Catfished - COMPLETED

CHAPTER FIVE

     Lucy drove through the city. Max sat shotgun. Nev was perched in the middle of her backseat. Blonde by the band Waterparks played quietly and Lucy tapped the steering wheel to the beat. The city sparkled in the darkness.
    "So had you mentioned us to Jordan before we came?" Nev asked.
      Lucy kept her eyes on the roads but her grip on the wheel tightened. "Nope."
    "Have you talked to him since you found out?"
    "Nope." Lucy stopped drumming.
     "Hey. Let's stop talking about it, Nev," Max suggested. Trying to lighten the mood, "I'm very curious to see where I am going. I half expect Lucy to pull the car over and murder us, honestly," he joked.
    Lucy smiled. "You both know I like you too much to do that." She turned to Max and stuck her tongue out. "Nev, did you bring your camera?"
    "Always," Nev said. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the camera that tagged along with him most days. He held it so Lucy could see it without having to turn around.
     "Awesome! Promise to take some pics for us tonight, please."
    "This night is getting more and more mysterious." Max feigned worry.
     "You'll like it. No worries, boys. I just hope you can keep up." Lucy faced Max again and winked.
     At that, Lucy pulled the car over in front of an old brick building. The neighborhood looked kind of sketchy.
     "Are you sure about the not killing us thing?" Max joked again.
     "I know. The neighborhood kinda sucks but it's a historic building and they didn't want to give it up. Come inside. It's way better inside," she reassured them. She opened her door and headed to the back hatch of her car. She pulled out a garment bag.
     "What is that for?" Nev asked, as he followed her toward the building.
     "This is for me. Come on."
     The trio headed inside. They went up the staircase. Max heard music and it got louder the higher they climbed. An older man was standing at the top of the stairs. Lucy handed him a few bills. He welcomed her and said her party had already arrived.  Walking through the doors, Max was struck by the beauty of the ballroom.
      There was a large wooden dance floor in the middle of the room. A live band played an upbeat swing dance song. There were twinkle lights hung along a balcony that wrapped around the room. People stood at the top story, looking down at the dance floor and the band.
     "This is amazing!" Max exclaimed.
Couples were already of the dance floor. It looked like a blur of dancing out there. A group of people caught sight of the three new additions and waved them over.
     "Hey! There's my friends!" Lucy led the guys over and introduced them. Everyone hugged the guys as they were introduced. There were probably four girls and ten guys. All were either in their early or mid-twenties. The whole group was dressed vintage.
     Lucy pulled a couple off of the dance floor. First the guy hugged her in greeting and then the girl smiled and said hello. She was clearly miffed that her dance was interrupted.
     Lucy pulled the guy over to Max and Nev. "This is Devin," she explained. "I told him to bring something for you guys to wear since you didn't know we would be coming here."
     Devin smiled warmly and bro hugged each of the guys. "So nice to meet you. Thanks for helping out our girl here." He wrapped his arm around Lucy's shoulders and squeezed her.
     "Anyways, I'll go change. We missed the tutorial. So Devin will show you the basics. Meet you down here when I'm done. And you better be ready to dance!" Lucy pointed at Nev and Max and then headed up the stairs to the bathroom.

