booth and sit down. A few minutes later, Kendall, Denise, and a few others file in and look around.
Kendall plops next to me and punches me in the shoulder. “See? I told you she’d dance with you.”
“You were right. I should know better than to doubt you.”
“You’re darn right!”
More people arrive, and in the mix is Sarah. Her face lights up when she sees me, and she leaves her friends to come over to our booth.
“Mind if I sit here?” Sarah asks.
“Of course not!” I answer.
She slides in on the other side of me and looks around the table. I don’t think she knows my friends, so I introduce her. Within minutes we’re all joking and having fun while waiting for our food.
About ten minutes later, Christina, Aimee, and a couple of guys walk in. They must be football players because they’re tall and extremely muscular. Even though Sarah is giving me plenty of attention, I feel deflated. As they walk past our table, Christina stops to whisper something into Denise’s ear. Girls…it seems they’re always sharing secrets with each other. I think that’s called gossip…and it’s another no-no.
It’s one in the morning by the time we finish, so I tell Sarah goodnight and that I’ll call her. She returns to her friends and leaves.
“Who was that?” Kendall asks.
“Who? Sarah? She asked me to dance, and before I knew it, we spent the rest of the night together. I think she wants to go out, so I got her number and told her I’d call her.”
“Yeah? Cool.”
Kendall reminds me about the upcoming party before he and Denise get into his car and drive away. I have to be at work in about eight hours, so I go home and go to bed.
***************
It’s been a long week. I called Sara on Tuesday, and we went out Thursday night. It was fun. We had dinner and then saw a movie. She’s a nice girl, but I’m not sure if I’m interested enough to ask her out again.
It’s Friday night, and I’m at the dance, being a wallflower again. I’ve been out of sorts the last couple of days and kind of grumpy. I don’t know why…I just am. I don’t see Sarah or Christina around, and I’m not in the mood to meet someone new, so I stand against the wall to hold it up and listen to the band. Then, about an hour before the dance is over, Kendall wanders over and tells me they’re leaving to get things ready. I ask if it’s okay if I come too. He nods, so I push myself away from the wall, go out to my car, and drive to Kendall’s.
I brought a swimsuit with me, so I go into the house to change. Well, this is really more than a house. Kendall is one of the rich kids. His dad is a lawyer, and his mom sells real estate…only high-end homes. On the side, his dad is a contractor who builds mansions. They have a lot of money. They work hard for it, but still. I’ve never really understood why Kendall likes to hang around me. I mean, I’m far from wealthy…it’s more like I live check-to-check. Living with my parents helps me save a lot of money, and they said that as long as I’m a student, I can stay at home…so I do. About the nicest thing I own is my car…I love my car. It doesn’t compare to Kendall’s BMW, but I bought it, and it’s mine.
Five of us are hanging out in the spa, eating strawberries and cream. Yeah, someone brought a can of whipped cream, so we fill our mouths and then pop a strawberry in. It doesn’t only taste good, but with jokesters like us, it gets funny too. I guess it’s just one of those things; you need to be there to get it. Then, something unexpected happens…Christina and Aimee show up.
Christina’s wearing sweats and a baggy t-shirt while Aimee is in a sundress. Both of them are wearing sandals. When Christina disrobes, she has on the sexiest one-piece bathing suit I have ever seen…or maybe it’s just how she fills it out. My…thing…reacts instantly, and I wish I was wearing something tight under my board shorts. There is no way I’m getting out of the water in this condition. I’m so transfixed on Christina that I don’t even notice what Aimee is wearing. Gathering my composure, I try to be nonchalant by turning to my buddy Frank and asking who won the Dodger game today.
Out of my peripheral vision, I watch Christina step down into the bubbling water. My breath hitches because I’m right next to the stairs. The first thing she does is submerge herself under the water and come back up with her hair swept back. It all seems to happen in slow motion. After wiping the water from her face, she wrings out her hair. I’m going to have to visit with the minister again. Dang, it!
I’m the keeper of the strawberries while Kendall mans the cans of whipped cream. Denise tells Christina to open wide, and Kendall fills her mouth with foam.
“Joe has the strawberries,” Denise tells Christina.
She turns, with her mouth wide open, trying to hold the cream inside, and I pop a strawberry between her lips. When she closes her mouth, the white froth escapes from the corners of her mouth, so she takes a finger and scoops it back where it belongs. I have a strong desire to help her, but I sit on my free hand to make sure I keep it to myself. The last thing I want is for her to think I’m some kind of a pervert because I touched her.