CHAPTER 16
Baby Steps
HOPING FOR THE BEST, I
made my way to the girls’ side of campus. It was obvious that students were being more cautious this time because I saw only a few here and there, and they all pretended to be going down to the town. I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible until I finally made it to the storm door, which was propped open ever so slightly by a small stone. I heard a few faint notes of music coming through the crack, but it was barely noticeable. I slipped in and made my way down the stairs, following the music in the darkness. The stairs were cold, but as soon as I entered the main room, I felt the heat of a hundred bodies encircle me and pull me in. I was late to the party. The room was already filled to overflowing. The women had been hard at work. The floor looked freshly scrubbed, and the walls were decorated with streamers and lined with metal folding chairs.
This time there was a much more even number of girls and boys, which boded well for me. Taking up my normal stance, I sat back and watched, but this time I was determined to have at least one dance.
Since my talk with Dr. Emory, I had decided to make some changes. The first move I made was to recruit Charles as my dance instructor. It’s difficult to explain exactly what happened during those sessions because the entire experience was rather surreal, but I will do my best to recount them for you.
Charles, of course, was very eager to help me with my dancing as long as I was willing to write a few papers for him. It was indeed a mutually beneficial exchange. Our first lesson took place in one of the unused lecture halls. There, standing on the slick marble floor, I proceeded to slip about in a most uncoordinated and non-rhythmic fashion. At first, nearly every attempt of mine made Charles burst out laughing, which would get me laughing, and before we knew it, we’d both be in stitches. The whole thing was exceedingly comical. My stupid, clumsy feet just refused to do what they were told to do, and I couldn’t stop myself from counting out loud to keep in step with the beat. I moved like a machine, all rigid and stiff, while Charles bounced and bobbed about, pleading for me to relax and bend, but my body refused.
I practiced with Charles as my partner, and of course he would make the most ridiculous faces he could at me and bat his eyes in an attempt to throw me off, but most of the time I was too busy in my own world of counting beats and shuffling feet to even notice. This just inspired him to be more theatrical, which led to more laughter. He argued that I needed to get used to being nervous and distracted, because those were the most natural feelings one had when first dancing with a girl. He was teaching me not to crack under pressure—or so he swore, at least.
Slowly, I began to catch on, but my knees still refused to bend like Charles’ did, and my hands were never quite as graceful and also seemed to sweat profusely. We both agreed that I’d been born with two left feet and a lousy ear for music, which meant my prospects of becoming even so much as a decent dancer were rather slim. Instead, the goal was simply to avoid embarrassing myself. So finally, after one last cram session, Charles declared that he had done all he could—I was ready!
Meanwhile, back at the dance, where I stood scanning the crowd, a blond bombshell caught my eye as she danced with a handsome-looking fellow. She had stunning blue sapphire eyes and luscious lips of rich red. You couldn’t miss her firm, rounded shape or those curvy legs that disappeared under a lacy red poodle skirt. She was the one I wanted to dance with—the forbidden apple of Eden. The more I watched her, the more beautiful she became. I followed her every move, feeling my nervous heart beat faster and faster. Everything else was a blur, a kaleidoscope of colors and faces playing in the background. The gods had taken human form, and here she was in all her splendor. She passed from one man to the next as I stared unabashedly at her every movement. Midway through the evening, Charles broke my trance with a firm thump on the shoulder.
“Well, Tom, a lot of good all our practicing has done you so far. You haven’t moved since the moment you got here! Come on, be a man and ask someone to dance.”
“I can’t, Charles.”
“Why?”
“Because the only one I want to dance with is her,” and I pointed to the blonde.
Charles whistled. “Oh boy, you do know how to pick ’em. That is Julia Stine, the most eligible bachelorette at Locklear University. I’d recommend you start by asking someone a little less intimidating to get your feet wet, but I commend you on your good taste.”
“No, Charles, she is the one.”
“Really, Tom, be reasonable.”
“It’s her or nothing.”
“Oh, wow. Look at you, Tom. I’ve never seen you like this. You are smitten.”
I nodded my head in agreement without taking my eyes off her.
