Night School

‘Yes,’ Gabe said cheerfully. ‘Champagne definitely grows on you.’


‘Don’t drink it too fast,’ Jo cautioned, shooting Sylvain a warning look.

Allie dismissed her with a smile. ‘Remember, Mum, I used to drink quite a bit.’

Jo didn’t look placated. ‘Cimmeria champagne is pretty strong, Allie.’

‘She’ll be fine,’ Sylvain said. Standing up, he held out his hand. ‘May I have this dance?’

She tingled at his touch. ‘I have no idea how to dance to this music, Sylvain. I predict humiliation if we do this.’

‘Oh, I don’t think it will come to that.’

His face was so confident she almost believed him. They walked to the edge of the dance floor where the couples were still swirling in their intricate circles. They moved with impressive speed and practised perfection and Allie watched them in awe. She saw Isabelle moving gracefully in the arms of a handsome, dark-haired man she’d never seen before. She was incredibly elegant, and Allie sighed enviously.

‘How do they all know how to dance like this?’

‘Most of us have had dance lessons since we were children.’

‘How weird that people still do that.’

‘Is it?’ He pulled her into his arms and lifted her chin so that she looked into his bluer than blue eyes. Then he held her tightly, his right hand in the small of her back pulling her close to his chest, her right hand in his left. ‘It seems strange to me that anybody wouldn’t do that. Tonight I will teach you one dance, a simple one. Just follow me. We’ll start very slow. It’s left right left left right. Like this.’

He demonstrated, and she followed carefully. At first she looked down at her feet and stepped on his toes, but then he lifted her chin with his index finger so that her eyes met his.

‘Don’t ever look down. Just watch my eyes, they will tell you where to go next. And it’s left right left left right, over and over again. Ready?’

‘No.’

He laughed, and twirled her out onto the dance floor.

‘Left right left left right … Left right left left right …’ Allie murmured the directions under her breath as she moved, but kept her eyes on his face. They twirled three slow circles without a mistake. Then four. Five!

Allie couldn’t believe it.

‘How are you doing this?’ she laughed incredulously. ‘Seriously, Sylvain, I don’t know how to dance.’

He held her eyes with his, rising and falling with the steps. ‘We can do it because you’re trusting me. I’m leading. You’re following. It’s very simple.’ He smiled. ‘Also, we’re moving very, very slowly …’

As they spun and she gained confidence, he gradually increased their speed until they were moving seamlessly around the floor.

When she was moving with confidence, he lightly kissed her neck just below her ear. All of her senses tingled. He whispered, ‘You look so lovely tonight, Allie. Thank you for coming with me.’

She felt the blood rush to her face, and her body responded to him as he pulled her closer. All the while they spun in a smooth and constant series of circles. Allie was growing dizzy – the rest of the room was a watercolour blur. She and Sylvain were completely alone.

‘This is incredible,’ she whispered.

After what felt like only a few minutes, the circles led them to the edge of the dance floor, and he guided her back to the table, his arm tight around her waist.

Allie’s head spun, and she held onto him for support. ‘I feel dizzy.’

‘It’s the dancing. You’re not used to it.’

She looked back at the dance floor and watched the dancers spin. A few of the couples were less than perfect in their moves and the others swirled past them, like water flowing around stones.

With one hand, Sylvain lifted two glasses off a passing tray. ‘What you need is more champagne.’

Allie accepted the glass he passed her with a grateful smile. ‘Thank you. I’m so thirsty.’ The wine was cold and refreshing, and she gulped it down. ‘You know, I’m starting to really like champagne.’

His chuckle was warm, and he was so close to her she could feel it in her own body. ‘So you’ve said.’

Allie looked for Jo in the crowd of dancers. Her very short dress made her easy to spot – it was definitely the tiniest dress in the room. She and Gabe were twirling around the dance floor with assurance. She saw Lisa’s dress swirling a short distance away as she and Lucas spun easy circles.

She barely noticed when Sylvain took the empty glass from her hand and replaced it with a full one.

Looking around the room, she saw Ruth and Phil walking towards the dance floor holding hands – Ruth wore a pretty pale pink silk dress that showed off her athletic figure. Nearby Jerry sat talking comfortably with Eloise from the library; she was in a sexy little black dress with a low back, and her long hair was loose.

‘She’s not very old at all,’ Allie said, surprised.

‘Who?’