"Yeah," he said, as he took her into dance position. "I'm really nervous. Hope I don't step on your toes or anything."
His breath was nice; that was a good thing. Linda had about keeled over a few times when men, who were otherwise nice, starting talking to her at close dancing range and their mouths smelled rotten. "What's your name?"
"Aw shit, sorry. See how nervous I am? My name's Stephen."
"Steve?" she asked, as the music started.
"No, I like to be called Stephen." Despite his being nervous, he held a good dance position with good resistance and deftly lifted his arm at the right time to usher Linda through.
"You're doing great," Linda said, patting him on the wrist before she moved to the next dance partner.
The group lessons on Friday nights always went quickly because of the festive atmosphere. Soon Ron and Ricardo dimmed all of the lights in the studio and sent the glimmer ball at the center of the ceiling in motion. The studio instantly became a disco. Linda felt pleased that so many people came to the party this Friday evening. During the summer the parties often drifted off into lackadaisical affairs, since so many of the students were either busy with their kids, on vacation, or both. Here, in late September, the return of the children to school and the lowering autumn temperatures brought about a renewal.
All of the square folding tables in the studio would only fit four people around them. Maggie had dressed them up with elegant nylon table covers to make them seem posh. Linda always puzzled over where to sit. She loved to dance. If she sat too far in the corner, the men would be discouraged from asking her. That night, as always, she took her seat at a table near the floor. Ginny whisked into a chair across from her. "This is going to be great," she said, smiling. "I can feel it in my bones." She stretched her back and craned her neck at the crowd gathering to seek possible co-partiers for them.
Linda looked around, too, for Stephen. She found him sitting at a table in the corner, far removed from everyone, in danger of disappearing into the woodwork if he stayed there. Ginny noticed him, too. "Hey, studmuffin's over there by himself. We oughta go over there and drag him back."
"No, that'd scare him," Linda said. She leaned across the table and stared over in Stephen's direction, hoping that he'd return her gaze. Sooner, rather than later, he did. She tried to smile for him and motion him over with her hand. Stephen pointed a finger at himself and mouthed the word "Me?" with a jovial expression on his face. Linda was liking him more and more all the time. She nodded exaggeratedly, to encourage him.