“Looks like there’s no changing your mind now, so as your dance instructor, let me see what I can do.” He grinned that devilish grin of his and, grabbing a random partner, made his way onto the dance floor. He worked his way next to Julia and as soon as the song ended, he snatched her up. I could see him talking between twirls and spins and loops. As the song ended, he motioned for me to come over.
My legs turned to lead. Petrified, I wanted to run, but I knew that I had to do this. Awkwardly, I bumbled over toward them, bumping into couples who happened to get in my way. And then all of a sudden, I was there, standing in front of her. Charles ducked out quietly. There was no turning back now. This was my chance. To this day, I have no idea what song was playing or how long we stood there. I eventually reached out my hand and took hers. “Hi,” I managed to stammer. “My name is Tom. Would you like to dance?”
She smiled at me encouragingly. “I would love to,” she responded as she reached out and took my other hand. We began to dance slowly. I could feel the sweat running down my back and my sides. My legs felt shaky, and my feet were cement blocks with a mind of their own.
“Step, Step, rock step,” I said to myself. “Step, step, rock step.” I began to find my rhythm and smiled. I did a simple spin move and then back to the basic step, step, rock step. I was doing it! I cold barely believe it. I made eye contact with Julia and smiled again, unsure of what to say. “Step, step, rock step. Turn, turn, turn.” The song was winding down. I had to say something. “Thank you for dancing with me. This is my first time.”
She smiled at me again. “I know. Charles told me.”
“He did, did he?” Oh man, I promised myself I was going to strangle the little weasel when I got to him.
“Yes, but you’re doing very well for your first time. Dancing takes a lot of courage.”
“Well, thank you, but we can both be honest. I’m a hopeless dancer.”
We laughed together. “You’re not hopeless,” she said. “You just need a little practice.”
Then I heard myself speaking words before I knew what I was saying. Foolish irrational words, but love will do that to you. “Maybe you could help me with that sometime?”
She laughed. “You’re cute, Tom. We’ll just have to see.” She had a twinkle in her eye, and just like that, someone slipped in and took her from me as the next song started up.
Somehow, I managed to escape out of the dancing throng and find a seat. I had just asked out Julia Stine, and she didn’t turn me down. She said I was cute. Cute. Me! In my old sports blazer and shabby pants with my pathetic dancing. I couldn’t believe it. Of course, she hadn’t said “yes.” But “maybe” was better than “no.” I just sat there stunned.
Charles popped over and grabbed a vacant chair. “Ha-ha, you did it, old boy. I knew you had it in you. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I’m not sure if I was more nervous or you. There were a couple of moments where I was afraid you would lose it all together, but you pulled through. What did you think?”
“Before I answer any questions,” I shot back, “what did you tell Julia before while you were dancing?”
Charles looked at me sheepishly. “Not too much, really. I just sort of told her that you were my roommate and that it was your first time and all. That’s it.”
“Are you sure that’s all you said?”
“Well, I might have mentioned that you thought she was pretty or something along those lines.”
I groaned. “No, you didn’t, Charles. Please tell me you didn’t say that.”
“Well, what did you want me to say? I had to bloody well say something.”
“I can’t believe you told her I thought she was pretty.”
“I bet you didn’t darn well tell her yourself, did you? Wait! No need to answer. I can see by the look on your face that you didn’t. Don’t be mad at me. You owe me a big ‘thank you’ more than anything.” There was a long pause.
“You’re right, Charles. I do. I guess she probably knows that all the boys who want to dance with her think she’s pretty. She certainly is a looker.”
“Yes sir, she is a sight for sore eyes. And it’s sad, but I’m afraid she’s out of your league. I might have a chance with her and those big lips, though.”
I swatted at him. “Fat chance you and your little smirk will get with her.”
“Never underestimate the power of a good dancer and devilishly handsome looks, Tom. I could make the ice queen herself fall in love with me if I wanted.”
“Oh yeah? Well try this on for size, Mr. Fleet Feet: I asked Julia Stine out on a date and she said ‘maybe.’” I knew that my statement wasn’t entirely true, but it was close enough.
