ONNAXOFF

Chapter 48 Part 2

Abel

When Lamar and Jessie take the floor, I feel the excitement building in the room. It's clear that no one knows what to expect, especially those who know how uncoordinated Lamar's long limbs are. In this room, that's about 60% of the audience, having witnessed his clumsy attempts to dance at various family functions. If the past is any indication, this is going to be fun. I get my phone out and flip on the camera.

The dance starts slow. With her hand on his shoulder, and his at her waist, they step together, slow-dancing to the sound of Spectrum by Florence + The Machine.

There is no doubt in my mind that she chose this song. The day I put her on the phone with Flo was the first, and probably only, time I ever saw her openly fangirl over a real person.

The intensity of the song is matched by the intense eye contact they maintain throughout, acting like they're the only ones in the room. But when the beat drops, and the drums kick in, they speed up the dance accordingly. The moves get looser and more impressive, incorporating several spins and lifts. Her body is as fluid as I remember, flowing effortlessly from one move to the next. I'm sure my persuading her to have a few drinks helped with that.

I wait for Lamar to make a mistake, trip up, accidentally drop her, or something, but my expectations are never met. He flawlessly twirls her, his tall, solid frame the perfect companion to her graceful curves.

If I didn't know any better, I might even go as far as to say he was a good dancer. I mean, he's not throwing out anything seriously unbelievable, but his skills have dramatically improved since I last saw him in the club, bending his knees out of sync with the beat.

During the chorus, she hooks her leg around him and he dips her low to the ground. As he turns, I imagine that if she still had long hair, it would be sweeping the floor.

He pulls her up sharply, smiling down at her for a second as if sharing a secret, and then with a loud "1, 2, 3, uh," we're launched right into the middle of Outkast – Hey Ya.

The tempo shoots up, and they break apart and go crazy.

I'm not sure who picked this song, seeing as everyone and their grandma loves Hey Ya. This is made even more evident by the way everyone watching is bopping their head and/or tapping a foot to the tune as Lamar and Jessie dance.

With the head banging, hand clapping and jumping around, it looks like the kind of carefree dancing that you do in your bedroom, when no one is there to witness or record you pretending to star in the music video.

As they playfully disco dance across the floor, one thing is clear. They're both having the time of their lives.

The spotlight shines on Lamar as he stands in the middle to show off his 'ice cold' demeanour, screw-facing and dusting off his shoulder.

Reminiscent of the time in LA when they drunkenly 'performed' to Forever, she dances wildly around him, waving her hands in the air and shaking her booty to the beat. If she was doing this in one of the tight dresses I've seen her wear to the club, it would be too sexy for work, but her light, fluttery skirt keeps it wedding appropriate.

When the famous segment arrives and it's time for the ladies to shake it like a Polaroid picture, Jessie predictably takes the spotlight. But instead of the show everyone's expecting, she jogs forward and tugs Lamar's mom up from her seat. Mrs Taylor resists at first, but once she's on her feet, she shimmies with such enthusiasm, it's clear she was ready for this moment.

Even aware of how awful it'll sound on the recording, I laugh along with everyone else, admiring her skills. My own mother wouldn't be able to pull it off so well, but knowing my mother, she would never in a million years agree to this.