Her Forever

The Dance

Rosalie

The walk to the club only took me 25 minutes; these shoes were the only thing slowing me down. I don’t know why I had ever agreed to come out; going to large public places with a ton of people was not my style. I could sit at home mostly and not have to socialize with anyone in particular. It was the whole reason why I went into computers.

One of those annoying recruiting companies had actually gotten me to work in the big city to help with IT issues within a pretty sizeable real estate office. When I first moved to this city, Amanda was one of the first people I met. She was one of the best real estate sellers of the company but always had issues with her computer. To her, the print button in a Word document had simply ceased to exist.

I never realized how stupid and annoying people could be when it came to this job. People really did not understand the concept of restarting a computer before calling the on-call IT worker. That’s why I had to keep my skills up, do my little side job, and reap the benefits of paying off my mountain of student loans.

I walked up to the club and skipped the line, and after hearing a ton of g****s and whines, I tapped on the bouncer’s shoulder. “Amanda Brush’s party?” I quickly said. The bouncer nodded his head and let me in. As soon as I walked in, I headed to the coat rack and deposited my coat there, and grabbed my clutch that had my credit card, ID, cash, and phone in it.

My dress was a tight pink/mauve color that exposed my neck and hugged my entire body. Only small spaghetti straps held up the dress, but with it being so tight, I doubt it would slide down any time soon. I kept a small, cropped cardigan wrapped around my shoulders, covering my back. The length of the dress went down to my knees to cover up my thighs. To say I was uncomfortable was a complete understatement. I hugged my body tightly as I walked through the club, headed straight for the VIP section upstairs.

Amanda’s cousin owned the club and let her rent out part of the area for her 21st birthday party. I could already see a lot of people from the office and many people I didn’t know. Every hand had a drink, and almost everyone had a date or dance partner with them. I told Amanda I didn’t have anyone to bring, but she still forced me to come.

“Rosalie! You made it!!” Amanda tried to s****m above the music. Her martini sloshing to and fro as she stumbled closer. She was already drunk and ready to party, I guess. I grabbed onto her to steady her in her 6-inch stiletto heels.

“Looks like you are ready to go?!” I laughed.

“Of course not; I’m just getting started. Here, what would you like to drink? I know you aren’t much of a drinker, but you have to try something!” She grabbed my arm and took me to the private bar. Several couples were making out, and some sitting on their dates laps.

“Amanda, this is definitely one of your wilder parties,” I spoke with conviction.

“My out-of-town family and friends decided to surprise me; they are heavy on the PDA. Don’t worry about it; they will leave you alone.” I side-eyed her and her friends and continued to look at the drink menu. “Give me something fruity, and just one.” Amanda laughed and held my hand as I sat with her at her booth. I held up my finger and held my head lower to show her my ‘in all seriousness’ look. She laughed and got me something called an Appletini. It tasted like a liquid Jolly Rancher which only made me squeal and drink it a little too fast.

“Everyone, this is Rosalie!” she shouted, holding my hand closely. “We need to be good to her; she only comes out once every couple of months to appease my clubbing addiction.” Some of them chuckled, and I was forced into the booth.

Her friends were amicable, which helped my social anxiety. I was never one to go out to clubs or any place with a lot of people. After my childhood, I stayed to myself. I quickly learned never to trust anyone, and telling anyone your secrets was definitely a no go. People are only out to use others, but me, I always showed kindness, not being overly bitter about my belief. Do unto others, one of those golden rules I liked to live by.

As I was listening to her male cousin’s 5th dumb blonde joke, which I didn’t appreciate too much since I was, in fact, blonde, I started to zone out. This happens from time to time when I start to feel overwhelmed. I end up reliving my past while others around me continue in their conversations and banter.

The dark nights with large groups of people in my childhood home flooded my memory. The late nights of people drinking, dancing, and socializing in the tiny, run-down place I used to call home gave me shivers. Never feeling safe, never feeling secure, and never feeling the love of real parents. The foster parents that took me in only gave me the bare minimum and took the state’s checks to help raise me for beer and drugs. I bounced around until I landed with my last foster parent, Derick. I was knocked out of my haze by Amanda tapping my shoulder.

