Chapter 12 Between Salsa and Sex

Maya was standing outside Havana Nights when Leah and Gabe arrived. She had her phone in front of her face in that familiar look: don't talk to me, because I'm really busy doing something really important. Leah ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Where's your friend?" she asked, suddenly worried that Maya would be a third wheel.

"Oh, she canceled like four minutes ago. Such a flake. But it's fine." Maya seemed unphased as though the prospect of third-wheelership had not occurred to her. The three of them went inside, where an empty dance floor was surrounded by neon lights in front of a small stage where a band was setting up. A few people were scattered around the room drinking cocktails and leaning on high-top bar tables.

"I think we need some drinks before we start dancing," Gabe announced and offered to get a round for everyone. By then, he knew that Leah's cocktail choice was vodka cranberry, something way too sweet and overpriced, and that Maya preferred beer, even if there wasn't anything special on tap. He left the girls at a table and went to the bar .

"Well, look at you two!" Maya exclaimed as soon as Gabe was out of earshot, which was about three inches from the table. She must have been commenting on how they had held hands with their fingers intertwined and their elbows kissing as though walking through a narrow passageway. "How are things going?"

"Perfect," Leah gushed. "He's such a sweetheart."

"Sounds like it's getting serious."

Leah nodded, although she wondered if it could go in that direction. Whenever she thought of her relationship, her giddy feelings were tainted. She'd daydream of him proposing one day, but in her daydreams something always stopped her from saying yes, a storm, a giant truck whizzing by, a thief grabbing the ring right out of the box between them. Her wedding was even more unimaginable in daydreams, as though it were something mysterious and so impossible to conjure. Her perfect relationship was only that. Something doomed to stay in the present, unable to progress. "I really like him."

"What do your parents think?"

Leah glanced to the bar to see Gabe placing their order. "That I'm single. My mom wants to set me up with some cousin of someone from their synagogue."

"Oh God, that's the worst." Maya commiserated. "I once went on a date with someone who used to play tennis with a second cousin of someone at my parent's synagogue. It was seriously the worst. We had nothing to say to each other. He didn't even think I was really Jewish because I told him that I didn't fast on Yom Kippur last year. Somehow that fact then got back to my parents. Jewish gossip is awful."

"So awful," Leah agreed, remembering all the random pieces of information her mom always came home with after synagogue events. Did you hear that Elijah lost all his weight? He's apparently quite good looking now! Should I see if he's single? Aaron's son apparently got brainwashed by Chabad and is now engaged to someone he just met. It happened in college, have you heard that Chabad offers money to students who come to their events? Did this ever happen to you? Rachel Levine went to Israel over winter break and her parents are afraid she'll never come home! She met some IDF soldier. They hope she isn't pregnant. But even if she is, at least the father is Jewish!

"Well, obviously, I'm not going to go out with the guy."

"Your parents will bug you until you do. Even if you tell them you have a boyfriend. Especially if you tell them your boyfriend isn't Jewish. That will just make them more fanatical about the setup. It's like they believe that this setup will be the most important thing in saving your life. "

"Talking about me?" Gabe asked, placing two coronas and a vodka cranberry on the table.

"Only good things," Maya assured and grabbed her beer. "Thanks."

"Good evening everyone!" A voice rang through a speaker. "We're going to get the salsa lesson started in just a few moments! Would everyone please join us on the dance floor. You don't need a partner to learn the moves! Let's go!"

With drinks in hand, the three of them walked to the dance floor. Gabe had his hand on the small of Leah's back and his touch was electrifying. A woman in a red and black polka-dotted dress with ruffles around all the edges stood in the middle of the dance floor with a microphone. She wore the highest heels Leah had ever seen, yet she was the same height as the man standing next to her in a short-sleeved black button-down shirt with the top three buttons open. The man smiled at the people filling up the dancefloor. "All right everyone," the tiny woman with the giant voice said. "Let's get started. We're going to begin with the most basic step. Everyone face me. Step your left foot forward and shift your weight to it. Now shift your weight back and bring back your foot. Now right foot back, shift your weight back and then back to center! Great job everyone!" She and the man next to her held hands as they demonstrated .

Leah smiled at Gabe and Maya as she put her left foot forward and shifted her weight back and forth. Easy. She liked salsa dancing already. She looked around the room, wondering if Malcolm was there, but she didn't see him. She continued stepping forward and back shifting her weight as the teacher instructed.

"You look great salsa dancing," Gabe said in her ear making her forget which leg she was supposed to be placing her weight on. She mildly stumbled before finding the rhythm again. "So sexy."

"You're not so bad yourself," she responded. "You sure this is your first time?"

"Definitely my first time."

