‘And I’ll have a water.’ Ryan raised his eyebrows at her. ‘The perks of driving.’
‘At least you’ll dance with a clear head,’ Juliet said.
They took their drinks over to a table in the corner, both sliding into the booth on the same side so they could look out at the dance floor. She sipped at her cocktail – sweet, yet remarkably delicious – and watched the professionals as they moved across the boards.
‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea to put the best dancers on first,’ Juliet said, taking another sip of her drink. ‘Nobody can follow that without making themselves look like an idiot.’
Ryan laughed. ‘The aim is to show us all how to do it. Don’t worry, once they leave the dance floor, we’ll all be stumbling around.’
‘Not you,’ she teased. ‘You’re almost a professional too, right? Mr “Dance in Buenos Aires until Dawn”.’
He shook his head. ‘You’re never going to let me live that down are you?’
‘Those hips don’t lie.’ She winked at him. She felt so light in here, so at ease with herself. She wasn’t sure if it was the club or Ryan having that effect on her.
He really was attractive. Wearing a pair of dark blue trousers and a white shirt, open at the collar, he was getting a lot of looks from women both on the dance floor and off. It was all she
could do not to put a proprietary hand on his arm and warn them all off.
At nine, the professionals cleared the dance floor, and it was empty for a moment, as people hesitated to step on board. Juliet finished the last of her cocktail – the alcohol already making her feel mellow – and watched as the first tentative dancers started to move to the beat. In the corner, one of the professionals was coaching a couple – a paid lesson, Juliet guessed, remembering what the man at the ticket booth had said.
‘Do you want a lesson?’ Ryan asked. He must have followed her stare.
‘No. I reckon I can pick it up myself. With you teaching me.’
‘Okay then.’ He stood up. ‘Shall we dance?’ He offered her his hand. Sliding out of the booth, she took it, and let him lead her to the dance floor. When they reached it, he took her other hand too, and took a step back, leaving a gap between them.
‘So what do I do?’ she asked him, feeling the warmth of his hands against hers. She had to shout for him to hear her over the beat.
‘Let’s start with an easy step,’ he replied, his voice as loud as hers. ‘If you can do the waltz, you can do this.’ He looked down at their feet. ‘Think of it as walking. Except when I walk forward, you go back and vice versa. On the first beat I’ll step forward, on the second I’ll rock back, on the third I’ll bring my feet together and on the fourth I’ll pause. Then we’ll do it all over again but in the opposite direction.’
‘Okay.’ Juliet nodded, frowning with concentration. ‘Forward, together, back. I can do that.’
‘Let’s go.’ He slid one hand around her back, and stepped towards her, as she stepped back. Then they were back together and she was the one stepping forwards, rocking towards him as he rocked back.
A few more tries and she’d got the hang of it, able to move her feet in some kind of rhythm, matching the beat that echoed through the room. Ryan led her gently, his hips swaying as he stepped back and forth. Compared to him she was as stiff as a board.
‘Okay, now let’s try a turn.’ He pulled his hand from her back, keeping his other clasped around hers, and lifted it up and over her head. Juliet tried to turn, stumbling over her shoe, almost falling to the floor before he caught her and brought her up.
‘Oh my God, I’m an idiot.’ She laughed, shaking her hair back behind her shoulders. ‘I must be the only one here tripping over my own feet.’
‘You’re doing great. You’re an easy teach. You pick it up fast.’ He took her hand back in his. ‘Let’s try it again.’ This time she managed to turn without falling over, ending back in position, facing him, before they moved forward and back again. Within ten minutes she’d mastered the turn, the cross-body lead and the chaîné. And Ryan was leading her around the dance floor, his hand firm against her shoulder as he moved her right and then left, his feet fast and rhythmic as he kept to the beat.
And they were dancing, really dancing, not just swaying this way and that. Instead she was being led forward and backwards, around and back again, her hair flowing out behind her and her skirt fanning out as she spun. With each song that came on she gained more confidence, grinning at Ryan as their bodies moved together.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun. Or the last time she’d laughed so much. Every time she looked at Ryan he was smiling at her – enjoying at much as she was – letting the music take over and wash all their worries away.
They only stopped once – to grab a glass of water each – and then were back on the dance floor again. The time passed in a blink of an eye. Before they knew it, it was midnight and the salsa was over, and the dance floor was clearing once again.
‘You ready to go home?’ he asked her. He didn’t sound that enthusiastic about it. She wasn’t either. In spite of the fact her muscles were aching and her body was glowing with sweat, she could have danced all night.
‘Can we sit down for a minute?’ she asked him. ‘Just to catch my breath?’
‘Sure. You want another drink?’
‘Sounds good.’
‘Water or mojito?’