The look that suddenly appeared on Charles’ face was priceless. He nearly fell out of his chair. “No, you didn’t—you’ve been stringing me along this whole time. I can’t believe it. This means if she says ‘yes’ you’re going to be writing all of my papers until we graduate.”
“Ha. You wish.”
“You have to dance with her again, you know. ‘Maybe’ isn’t good enough. You need to get a definitive answer, my boy. Strike while she’s weak and that sort of thing.”
“I don’t know if my heart can take another dance tonight, Charles. It’s almost beat out of my chest a dozen times already.”
“You better tell your heart to shape up because you have no choice. If you don’t ask her again tonight, she’ll completely forget about you. You have to make a lasting impression. That, of course, is my specialty.”
“I’m afraid I’ve already made an impression with my two left feet and sweaty palms. Now that I think about it, she probably said
maybe
to be nice and not hurt my feelings,” I retorted.
“Now, now. Don’t get down on yourself. There’s work to be done. She didn’t say ‘no,’ so we’re still in the game.”
I glared at him. “Let’s go, Prince Charming. Mount your noble steed and rescue that damsel from her long line of admiring gentlemen. By the look of things, you might need to bring your sword as well to fight them off. Remember that love knows no bounds and all that sort of nonsense.”
He was right, of course. Our one dance wasn’t enough to make an impression, considering she’d probably danced with thirty or forty boys by now. I had to do it. “Oh, dear sweet Jesus,” I prayed on a desperate whim, “give me courage.” I slowly made my way over to her side of the floor and waited anxiously for a slower dance that I could manage to make my move. There was no noble steed or sword to assist me, just my two shaking legs and sweaty palms. I fidgeted with my tie as one, two, three fast songs played in a row. I looked at my watch. I was running out of time. Double or nothing, I was going on the next song. There she was. This was my chance.
I butted in and stole her just as she emerged from the swarm. All the eloquent lines I’d prepared in my head slipped away when I touched her hand, and a frog emerged in my throat. Umm … gulp … swallow … pause. “Would you like to dance again?” I could feel my heart racing inside of me and blood pumping in my ears.
Julia smiled—oh, that sweet smile. Pay attention, she’s speaking! I snapped out of it just in time. “Only if you promise not to spin me too much. I’m starting to feel a little seasick.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. It’s hard enough for me to keep a beat without trying to spin you around like a top.”
“We’ll just take it slow, then.”
We danced to our own beat as Julia tried to help me keep my feet straight. She just laughed whenever I messed up and helped me get back on track, which made me relax some. We were having fun, so I decided to take a chance. “So are we still on for our dance lesson?”
“I don’t remember agreeing to anything,” she said teasingly.
More frogs in my throat and rushing blood. Deep breath. “That’s strange, because I could have sworn you said you would love to.”
“Oh, is that so? … Well, where did we agree to meet?”
It was working! I might pass out at any moment. “In the library basement, don’t you remember? It was your idea, after all.”
“I guess all this twirling has gotten to my head and made me forgetful.” She finished off the statement with a theatrical spin.
“Well then, how about this coming Tuesday? Nothing ever happens at Locklear on Tuesdays.”
The frogs kept piling in. Squishing each other till I could barely inhale. “Yes, you are quite right about that. Well, I might just stop by the library around eight o’clock or so Tuesday evening to check out a book … if you should happen to be in the area.”
There was an army of frogs now piling on my vocal chords, hopping up and down, threatening to kill me. “What a coincidence! I was planning to be there at precisely the same time. They have recently rearranged the furniture in the basement—you really should go look at it.”
“I just might have to do that.”
Frogs, sweat, nerves, and the constant pounding of blood in my ears made me begin to feel nauseous. I just had to hold on a little longer. “Perfect. If we happen to run into one another by chance, you had best be wearing your dancing shoes.”
“Don’t worry. I rarely leave home without them.”
Our little exchange was cut short as the last few bars of music faded out, and my turn was up. I smiled at her, staring straight into her blue eyes before retreating. The frogs hopped away onto the dance floor, and Tuesday could not come soon enough.
That night I dreamed again of the jungle, but this time the fence was gone.