I was keenly aware of my body, my movements, making every dance move less high school social, more city nightclub, putting more effort into it as Tammy did. I swayed my hips, hands over my head, moving to the music.
Let him watch.
There was always a part of every girl that the same. Although we complained about the boys who chose not to take to the dance floor with us, we all secretly loved the fact that they all stood around the edges and watched. There was something so male, so sexy about the ones who thought themselves too cool to join in.
And then, of course, there were the ones who did join in. They weren’t uncool. Well, some were, but there were the boys that took to the dance floor and melted right in with their own quirky, at times lame, dance moves that added to the fun. Right now, it proved to be Ringer and Stan as they sidled up next to Tammy and me, busting a move. We gradually formed a little circle of the four of us, taking turns in the middle for a dance-off. But unlike most dance-offs this was to outdo each other by attempting the daggiest, worst dance moves we could think of. Ringer mimicked a sprinkler move, and then I mocked him by miming starting up a whipper snipper before trimming the hedges. Tammy did the classic Saturday Night Fever diagonal point, but Stan took the title with the worst impersonation of the robot I had ever seen. We were all hunched over, laughing so hard I had to hold Tammy upright. Stan broke into a horrifically bad shuffle-step-shuffle moon walk.
Ringer, Tammy, and I bowed to the winner of terrible moves, yelling, “We’re not worthy!”
The lights dimmed and the music changed pace. I went to walk off the dance floor to avoid all the loved-up slow dancers and catch my breath, when someone gently grabbed my elbow.
Sean.
Tammy grabbed Stan. “Come on, Stan, buy me a drink, I’m dying here.” Tammy pushed him past me, whispering, “Talk to Sean.”
The problem being it was the loudest whisper in the southern hemisphere and Sean smirked.
Kill me now!
He grabbed my hand and turned me into a spin. “You heard her –‘talk to Sean.’
The DJ was playing 10CC’s “I’m Not In Love.” While most couples were head to chest, romantically shuffling and swaying to the music, Sean’s eyes bore into mine, bristling with an underlying tension.
His lips twitched “Nice dance moves earlier.”
“As if we were being serious.”
“Sure.”
I lifted my chin defiantly. “Well, I have no regrets.”
He leaned down; I could feel his lips brush against my ear. “Neither do I.”
Sean’s voice was low and sexy. We weren’t talking about bad dance moves anymore.
I tried not to think too much about how good it felt to be in his arms, or how my heart betrayed my mind with its insistent pounding. I battled so hard against my feelings, but looking up into his familiar blue eyes, all my mid-week convictions that I felt nothing for Sean Murphy came crashing down. I wracked my brain for small talk, half hoping that Sean would strike up a conversation first, but as I looked up at him, unlike me, he seemed completely comfortable, like words weren’t necessary.
Sean’s hand slid down gently, cupping my lower back, the heat of him pressed against me. The multi-coloured flickers of the disco lights flashed across his handsome face. He smelled so good, my defences came down and I melted into him, just a little.
I closed my eyes, willing myself the strength to walk away; the song was coming to an end. Sean saved me from making that decision.
Letting go of me, he backed away with a long, lingering look, before melting into the sea of bodies and leaving me breathless and alone on the dance floor.
Chapter Fifty-Four
“Amy, have you even been listening to a thing I have said?”
I double-blinked. Tess cast a frown to an amused-looking Toby.
“Sorry, I just have so much going through my mind at the moment.” I grimaced.
“The auction?” Toby asked.
Oh yeah, the auction. I’d forgotten about that.
If I were to be honest, it was the first time I had thought of it all night and I felt a little bit guilty over the fact. My eyes trailed over the crowd. I spotted Chris standing with a group, animatedly retelling a story with wild hand gestures that had his audience captivated. Adam and Ellie were burning up the dance floor as ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ blared from the speakers. They were so into their own outrageous Kate Bush-esque moves they had pretty much cleared the dance floor.
Tess and Toby followed my line of vision. Toby shook his head. “They’re going to end up taking someone’s eye out.”
“Truly terrifying,” Tess agreed.
My attention was swayed by my mother’s unmistakable burst of laughter. She sat at a table with all my parents’ friends holding their glasses up in a toast. To the naked eye it looked like all the Hendersons were having the time of their lives. The auction seemed like the furthest thing from any of our minds. Sure, it had just popped into mine, but I couldn’t help but feel a little miffed. Was I the only one really affected by what was happening? Happening eleven a.m. Monday morning? This really was the last event we would host.