"All right, now let's try it facing a partner!" The teacher shouted and swung to face her partner. Leah looked at Maya, unsure of what she should do about her lonely friend when she really wanted to dance with Gabe. But Maya wasn't the only partnerless person. A man came up to her and held out his hand. Maya didn't look twice, grabbing the hand and winking to Leah who felt relieved to swing into Gabe's arm. "Sorry ladies, but you are going to start backward. When dancing with a partner, you first go back on your right foot and then forward on your left," the instructor explained. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," she shouted over and over as she stepped with her partner. "Are we ready to dance? "

The lesson was apparently over and a live band started playing on the stage. The instructor pulled her partner in close and he swung her around in a move that was not part of the lesson. Leah looked at Maya who seemed like she was having fun. The man she was dancing with looked like he was probably a regular there, the way he shook his hips and twirled Maya around between steps. Leah and Gabe stuck to the basics, but Gabe did try to sneak in a few awkward turns that caused them both to lose their balance and giggle before reorientating themselves.

"Hey there," Leah thought she heard on her side. She looked over and saw Malcolm wearing a white button-down shirt with a red carnation in his breast pocket. He had plaid pants that led down to the shiniest man's shoes Leah had ever seen. "You made it." Leah thought he said because she had to rely on lip reading.

"Yeah! Thanks for telling me about this! It's so fun! This is my boyfriend Gabe and that's my friend Maya!" She introduced them, suddenly so excited to feel like she knew people there. "Gabe this is Malcolm from CB. He's in charge of data analytics."

"Nice to meet you, Malcolm," Gabe pulled his hand away from Leah's to offer Malcolm a handshake. Malcolm gave Gabe's hand a weak squeeze and he mouthed something that Leah didn't understand. He then moved to the center of the dance floor and started dancing by himself until a woman approached him and placed her arms on his shoulders. Malcolm immediately grabbed her waist, pulled her close, and the two of them started dancing together as though their bodies were one. Leah was mesmerized. It was like watching people having sex. So intimate, like she shouldn't be staring, yet beautiful and shocking as though their sex was something to aspire to. Leah found herself wondering if Malcolm had in fact had sex with his dance partner. They must have! And then she wondered what people could conjecture about her and Gabe's sex life from the rigid and awkward way they were dancing.

"Wow, your friend is pretty good!" Gabe commented, breaking Leah's stare.

"He's semiprofessional apparently," she responded and turned back to Gabe resolving to make their dancing look sexier. She shook her hips as she stepped forward and tried to stay closer to Gabe without stepping on his feet.

She looked over at Maya who was still twirling with her partner, who himself seemed to be crossing the line from salsa to sex. He trailed his fingers down her arms and his lips were getting dangerously close to Maya's neck. But Maya didn't seem to mind. She looked like she was enjoying herself. Letting loose. She winked at Leah.

Leah and Gabe continued to dance, although the longer they stepped, the more Leah felt like they were trying too hard and that she'd rather be standing around a booth, drinking, and watching the professionals do it. Gabe must have read her mind. "Let's take a break?" He offered and she agreed, following him to an empty table. She motioned to Maya who nodded, but continued dancing with her new partner. "So this is fun," Gabe commented, finishing the beer in his hand. "Another round?" He went to the bar to replenish their drinks. In the meantime, Maya approached.

"This place is awesome!" she commented.

"Yeah, looks like you are having a blast! Who knew you're such a good dancer!" Leah smiled.

"Oh, it's not me at all. It's Mario. He's a pro here. And of course, my synagogue offered father-daughter dancing classes for the bat mitzvah class. Who knew it stuck with me!"

"Did you give Mario your number?" Leah asked. For some reason, she felt hopeful about the question, as though she were somehow invested in the answer.

"No way! He's totally not my type. He's probably a total slut."

"It's just the salsa."

"Salsa is sex," Maya said.

"Then it's sick you learned with your father before your bat mitzvah," Leah joked. Gabe came back with drinks, including one for Maya. The three of them stood drinking and watching the dancefloor get even more crowded. Malcolm had switched partners and was dancing just as intimately with his new one. Mario was now dancing with Malcolm's previous partner. Leah wondered if this entire place was about to turn into an orgy.

"So what now?" Gabe asked when they were finishing their drinks.

"Pizza?" Maya suggested and the three of them stepped out into the New York night. "On me," Maya insisted as though 99 cent slices was an even trade for her two beers. Afterward, Leah said goodbye to Maya and Gabe offered to take them back uptown in a cab.

"Let's go to your apartment this time," Leah suggested. They always went to hers. It wasn't like Gabe was hiding his. She'd been there a couple of times for short periods. Never to stay the night. It was a small studio with a bed next to the oven and the bathroom by the fridge. It was less comfortable than her apartment. And of course, she didn't have any of her own things there, but she felt like it was about time she stayed there. And she was getting sick of hearing her roommate's exaggerated footsteps whenever she came home with Gabe.

"Sure," he agreed. "I think I even have an extra toothbrush."

Leah smiled, anticipating their upcoming sex. Maybe they could take a few things from the salsa dancing to the bedroom. She could swing her hips and step into his legs. She hoped that some of the sexiness from the evening had rubbed off on her.