On weeknights, some years ago, our south-side came alive with what we called, "Wednesday night aerobics". This nationwide chain restaurant contained a long oaken bar, huge dance floor and a DJ with his finger on the pulse of what people wanted to dance to and when. The Texas-style theme of the place was meant for the country line dancing crowd, although I remember the 70s dance clubs that also had line dances - disco style; mirrored walls and all, but this was the south side. We liked soulful Rock and R&B to dance to. We got physical out there, but we also wanted some belly-rubbing music later at night because by then, we had met "someone". It was time to get up close and personal. Public displays of affection seemed to spontaneously occur around the midnight hour on the dance floor.
The restaurant crowds were satiated, picking their teeth at the cash register, wives holding the leftover "doggie bags" and usually gone by 9:00 pm or so. The bar offered drink specials to ladies for the next two hours until the DJ got himself wound up to full-tilt-boogie mode. Wouldn't you know it, that's when the ladies - well dressed, looking lovely, wearing make-up and exuding the aromas of sensual attraction - would magically appear. While my friends and I sat sucking down $1.00 draft beer at the end of the bar, not a single female went unnoticed or examined for perfection as our own appetites deemed perfect. It's okay. You can say it. It was a Meet (meat) Market, but everyone was there for the same reason. To see, be seen and dance away the alcohol we were sure to consume and maybe find love - at least for tonight. Perspiration and wet hair was not an option, if you were a participant - not at onlooker.
Sometimes, in retrospect, I wish I had all the bar money I ever spent, back into my accounts. Maybe MasterCard would be happier with me today, but life experiences always have a price. One night, maybe two, it was worth it. Sure, there were a few one-night stands. I never remembered their names and never saw them again. This one was a little different, which is probably why I remember. It wasn't her magnetic smile, her deep blue eyes, her totally black hair (probably dyed) and her pale, white skin or her luscious breasts that strained at her bra and pushed her blouse buttons slightly apart. It was the seduction in her eyes and the coyness of her smile that hinted that good things were possible.
To begin with, I danced with the platonic gal-pals I knew to break the ice for all of us. Dancers get more attention "out there" than the spectators. Like it or not, we were on display. I wanted to be a doer not a watcher. Besides, I liked to dance. If a girl liked your moves and your style, maybe you could trade-up to the girl that was beyond you if her self-esteem was low that night. Any way you look at it, it was a meeting of opportunity. Bouncing back after divorce was that kind of thing. After a few drinks, the mind doesn't work that way. It sees a pretty face, senses an attractive aroma and wants to be close. Like the girls who just want to have fun, guys are even more so. Don't ask me how that works. The catch phrase, "Would you like to dance?" turns into "I'd like to try you on for size." Mentally, of course.
I'm tall-ish at nearly six-foot, so shorter girls always want to know if the flesh tool in the underpants matches the length of his middle finger of their hand or their shoe size as indicators of sexual thrills. Experienced girls know the truth, but young ones had yet to learn.
Her silky black blouse was unbuttoned down to just barely the top of her royal blue laced bra. It might have been one of those water bras or push-up bras. I didn't know at the time, but I was intrigued as I tried not to stare. She gave me one of her seductive glances and walked past me making sure I noticed her as I casually sipped at my beer pretending to be looking elsewhere. (Yeah, that never works.) I was sitting on the bar stool facing the dance floor, feeling hot, my hair was askew, and my vision was slightly blurred, but when she put her hand on my knee and slowly scratched her fingernails half-way up my thigh, I worked harder to focus. Her deep blue eyes were magnetic and drew me in.
"Well, hello, little schoolgirl. I'm a little schoolboy too." Hey, so I borrowed a line from the Rolling Stones. Gimme a break. It was about the best I could do. I managed a smile, then put the rest of my beer back on the bar. I think I'd had enough.
She smiled, "Are you going to dance with me or just sit there and look down my blouse?"
"Why can't I do both? You're already here, but I may need more time to focus. What I see so far is pretty sweet."
"Let's dance. I think the next one or two are slow songs." She spoke.
"Okay." I had already loosened my tie but decided to take it off. I folded it and stuffed it into my sport coat pocket and draped it on the back of my bar stool. The music started, I took her hand and said, "Let's go."
Together, we walked to near the center of the dance floor and assumed a comfortable position as the music played. It was a good R&B soulful song, so close belly-rubbing was the order of the day. We wasted no time. My name is Derrick. What's yours?
"Ella."
"Does Derrick and Ella sound like a Soul song?" I didn't know what that was supposed to mean. I was just making conversation, but she responded.
"Yes, it could. Do you believe that souls come together at certain places and times for a reason?"
"Oh, wow!" I had been operating on an intellectual lower level, but this girl wanted to access my higher brain functions. Fortunately, I could do that in my sleep, but I don't know how convincing I'd be as an academic.
"Yes, sometimes. We never know why or for how long. We never know whether we are to learn or to teach from those encounters."
She changed the subject. "You're a good dancer. I watched you a while and decided I wanted to dance with you."
"Well, I'm glad you did. I'm enjoying you too. You move with me just like you were inside my skin moving with me. It's very comfortable dancing with you. I haven't danced slow with a woman who moved and melted into me the way you do. Where did you come from?"
"You just never know. I may see you again - not just tonight."
