Clubbing For The First Time

The sporadic neon lights thundered through slices of darkness making body dimensions appear singular and giving the cut and paste shadows an aura of mystery; like they were daring me to reach out to them -even in passing- just to convince the senses that yes: they were every bit as tangible as I was.

And the music penetrated and dominated the room, turning it into this living creature, made the shadows sway and forced my body to weave between them like water.

But the more I marched, trying to reach some sort of end desitnation, the more leaden my feet felt, unmasking my aimlessness.

So I stopped and closed my eyes.

I breathed deeply and listened as the bass line pounded and resounded in my ears, swarmed my thoughts and finally coursed through my veins -making my limbs throb and pulsate rhythmically.

I didn't need drugs to feel the overwhelming energy of the crowd. The endorphins, the hormones, the heavy breaths that had enclosed me were building up like a hungry wave: curling and clawing above me then swallowing me whole.

I was powerless...so I danced.

I danced witout thought or method. The spell of the atmosphere had captured me, enslaved my mind and allowed my body to speak its own language.

I felt a finger trace my spine, but I did not stop. I paid no attention, did not shudder, did not jump. I had become a shadow cloaked in the same aura of mystery, my movements communicating invitation.

The hands grasped onto my hips as they swayed, the body pressed itself close, wanting to melt into the rhythm that had possessed me. I could hear him panting in my ear as his lips found the cradle between my neck and shoulders.

My hand rose to stroke his cheek as we danced, this stranger and I, in the orgiastic adolescent pseudo-sex ritual. We danced closely and suggestively without either one of us turning around or speaking more than a few simple words, romancing ourselves in the dark and primitive dance cave, being faceless bodies all spectral, unattainable and lifeless...but somehow alive.