“Are you alright there, Lee?” I blinked a few times and looked up at Amanda, she seemed completely sober, and the look of concern flooded her eyes.

“Oh, of course. I’m good.” I drank the last sip of my appletini and put it down. “In fact, let’s go dance.” Amanda’s eyes widened in shock, and she quickly nodded and took both my hands. Amanda always wanted me to dance with her, and I would always decline. The fear of some man rubbing his body parts on me, people staring at me, and feeling overall uncomfortable was not something I wanted to experience.

I would like to think I was a good dancer; I spent a lot of Friday nights dancing in my room to music videos and watching clubs live from my small apartment while other people danced. I wasn’t completely innocent in the ways of those arts. With a few skips and almost tumbles, we reached the middle of the dance floor, and Amanda started to sway along with the music.

It took me a few minutes of learning to let go of my arms and finally feel the music. The dress Amanda made me wear was going to be the death of me. I already felt prying eyes in all directions. As the lights flickered and the room became darker, I began to listen to my body as the music played.

Swaying back and forth, moving my h**s and my arms to the beat of the music, I started to get comfortable. I let go of the worry, stress, and anxiety in the middle of the dance floor with so many bodies. Being thankful and grateful, I felt as if a small bubble was around me. No guy had come up to dance with me yet, and I was ecstatic about it. As karma had read my mind, I felt a hand slip around my waist from behind me.

It felt like tiny tingles erupted over my h*p as another hand slipped to the other side of my waist. The hand was large, calloused and the thought of repulsion actually slipped my mind. The alcohol must have fuzzed my anxiety because I held no fear, and I hadn’t even looked at the man in the face. Keeping my back turned, I put my hands on top of his as I continued to sway.

His body became closer to me, and he pulled my back to his chest. He was tall, muscular, almost like a wall behind me. I didn’t mind it one bit, and I was praying it would never end. Our bodies felt molded together, and I could feel him lowering his head into my neck. His lips graced my exposed neck, and I couldn’t help but let a small whimper escape my lips. Silently crossing my fingers, he didn’t hear that above the music. I couldn’t help it; his touch felt so good, especially his lips on my neck.

One of my hands stayed on top of his around my waist while my other arm lifted upwards slinked behind me so I could feel the back of his head. His hair was shoulder-length, and I grabbed a bit of his hair and tugged it slightly. I had no clue where I got this sudden urge to be so bold, but I felt comfortable, erotic even with this man. Feeling a smile and rumble from his mouth and chest, tiny chills erupted across my arms.

Soft little hums left my lips as he continued his assault on my neck. He slowly started to k**s up my neck, and little trails of warmth and tingles went along with it. We were in our own bubble, and I didn’t even take notice of anyone around us.

There was a loud s****m over by the bar that snapped me back to reality. I quickly put my hands down and step forward to get out of the man’s arms. I gazed over at the bar only to see Amanda laughing and squealing as a man was drinking a shot from her navel. I turned around with a quick laugh, wanting to know where this mysteriously handsy man went, only to see that he was no longer behind me. He could have been anyone at this point, so with a slight huff, I head back to my seat to grab my clutch and go wish the birthday girl a goodbye. I paid my quarterly dues to her and stayed past the well-respected time I usually do.

“Please don’t leave! It looked like you were having so much fun!” She winked. “I knew that dress would catch you a man, and such a handsome one too!” she continued to squeal.

“Did you see him?” I asked excitedly. “I didn’t see his face. Do you know who he is?” I grabbed her arm quickly, pulling her close to me so I could hear.

“Oh, does dear Rosalie care about a man now?” Amanda cooed while putting both hands to cup my face. I smacked her hands away and stuck my tongue out at her while she laughed hysterically.

“Forget it, you are right,” I smiled at her while blowing a k**s goodbye.

“Sure you won’t stay longer? The night is still young!” she yelled while cupping her hand to her mouth.

“I’m sure. Midnight is my limit! See you Monday!” With that, I left the club, both confused yet intrigued by the night.