Second Lanark

Dancing the Night Away - Part 4

Tricia grabbed my hand, and dragged me through the crowd to the dance floor where Jill and Lark were dancing with other girls from our floor. A little self-consciously, I fell into step beside Tricia, then looked around at the other people on the crowded dance floor. I sipped my too sweet drink and tried not to openly grimace.

Jill was by far the best dancer; she had a great sense of the beat, and even on the crowded floor, she was managing to make a space for herself.

When she slowed down, I leaned over, and asked her, "How'd you learn to dance like that?"

She grinned, and sipped her own drink, some of it sloshing over the sides. She jumped back as blue liquid dripped down her hand and laughed. "I've taken all kinds of dance classes since forever. It's just easy for me." She slurped the access alcohol off her hand. "It's so crowded in here though; it's hard to get into it."

I nodded in agreement, as though I knew exactly what she meant. A twinge of envy sparked in me. My town had been too small for the sorts of dance classes she must have taken. I looked over towards Lark, and she rolled her eyes and looked away. I wasn't sure if she was rolling her eyes at me or Jill.

Just over Lark's shoulder, two guys were dancing. Both were of average height and had slim builds. One had a shaved head of light brown hair and the other was darker, almost jet black, but military short. They were dancing by themselves, completely oblivious to all the other people moving to the beat around them. They were bumping into people, but they both had, for guys, incredible rhythm. I cut across the circle to stand beside Lark with my back to the guys.

I leaned into her and yelled over the music, "Who's that behind us? Do you know?"

She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder and tried to catch a glimpse without being obvious. She tucked herself in closer to my side and leaned down to speak in my ear. "The British guys. Aren't they amazing?"

On the next beat of the song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba, I took a step back into the space where they were dancing. Lark bugged out her eyes at me, but then my elbow was jostled, and my drink sloshed over my arm. I turned to the side, and my eyes connected with a set of dark brown ones. It was definitely worth the spilled drink.

"You alright there?" He took my arm and kept me from stumbling. "I didn't see you."

That accent. Inside, I was dying just a little from the sound of his voice. I grinned at him and raised my opposite hand that was holding my drink. "A little too much alcohol." I took another sip of my drink for some liquid courage. I'd run into the one with the dark, almost black hair.

"I didn't see you there either," I lied.

"This tosser being a pain in the arse?" His friend came up over his shoulder and smiled at me, a hint of mischief in his light brown eyes. His head was so closely shaved that his scalp caught the lights whenever they bounced off his head.

"Ah, no. No." I shook my head, and my dark blond hair shifted around my shoulders. "We just bumped into each other."

Shaved head stuck out his hand and moved around so he could speak in my ear. "I'm Tom and this sheep-shagger over here is Rob."

I met Rob's eyes across the small distance between us and asked, "What's a sheep-shagger?"

He laughed. "Oh, he did not. Did he?"

I turned to look at Tom beside me and looked over at Rob again. "He did. What is that?"

He gave a half grin and took a drink from his beer. "Someone who is Welsh."

"You're Welsh?"

"No, I come from a place near Wales. I'm not Welsh and therefore, not a sheep-shagger." He shot Tom a satisfied look.

"I could stand at his door and spit and I'd hit a Welsh person. He shags the sheep while on holiday."

I looked back and forth between them. I still didn't really know what shagging was and decided I'd try one more time since it seemed vital to understanding why this whole sheep thing was so offensive, but also weirdly funny to them.

"What's shagging?"

They were both in the middle of taking a drink of their beer and either choked or partially spit out the alcohol before collapsing in laughter.

Tom coughed. "You Canadians are hilarious."

"Seriously, what is it?" I asked again, my curiosity spilling out of me.

Rob laughed one last time, and his dancing brown eyes met mine. "Ah...how do I put this? Having sex. A sheep shagger is someone who has sex with sheep." He grinned. "Shagging is actually a really, really rude word in England."

Looking at Rob, I tried to imagine him having sex with a sheep and then I tried to imagine anyone having sex with a sheep and, for some reason, it became incredibly funny.

"That's terrible. That's really terrible...why is it so funny?" I couldn't stop laughing.

Lark and Tricia came over and attached themselves to each shoulder. I wiped away the tears that were leaking out of the corners of my eyes from laughing so hard. I turned to Tricia and gestured to my face.

She put her finger to my cheek and smoothed away some mascara. "Not too bad, just a little run." Tricia looked over both boys and stuck out her hand in a gesture that was becoming familiar. "I'm..." She gave me a sideways glance. "Patricia, but you can call me Tricia. Not Patty, I'm a vegetarian."

I snorted and tried to keep my drink down. Rob and Tom gave her an amused look and introduced themselves. Lark swooped in to introduce herself and promptly took over the conversation.

Tricia moved closer to my shoulder and whisper-yelled in my ear. "Their accents."

"I know," I called back over the music.

"Are you interested in one of them?"

I looked at them both as Lark continued to talk to them, and my eyes lingered on Rob. I turned to her. "No, I don't think so. I've sworn off boys for a while."

She looked skeptical. "Sure. That didn't look like anything." She drained her drink and wagged the empty cup in my face. "Your turn to buy. Let's go." She grabbed my hand and dragged me back to the bar. "We're gettin' drunk!" She yelled as we danced and waded our way back to the bar.

Author's Note:

What are you starting to learn about Tricia, Liz, Lark, and Jill? What did you think about Tom and Rob?