Chapter 1: Entranced by Dance
With a twist, her body swayed to the music, her flowing ebon curls billowing down her back like tresses made of flowers. She shut her eyes completely as she danced to the melody, lost in the moment, like someone trapped in a wonderful dream—one she never wanted to end.
Eventually, her light grey eyes had to open, and when they did, they fixed upon a man staring her down intently. His were an icy blue, and his short hair was slicked back. It reminded her of Dracula, to be honest, which made quite a bit of sense since Halloween was just a few days away. In fact, she noticed he was dressed in a fancy suit with a billowing vampire cape behind him. Meanwhile, she wore a variety of bright colors in contrast to his dark attire.
Carmen tilted her head, not pausing in her dance but eyeing the man curiously. Those eyes of his glittered with curiosity, and soon he took a few steps closer to the dance floor. At the moment, Carmen was the only one occupying it, as everyone else had stepped off to observe her. After all, she danced for a living and continued to do so even on her days off.
And yet, this man, new to the lively club no doubt, wanted to join her. It was obvious how entranced he was, like a pirate caught in the song of a siren. Except, of course, Carmen wasn’t a mythical beast of any sort. She, in fact, appreciated the opportunity for a dance partner and waltzed closer to the man, holding out her light tan hand. He stared at it for a moment before delicately accepting it with a pale one of his own. Carmen noticed his nails were painted black, and he wore light gothic makeup on his eyes. He certainly had quite the look, and despite the bright style she always displayed, Carmen enjoyed a slight change of pace. Dark and light worked very well together, if done right.
In no time, Carmen spun around in an energetic dance to an electro swing song, Lone Digger. Step left, step right, twirl, leap, repeat! This man matched her movements, causing her to throw back her head and let out a joyous laugh. The energy billowed out from Carmen along with adrenaline, and wider and wider did the smile spread across her blood-red lips.
It’d been quite a while since the dancer found a decent partner, and this was refreshing as hell. Despite how gloomy he looked, this man had such a wonderful and bright spirit. The crowd watching cheered and clapped along to the beat—eventually they joined the new dancing ‘couple’ in a circle around them, careful not to be disruptive, of course.
The lights flashed in reds, blues, oranges, and greens as Carmen swayed her hips and twisted her body, pouring her energy into this wonderful dance with this mysterious man. He’d better not vanish like in those silly romance novels. I don’t have time to play out a fairy tale, Carmen told herself. That thought made her chuckle and meet the man’s eyes. Neither of them had spoken to each other, for they didn’t need to right now. The music spoke for them, as did the movements of their bodies.
Eventually, Carmen came to a stop. She excused herself to a table off in the corner to catch her breath. Her cheeks were red, and her body was warm from all the energy she’d expelled. To her delight, the man with the bright blue eyes sat before her, bowing his head.
“Hello there,” he said in a low, musical voice, giving a beautifully kind grin and holding out his hand. “Your dancing was amazing, and I had a wonderful time, ma’am. I do apologize if I intruded. However, you were far too intriguing to ignore, and I felt myself desiring to dance right along with you.” Delighted, Carmen took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“Please! Don’t apologize, you’re quite the dancer yourself, sir. Mind if I buy you a drink? What is your name?” the woman asked, her grey eyes glimmering curiously. The man pondered this for a moment and gave a light nod.
“How kind! I wouldn’t mind one bit. Me? I’m Phoenix. I’m new to this establishment, and I had no idea I would run into the most talented dancer on the planet by coming here,” the man replied with a sly grin. This caused Carmen to release a few giggles and shake her head.
“You’re just flattering me. Surely I’m not the best. But thank you. Hey, like I said, you’re not bad yourself, by any means. Hell, it thrilled me to have you as a partner. Do you dance professionally?” Carmen asked, waving over a server and glancing at Phoenix expectantly.
The man paused a moment and ordered his drink before looking back at Carmen, giving her a charming wink. “Perhaps. I’ve been in the industry for more than a few years, yes.”
“I hope I’m not coming off as rude when asking this. But you look like the phantom of the opera with a much handsomer face, and without the mask. Is that a Halloween costume, or…” Carmen asked, tilting her head curiously.
Phoenix provided a boyish giggle and gave the lightest of shrugs. “I look like this on a regular basis, admittedly. Silly, I know, but eh. Sometimes it pays to be a little different,” the man replied, glancing down in embarrassment.
“No! I think you look lovely. I love the style. It works very well for a dancer, anyway, of the mysterious variety. Or an actor in some sort of romance. You know?” Carmen asked, grinning lightly. Phoenix’s smile turned a bit more confident at her reassurance.
The two continued to talk, mostly about dancing and their careers. Phoenix gratefully accepted the drink and enjoyed his time talking with Carmen immensely. He grew lost in her eyes every so often, but had to snap himself out of it. Such things weren’t the best idea since he was on the move so frequently because of his ‘condition’. Carmen would surely never find out that aspect about him.
Yet when the woman asked Phoenix if he wanted to meet here tomorrow again for more drinks and dancing, he found he couldn’t refuse. There was too much fun to be had here with her, and declining would force loneliness he didn’t want to endure tomorrow night.
