Dancing with the Player | Book #1

Clubbing is Fun

"Cheers to winning!" We all yelled as we took shots.

After James and I finished our duet we got a standing ovation. All of the teams were on stage, waiting to hear the results. To sum it all up, we came first for our contemporary piece and second for our jazz piece. My solo came in first and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I received my award. As for the duets, James and I placed first. He couldn't contain his excitement so he picked me up and spun me around. It was an amazing moment that I'll always remember.

Once the competition was over, we all decided to go to this new club called, Sutra Nightclub in downtown New York. Surprisingly, even Ms Saunders decided to tag along with us. In the club the good vibes flowed like a virus, but a good one. There was love in the air, all hyped up and ready to give us a good one. Zen weaved through the guys and girls like a pro, his smile wider than the golden gates. Right behind him is Emma, tightly holding onto his arm. Then came Sophie and Austin laughing together.

"Hey!" Emma and I say at the same time.

Emma brought me into a bone crushing hug. The warmth from the hug, made me felt even more hot. We pulled apart from each other. Emma and Zen went right away to the dance floor to join the rest of the class who was dancing the night away.

"Hey girl!" Sophie smiled as Austin wrapped his arm around me.

"Hey," I greeted back.

I haven't seen Sophie and Austin in a while since they don't go to Juilliard. It sucked not having to see them around often but when I did, I always enjoyed their company. It was always weird to me how they were James' friends since they're a lot cooler than him. After a couple of minutes of catching up with Sophie and Austin, they left to go dance on the dance floor.

James and I sat at the bar alone and finished our second shot. I wasn't really planning on drinking too much tonight. Waking up to my head pounding was not my motive.

"Congrats on winning your solo," James congratulated me.

I raised an eyebrow at him,"You watched my solo?"

He nodded,"Of course."

I rested my head in my palm,"What did you think of it?"

"I would say that it was beautiful or amazing but it's more than that. You brought something to surface, an emotion, a spark of art. It was a masterpiece Stella," he expressed.

I stared at James, not really knowing what to say. Hearing him call me by my name felt different, but in a good way. I didn't expect him to tell me that my solo was a masterpiece.

"Thank you, I didn't expect that," I told him.

He shrugged his shoulders,"Well it's what I thought about it."

James ordered another round of shots. The bartender handed us shots which James drowned in seconds. I stared down at the shot and moved it away from me. James must've noticed that I haven't poured the shot down my throat and gave me a questioning look.

"I'm not getting another hangover," I answered his questioning look.

He furrowed his brows, confused by my actions,"Why not?"

"I don't want to be hungover the next day," I truthfully confessed.

"You just don't want to end up in my bed again, don't you, princess?" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes,"That's not it. I just -"

He cut me off,"It's not? Okay, well let's go."

I stared at him with wide eyes, processing what he just said,"James!"

He lightly chuckled,"I'm joking, I'm joking."

I let out a breath of relief then he continued on,"Or not."

"Shut up," I giggled and hit his chest.

He leaned in close, the feeling of his warmth breath on my ear brought a shiver down my spine. If I felt hot with hugging Emma, you could only imagine how hot I felt by the proximity of James.

"What's so wrong about having another shot?"

"I could get really drunk," I argued.

"You could, but you could also let loose and have fun," he advised.

"Fine as long as you let loose and have fun with me," I challenged.

"Deal," he whispered as his eyes flickered to my lips for a brief second.

I moved the shot closer to me and eyed the white liquor in the glass. I raised the drink to my lips, feeling the keen burn on my tongue and throat burn as the liquid goes down. I always felt like I would never get used to that feeling whenever I had alcohol. I glanced at James who intensely watched me, as if he's never seen me drink alcohol before.

"See wasn't so bad," he grinned.

I giggled,"You act like I've never drank before."

"I know you do. I just usually see you in the after state of getting drunk not in the process of getting drunk."

"Fair enough," I agreed.

"Well, what now?" He asked as he observed the crowd of drunk strangers grinding to the music.

"We dance the night away," I smirked.

We weaved our way through the crowd of people to the dance floor. The music was blasting loudly, an upbeat pop song was playing. At first James and I swayed to the best then we danced like we didn't give a fuck. The music moved me like I'm a puppet with strings. There was so much sweat on my skin and not all of is mine. Although, I couldn't be more alive. The song switched from the pop song to a techno beat. The music was a drug and it brought me higher and higher until my mind buzzed with pure joy.

Another whiskey later, I continued to dance on the dance floor with James' body pressed against mine. His hands on my waist left a burning sensation as we get lost in the music. I felt like I could go like this all night, my body moving to the beat. But the night was still young. My limbs had so much energy that I could dance for a millennia and then some more.

Who knew clubbing would be this fun.