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     Devin showed the guys a basic box step. Then a much easier way to look like you're doing a box step. So far it was a lot of bouncing. He demonstrated with the girl he had been dancing with when Lucy interrupted. She seemed appeased by another dance with him. He spun her out and pulled her back in. She almost tumbled when he tried to spin again.
    At that moment, Lucy came running down the stairs. She had a couple victory rolls to frame her face and a bright red lipstick on. Her dress caught the wind and billowed up as she descended. Nev instinctually pulled out his camera and snuck a quick shot of her. She bounded over, all smiles of excitement.
     "Here. I'll show you with Lucy," Devin said, dismissing the other girl. The girl slunk off again.
     Lucy put her left hand on Devin's shoulder and held his hand in her right hand. They box stepped a couple beats. Then he spun her out and pulled her back in a second. She twirled and spun again. Devin pulled her in. Then suddenly he lifted her off the ground and flung her around his back. Lucy slid down his side and landed firmly on her feet. She went back to her first position without missing a beat.
     Max and Nev applauded. They hadn't seen live swing dancing in years! "I don't think I can do that tonight," Max admitted.
     "No worries. As long as you're having fun, you're doing it right," she advised breezily. She led Max and Nev to a bar area. "A little liquid courage never hurts either." She winked and stuck her tongue out a little at them.
     Nev ordered a drink. Max got a beer. Lucy talked to the bartender, a woman in her late forties. She ordered an old fashioned. The bartender asked for her ID. Lucy rolled her eyes but smiled at her. She fished into her purse and pulled out the ID.
     The bartender held it and studied it a long time. Finally she asked Lucy,       "What sign are you?"
     "Gemini," Lucy quickly answered.
     "And what is your day?"
      "The 5th."
      The bartender nodded and went to make her drink. Lucy pulled a face behind the bartender's back.
     "Do you get that a lot?" Max took a swig from his beer.
     "Yup. I've had to spell my middle name. Explain how to get to the city I live in. Name my birthstone. Everything you could think of."
     "I haven't been carded in so long!"
     "I think the grey hair helps." Lucy poofed Max's hair so it stood up even higher.
     The bartender handed Lucy her drink and told her it was on the house because of the issue she made over the ID. Lucy thanked her and gave her a tip. She led Max to a table that had been reserved for their party.   They sat next to each other and watched the dancers. They had to scoot close to one another to be heard over the band. Max commented on different dancers. Lucy explained how everyone knew each other, told funny antidotal stories about each of her friends, and laughed with Max.
      After a couple minutes, a friend of Lucy's asked her to dance. She looked at Max. "I'll be fine. Go," he motioned toward the dance floor.
     The guy, Josh, took Lucy's hand and led her to the dance floor. She smiled as he twirled her around and spun her across the dance floor. Max watched as Lucy and Josh chatted between spins. She smiled at him and laughed at his jokes. At one joke, she threw her head back in a roar of laughter that he couldn't hear.
     After the song ended, she and Josh parted ways. But she was stopped by another admirer before she got back to the table. She danced with this guy. Then another.
     Max became bored and scanned the room for Nev. He spotted him taking pictures of thedancing from the balcony overhead. Max finished off his beer and headed upstairs. When he got there, he made his way to Nev.
     "Saw you got ditched down there," Nev said, zooming with his camera lens before capturing the moment he had in mind. He looked at Max with pity written across his face.
     Max crossed his arms across his chest. "It's okay. Her mind isn't on Jordan." He looked down and quickly found Lucy. She was in the middle of the dance floor with Devin. Her green vintage dress was flying out and, from above, resembled a flower.
Nev interrupted Max's train of thought. "Get down there. You won't get her attention out here."
     Max saluted him and followed his commander's order. He walked down the stairs and headed for the dance floor. He didn't know what he was going to do. But he had to do something.
     As he hit the edge of the wall of dancing bodies, the song ended and a slow one began. Lucy and Devin were catching their breath and laughing at the fun they had. Max clear the rest of the distance between them. She caught his gaze and smiled. He offered her his hand. She lightly placed hers in his and they began to sway.
     "Now this I can do," Max mumbled into Lucy's ear.
     "I'm really glad you came tonight. And in general. I'm really glad that I've been able to get to know you, Max" Lucy confided, pulling in closer to Max.
     "Me too. I'm glad we've been able to spend some time together." Max's mouth was dry and he suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands. He took a chance and spun Lucy out.
     She laughed. "Hey! Look at you go!" She spun back in gracefully.
     The song ended. Max studied Lucy's face. She looked happy. But he could see a little sadness pulling at the corners of her smile. "This is so much fun. But we have an early flight tomorrow. Are you ready to head home?"
     Lucy nodded in agreement. "Yes. That's a good idea. Let me tell everyone goodbye and I'll meet you and Nev at the car."
     She made her way off the dance floor. She stopped to say goodbye to almost every couple out there. Then she went to the tables and hugged everyone goodbye. All wished her well.
     Max headed back upstairs. He found Nev in the same spot.
     "You looked good out there, man. Very smooth," Nev commented. "I got a few good shots of you."
     "Thanks. You ready to go?"
     "Yeah. Let's get going."

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     "You were so good out there!" Max gushed. They were back in Lucy's car, heading to Nev and Max's hotel. The crew had taken care of their car and left it at the hotel for them.
     Lucy smiled and kept her eyes fixed on the road. "Thanks. I really enjoy it. Did you have fun tonight?"
     "It was really great. Thanks for bringing us. I got some great action shots. I'll send you some prints," Nev said from the backseat.
      There was a brief silence. Finally Max aired something that had been going through his mind on repeat since they arrived at the ballroom. "So... why did you have to date online? It seemed like there were plenty of guys there that are interested in you."
     After a pause, Lucy answered Max. "I haven't told you guys absolutely everything. I had a boyfriend about four years ago. A serious boyfriend. Like we were planning on getting married. Then I realized that he wasn't what I needed. I broke up with him after being together for three years. He took it badly. He said some very bad things about me to our friends. I actually lost a lot of friends from that. All the guys you met tonight are old friends of his. They didn't believe what he told them. But still, I'm his ex. You don't date your friend's ex."
      Nev scooted forward in his seat and hugged her as best as he could. Max reached across the middle console to hold her hand. Lucy wasn't emotional but it had to pain her to talk about this. She had obviously left it out of her story for a reason.
      "It's not the worst thing that could have happened. But it happened and it sucked. But I know who my true friends are now. And I've long since moved on," Lucy murmered.
      "No one should be treated that way though. Especially you," Max told her. He moved his thumb back and forth across her hand.
      Lucy pulled the car up to the hotel entrance. They said their good nights.    Nev got out of the car and headed in.    Before Max got out, he turned so he fully faced Lucy.
      "Tomorrow morning. Meet you here... It's going to be a tough day. But it will be worth it. And I will be on your side the whole time." Max gave her a tight hug and got out of the car. "Thanks for the dance." With that, he shut the car door and walked into the hotel.

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