Julia

JULIA

Ally followed Julia out onto the crowded dance floor, snaking her way through the sea of dancing bodies. At the beginning of the night, the bar pulsed, as though almost alive with crowds of people, coloured flashing spotlights, and a cacophonous noise accompanying the deep beat filling the darkened room. As the night became filled with the sensuous heat of dark liquor and the euphoric rhythm pulsing through the crowd, Julia was slowly transported into a sweet sensation of quicksilver heaven.

She stood on the narrow platform, a foot and a half above the crowded dance floor, feeling the soft heat of the spotlights on her glistening face. The rhythm began to swell within her, her blood rushing in time with the drumbeat. She could feel the music moving within and around her, absorbed as comfortably in the beat as in her own skin. The melodious rhythm both lifted her high above the ground, to the dizzying heights of euphoria, and made her feel one with the dance floor.

Desire flashed through her like sheets of liquid lightening, pulsing with the music and transporting her into the world of her dreams. Her skin was set aflame each time he moved close to her. When he grabbed her hands, she was almost afraid to pull them away, each second craving his soft touch.



ALLY

As Ally followed Julia out onto the crowded dance floor, they were absorbed into the sea of bodies. Buffeted against the waves of rhythm, it took more than a few minutes for them to reorient themselves in their constantly moving surroundings. Minutes later, they emerged from the depths of the crowded dance floor and found their way to their small group of friends on the edge of the hardwood.

As the night drew on, Ally could feel the liquor warm her and begin to impair her judgment. She had climbed up onto the platform near the end of the dance floor a few times, enjoying the panoramic view of her surroundings but feeling slightly uncomfortable on display above the crowd. She watched as Julia made herself a fixture at the end of the narrow platform, joined off and on by Audrey and Damien. The music seemed to moved effortlessly through her friend; Ally watched as Julia alternatively closed her eyes and sang until she ran out of breath, and cast stolen glances at Damien dancing beside her. She saw the desire in her friend’s eyes, noticed each time she moved closer to Damien, dancing close and flirting carelessly. She longed for the confidence her friend displayed, longed for the surety that seemed to envelope Julia’s every move. She longed for the closeness of the man that now danced side by side with Julia. He truly was a heartbreaker, Ally thought. And yet he was completely innocent, unaware of the magnetic hold that he had on either one of the girls.

As the music began to fade away, Ally basked in the liquor induced warmth and the adrenaline rushing through her veins. As she watched her friend tear herself away from Damien’s side, she felt only a slight sorrowful sensation of desire, calmer and more subdued than the emotions she saw burning in Julia’s eyes. Julia revealed her rolling emotions in the ecstatic smile that never left her face; Ally only watched as her own longing swirled invisibly beneath the surface.



DAMIEN

Damien followed the girls out onto the dance floor. Tonight, he was the only male among them. As he scanned the crowd, his gazed rested for only a moment on the face of each of his companions. He wondered about one of them: there were comments made, facial expressions exchanged, small things that led him to think he might be slightly missing something exchanged between the girls now at his side. It hadn’t been much, there had been a few comments he was unable to place in context, previous conversations that he had missed had been referred to, sometimes they laughed at something he assumed he had missed, and sometimes he caught facial expressions that suggested they knew something he didn’t.

He caught Julia’s eyes, watched her and smiled as she approached from the depths of the crowded dance floor. She didn’t look at him any longer than the rest of them; she continued dancing in a state that seemed to be verging on euphoria. As they snaked their way through the crowd to the far wall where the platform was, he watched in amusement as she clambered up onto the narrow strip on elevated wood. She had downed three drinks in less than ten minutes; the effects were beginning to show in the flush of her face and the looseness of her hips as she danced carelessly on the ledge.

After a couple of drinks himself, he climbed up onto the platform, at first just joining in the fun. Two of the girls danced next to him, seemingly no more interested in him then in anyone else in their party. As the night wore on, though, Julia seemed to loosen further and began dancing closer to him, beaming at him whenever he caught her eye. He grabbed her hands and danced with her at intervals, unsure of the implications. He knew she had a boyfriend, and yet as he watched her dancing, she seemed to grow more interested in him with each passing song. Her excitement was contagious; her energy was unstoppable.

As the night faded into the early hours of the morning, the bar began to empty and the feeling of floating on the melodious music began to slowly fade away. As reality once again slinked into view, he was left wondering: was the electricity he felt with Julia only part of her character, or was he the reason for this euphoric parade – the incredible energy, the continuous smiles, the close touches?