Neha - Part III

Salsa.

Doesn't it have a tangy, spicy feel to it? I love salsa, especially with spaghetti. I'm forever ready for some, whatever the dish may be. But this. I definitely wasn't prepared for this kind of salsa.

After dinner, I went over to Anu's for some dessert and lessons. I've always been a good student. Things come to me quickly and I learn fast. Tell me to shake a leg though, and the world would come crashing down. Hence my pudgy(no, cuddly!) appearance. Salsa was no less, I can tell you that. Moreover, being that geeky-good-boy-who-respects-girls, I was even more embarrassed with it. Add to that two left feet and what you get is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen. But Anu, she's a smooth sailor. She knew I'd get cold feet or cold something.
So, as we stood in her living room, she put on some latino music.
"Nice." I said. "So when do we start?"
"Right now!" and she caught hold of my hands and pulled me close before I could even react. I didn't know what to do! I panicked and started swaying my hips all over the living room.
"Easy tiger! There's no rush. Relax and feel the music. Move to it, not against it." she said, but all I heard was my heart thumping in my head. She put her hands to my hips and started gyrating it to the rhythm.
(I swear, I've never been so nervous! And excited. In more ways than one.)
"This is how you move it. Now, one foot to the front, one to the back. Good! You're getting there.." She kept encouraging me.

A good half hour of stamping on her feet and apologizing a thousand times found me getting the hang of it, and easing up a bit. Although, I was still so afraid I'd get too aroused for my own good during the really close bits of it that I dropped her a few times flat on her butt.

Salsa's a latin dance that's supposed to excite and arouse while being sexy and smooth. And as Anu kept picking up the pace bit by bit, it got faster and crazier. She'd swing her legs left, right, center, sometimes around my leg, sometimes between them, twisting, swinging, my arms just following her lead, holding her in ways I'd never imagined. My mind was a flurry and my body was a blur. My heart was in my head and my ears filled with music. Time flew and so did we. From the in-your-face kick-ass girl next door, I saw the hot, sexy part of my neighbour and closest female friend. And she was one hell of a teacher too. She'd shout at times, encourage at other times, bearing with my inexperience as I tried to cope as fast as I could, trying to learn a dance form in just three days.

Well past midnight, her mom finally shooed me away with threats of locking me out for making too much noise. But I'd made progress. Good progress.

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The days flew by and it went on. School hours spent talking to Neha, evenings at Anu's.

The Christmas ball was on a Saturday. Come Friday, after school, Neha asked me meet her at the mall. I was quite surprised. She'd never called me for something like that.
"Probably everyone's coming, just to hang out or something.." I told myself. Oh how wrong I was.

She met me at the entrance to the mall. She wore a black shirt and a white skirt with a pattern of lilies on it, and the wind blew her hair across her face so she had to brush it across. She's always had this little tuft of hair that would fall cutely over her eyes every now and then.

Me: "Hey Neha! What was the rush?"

Neha: "No rush. Just wanted to beat the evening crowd. Plus, this way, we get the whole mall to ourselves." and she gave a small grin.

As she said those words, I almost heard violins playing in the background and a quartet playing a love ballad....
"Also, there's so many..."
...with us dancing in open space at the mall, turning round and round, twisting, twirling...
"...Have you been listening to me? Hello? Earth calling!"
I was brought back to reality by Neha pulling me into the mall.
"Come on, we've got shopping to do, and you're helping me buy my gown."

Women's shopping and me? What if there's those two piece suits? And lingerie? I'd be so embarrassed! How can I even pick out dresses for her? Is she serious?

Oh My God!




Next time:
A dress and a dance!

Chapter I
Chapter II

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