Smiling over his lips, I said, “That’s gonna be hard to uphold.”
“Very fucking hard.”
PRIVATE DANCE
Meeting Landon’s friends so soon was a huge deal. I didn’t have a lot of time with him, and I wanted to experience what his life here in California was like. He tried to assure me that we didn’t have to go out, but I convinced him otherwise, because I was really curious.
When we showed up to the Sunset Rooftop Bar, I recognized Ace immediately. He was seated next to a man and a woman, who were sitting close enough for me to assume that they were a couple.
The décor was really cool with several lanterns lighting up the night. A bar that seemed to be illuminated in purple was situated in the middle of the action. We were surrounded by abnormally beautiful people; that was definitely not something I was used to back home. Most of the time, I was the center of attention in a crowded room. Here, I just blended in.
Landon put his hand on the small of my back as he introduced me to his friends, who were seated on cushioned benches in the corner.
“Rana, you know Ace. And this is Dave and his girlfriend, Mia.”
Dave, a tall, blond dude stood up and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Mia did the same. “Hey, Rana.” She was pretty, exotic looking, maybe half-Asian. She flashed a natural smile.
Ace chugged his beer, spilling some onto his beard and let out a slight burp. “Rana’s a belly dancer.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “That is so cool—much more fun than being an occupational therapist like me. I wish I could dance for a living.”
Landon squeezed my waist as he said, “It’s not easy doing it day in and day out, people groping you and shit. Rana tells me a lot of stories.”
I smiled at him. “It can be fun sometimes, I suppose, depending on the night.”
“Tell them about the snake,” Landon said.
“Oh.” I chuckled. “Yeah, my boss sometimes makes me dance carrying a snake around my shoulders.”
Mia gasped. “Are you joking? That would totally freak me out!”
Nodding, I said, “It was weird at first, but I got used to it. It’s amazing how many more tips it gets me, so I’ve learned to live with it.”
Landon and I took a seat across from them. He smacked my knee playfully. “Rana’s a trooper. Always up for anything. Ever since we were young.”
Dave seemed surprised that Landon and I had a history. “You guys have known each other for a while, then?”
I looked at Landon before offering my own spin on our story. “We were friends in junior high for about a year before I moved. I hadn’t seen Landon since I was thirteen, until we recently got back in touch.”
“That’s so sweet,” Mia gushed. “How did this reunion come about?”
Landon apparently decided the truth needed to be sugarcoated. “Rana was thinking of me one night out of the blue and decided to look me up.”
Mia looked at Dave. “So romantic.”
Not.
“It would’ve been romantic if I wasn’t drunk as a skunk when I dialed him.”
Ace spit out a bit of his drink. “Now that…is fucking awesome.”
“Landon here is trying to make me out to sound classier than I am.”
“Yeah, she drunk dialed me.” He laughed and seemed truly relieved that I was comfortable around his friends.
Over the next hour, we told stories about our childhood and our reconnection. With each sip of my drink, the night was seeming more and more chill.
At one point, Ace turned to me. “Hey, show us some of your dance moves.”
Landon scolded him, “Ace…”
“No, it’s fine. I dance for strangers all the time. I’m happy to dance for your friends.” I stood up and faced them. “Okay, so one of the moves is called a Figure Eight. This is a standard movement where one hip moves opposite from the other on a vertical plane. One hip moves down, away from the body, up, and then back to the center. The other hip moves up, into the center, down, and then away from the body.”
I demonstrated the dance repeatedly as their eyes stayed glued to my hips.
“Basically like drawing the number eight with your ass,” Ace said.
“Sort of, yeah. And then, of course, my hands can be doing a number of things, either clicking the finger cymbals, waving around rhythmically, or sometimes carrying a gigantic reptile.”
My skin was jiggling as I began to wiggle my hips at a higher rate of speed, demonstrating one of the faster moves.
This guy who happened to be passing by saw me dancing. He briefly placed his hand on my waist and said, “Keep shaking it, gorgeous.”