Shauna runs off to join her wife. Sam and Maya get up. I scarf down the rest of mychicken.
“Come on, girl!” Mayasays.
Scott takes off his suit jacket and rolls up hisshirtsleeves.
“Awww shit,” says Sam. “Watch out for this guy,” he says to me, pointing at Scott. “This man candance.”
“That’s nice,” I say, mouthfull.
“No, I mean it,” he continues. “This. Man. Can. Dance. Big heartbreaker out on the dance floor. He’s got moves. Like, ninja dance moves. I literally saw this one girl’s knees buckle when they were slow-dancing at a party in SantaMonica.”
“Let’s not oversell things now,” Scottsays.
“Somebody’s adorable when he’s tipsy.” Maya puts her arms around Sam’s waist and kisses his cheek. He stumbles a bit, holding onto the back of a chair forbalance.
“I’m just saying,” he says to me, looking at me, pointing at me, swirling his index finger at me. “You don’t even know how lucky youare.”
I don’t feel lucky. I feel doomed. Doomed to have the best sex of my life with someone that I should not be having sex with, now or anytime.
“You got that, girl?” Maya gives me a look, as she pulls Sam towards thebarn.
There is a mass movement towards the dance barn, but Scott waits for me to finish eating. He knows from experience now that I don’t eat much when I’m in work-mode, and he seems either happy or amused to see me eating so much today. He stands behind me and pulls my chair out for me. I wipe my fingers and mouth with anapkin.
“Thank you,” Isay.
“Having a goodtime?”
“I am.You?”
“Iam.”
We walk in silence. Perhaps it is the scent of lavender that is calming me, although I think I’ve read that it can have an aphrodisiac effect as well, so maybe that’s what’s doing it. I hear crickets. The moon is almost full. I can see stars, and even though I can’t see the surrounding hills and mountains, I can feel them hugging the land that we’re standing on, and I feel good and safe and I do feel likedancing.
As if on cue, or by some stroke of movie magic, as soon as we enter the barn,Night Feverby the Bee GeesfromSaturday Night Fevercomes on, and the crowd parts as Scott walks forward to join Shauna and Sherry and Shazam in the line dance formation from the movie, and they start doing the glorious disco moves from one of my favorite film sequences ever. I myself do not know the moves, so I retreat to the sidelines and watch as about twenty brave people who are cooler than me do the Brooklyn Shuffle. I mean, this had to have been planned, right? Because Scott is dancing like this is no big deal, he does this every Saturday night, in a barn with a disco ball hanging from the rafters, and a smokemachine.
Maya and Sam boogie over to join me, but everyone is watching the line dancers, and most of the women, including Brianna, are watching Scott. Maya nudges me and gives me a look that says “not bad,huh?”
I shrug and pull a face. “Notbad.”
“What’d I tell you?” yellsSam.
“This was all planned and rehearsed,right?”
“Course not,” he says. “He just likes todance.”
I suddenly realize that if Scott knows all the moves to this sequence, then that means he’s probably watched the scene in the movie and a “how-to” video on YouTube like a hundred times and practiced—which is comforting, because that makes him kind of a dork. Though he looks anything but dorky on the dance floor right now. Even Shazam is quite taken withhim.
The Bee Gees song finally fades out, andPump Up the Jamcomes up in a strangely seamless transition. Scott and Shauna and Sherry and Shazam high-five each other, and the line dancers disperse. Maya and Sam pull me over to dance with Scott, and we’re doing ridiculous Eighties hip hop moves in a small circle. In a flash, Brianna comes over and starts dancing like Sharon Stone inBasic Instinct, grinding on Scott’s leg. He immediately looks over at me and tries to politely move away from her, but her husband marches over and carries her from the dance floor, out of the barn. She’s literally kicking and screaming as he lifts heraway.
I cover my mouth. Poor Brianna. Poor Brianna’s husband. Hopefully they will work it out back in their hotel room with some hot angry married peoplesex.
Scott seems determined to erase that little incident from my memory. He does some fancy footwork, keeping his eyes on me, as if I’m the only person in the barn with him. His torso moves fluidly and rhythmically. I do the one pop and lock move I’ve mastered, and he laughs andapplauds.
And now the song is transitioning to my all-time favorite Madonna song,Crazy For You. It’s the greatest slow-dance song, and I always feel it in my lower abdomen, as soon as I hear the music. I turn and start to walk away, but I feel Scott’s hand in my hand, pulling me back towards him. He spins me into his arms, places one hand on the small of my back and holds the other hand up. He doesn’t hold me too close, so he can still look down at me. I can’t meet his gaze, it’s too much. I see Maya and Sam watching us, and I mouth “shut up!” to them. Scott smiles. He says nothing, and waits for me to relax intothis.
By the time Madonna gets to the chorus, I have relaxed into it. He really is a good dancer. We sway together, almost imperceptibly. He gradually inches towards me, closer and closer, and I don’t even notice until I feel his warm breath by my ear. I rest my forehead against his chest.“Every breath I’m deeper into you…”I close my eyes and let him guide me with his subtle movements. I can feel his confident and sizable manhood against my thigh, but other than that, nothing about his demeanor betrays any overwhelming desire for me as far as I can tell. To anyone else, I’m sure it just looks like two writing partners dancing with each other at their friend’s wedding. I hope that’s what it looks like. I wish that were what it felt like tome.
And that’s when ithappens.
