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“Yeah. I teach tango.”
Her jaw drops. She looks over to Julie, and I realize then I’ve probably put my foot right in my mouth.
“You’re a tango instructor? Oh shit!” T says. “Julie!” She’s talking loudly now, however many drinks and shots in at this point. “Julie loves tango.”
Julie's eyes widen, a silent plea that I can imagine means,Please, don’t say anything else.
The DJ plays a new song, something loud and poppy, and T excuses herself to go find Manny and dance.
“See you on the dance floor!” she calls out, and I just laugh politely in response. When I turn to Julie, I expect to her to laugh with me, or to catch her rolling her eyes once more, or perhaps even expelling one deep breath that we got over that hump.
But instead, I see that determination in her eyes again as she tells me, “I love this song.” And then she gets up and walks right onto that dance floor.
Chapter seventeen
Julieta
I’ve always loved todance, but never did it enough. Well, until recently I didn’t do it enough. Didn’t go out enough. Didn’t doanythingenough. The constant theme.
Logan is watching me now. I catch his eyes, and it’s certainly enough to warm me right the hell up. I might be reading into this too much, but when is the last time somebody looked at me that way? When’s the last time I spent time out with these people I love, dancing the night away?
So, I let myself be a little free again. I let myself grip onto the wild abandon I do nothing but chase. And I let everything get just a little bit looser.
“Yes, bitch. Dance with me!” T yells over the music and I lean into it a little bit more, move and sway.
“Are you okay? Sorry, I saw your arms flailing around and thought you were calling out for help,” Gavin says to T as he hops over to us on the dance floor.
“Get fucked, Gavin!” She smiles, as she shimmies away, dancing to the beat of whatever drum.
I just shrug, continuing to dance to the song as I follow her.
“Making friends?” I ask.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she counters.
“It’s nothing,” I’m quick to say, but I catch Logan’s eyes once more as I spin and land on them, and it feels like hitting a brick wall. Sudden and jolting. Shaking me up, bringing me to my senses. What am I seeing in them? What destruction am I barreling into?
I might be too many drinks in.
But the drinks keep coming, showing up in my hands, and I sip out of habit. Sip to quell the guilt and anxiety of being out. Sip for the fun of it.
The music gets louder, the beat thumping throughout this space. The lights are just dim enough that it makes everybody look mysterious and enticing. But the only one I’m drawn to here is keeping his eyes on me as I move.
Once I’m drenched in sweat, I head back to the table for a break, greedily taking the cup of ice water Logan offers me.
“Having fun out there?” He smirks, leaning closer to me.
I give a shy laugh in response. “This was a good idea.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“Are you too refined to dance to pop hits in an alley bar on a weeknight?”
He laughs out loud. “No. It’s just been fun watching you.”
I’m definitely too many drinks in for these comments.
We fall into a safe silence, people watching. The DJ plays a slower-paced song, something popular, something … rather sexual. It’s late, and it’s loud, and there’s a whole lot of grinding happening on the dance floor. I find myself lost in the rhythm of it, swaying along with the crowd.
