Page 34 of Something New

"What's that supposed to mean? How do you think I dance?"

"I've seen your work," he said. "Your photos. It's sweaty-on-the-dancefloor stuff. Lights flashing and whatnot."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that you can dance to soul. You can easily dance to soul."

"Well, I've never tried. I just listen with my ears."

I squinted at him. "Not even your shoulders?"

"Not really."

My squint grew more exaggerated, and he let out a little laugh.

"Let's dance." I said with an easy smile.

"What? No."

"Are you not feeling up to it? Are you still sick?"

"No, no, it's not about that."

"Are you intimidated because of my job?"

"Yes. I've seen your social media. I've seen you dance."

I put up my hands in a gesture of surrender. "I am a big advocate for dancing of any kind. There are two scenarios here. You could put on some music, and we can share a three-minute dance together, me leading, you won't have to do a thing. Or, the second scenario is that we don't dance at all. I actually should probably let you get back to your evening since you have catching up to do this week."

"You're saying it's either dance, or you leave?"

"I guess I was saying that, but now that you mention it, I don't have to leave if you don't want to dance. Those scenarios are invalid, I guess."

"Well, you went to all the trouble to make them up. You even called them scenarios."

I laughed. "What are you saying right now? Are you saying you want to dance?"

"I don't want to, but you did go to all the trouble of trying to talk me into it."

"That's because it's good for you. Dancing makes you feel good. I'm trying to give you life advice."

"Well if it's life advice, I guess it's only right for me to explore it."

I smiled. "Are you asking me to dance? Is that what's going on here?"

"I think I will try it for a few seconds or one minute."

"With me?" I asked, putting a hand to my chest.

"Not by myself," he said, making me smile.

"Go press play on whatever you have on your phone, and I'll dance for a few seconds or one minute with you. I promise you'll have fun."

John-Michael walked into the living room and turned on a stereo unit. I heard speakers come to life with a hiss. He stared down at his phone.

"I'm not playing this. It's something Ethan was playing, something from a cartoon. I'll put on the soul playlist that was on earlier. It's one the app put together, so I'm not sure what's on it."

He pushed a button and a soft, catchy tune started.

Darling you send me… was the first line and I smiled and began softly bobbing my head instantly.