210 Meltdown on the dance floor

Eric wasn't back at the table yet. Probably, he was still trying to find his rhythm and steps in the now overcrowded room.

"Would you like a drink?" Hui had finally managed to find his voice after recovering from her dazzling smile.

"Her smile should really come with a warning. Look and absorb it at your own risk. You may end up losing your head and heart to it," he thought to himself.

She shook her head in affirmative. While Hui busied himself with ordering the drinks for them, Jia Li took in the scene around her. Couples were swaying away to the music, lost in their private worlds. Heated, perspiring bodies wrapped around each-other made her yearn for that connect, for that intimacy. It had been such a long lonely period for her. She couldn't remember the last time that she had held or had been held by a loved one in such a manner. Her eyes teared up on their own accord and she tried to surreptitiously wipe away the salty sadness before her companion could take notice of it. Was she crying for someone's absence or in self-pity? Both? She didn't know...

Hui looked up from the menu to ask her if she wished to eat something but his words stayed in. Her beautiful green eyes held a wealth of sadness in them. He lowered his eyes and hid his face behind the menu card. He wanted to ask her the reason but didn't want to intrude on what was clearly a private moment. His heart ached at the thought of her being unhappy.

Impulsively, he said, "the drinks would take some time. Let's go participate in a Tanda till then."

Jia Li looked at him in confusion.

"A Tanda is a round consisting of four dances. Till now, you and I have been dancing as a couple. Now it's time to experience Tango in a group," he explained and stood up, pushing his chair behind.

She replied, "Nooooo, I am not even sure if I have got the solo moves right. How can I participate in the group dance. I don't want to spend the entire time apologising for stepping upon people's toes. Umm… why don't you go ahead? I shall sit here and enjoy the scenario."

"There is no major difference between the two. All you need to remember is that you have to move counter clockwise. Secondly, just keep your moves long and fluid. That's it. I will be there alongside, anyways. C'mon, we are going to try it. Did you come here to simply sit?" he questioned and extended his hand towards her.

Jia Li accepted the proffered hand and got up from her chair. Hui didn't let go of her hand till they reached the other end of the room where a large group of people were dancing in a circle. Murmuring few instructions in her ear, he created an opening inside the circle and pulled her along.

After a couple of minutes of inhibitions, Jia Li surrendered herself to the energy around her. Her body was gyrating to the beats now. Closing her eyes, she let the music take away her loneliness, her unhappiness, the feeling of everything. It was like she emptied her soul right there on that dance floor, full of strangers. In her state of abandonment, she danced like it was the last dance of her life, giving it her all. By the time the music wound down, she could barely stay on her feet.

Hui's eyes hadn't left her face during the entire duration of the dance. She, on the other hand, had hardly been aware of him or the people around.

"Eric was right. I know nothing about her. The question is do I want to? I have never really bothered with what makes a person tick, what their past is. Do I want to do this whole exercise as far as she is concerned? Am I sure about this? I guess I need to analyse this a bit," he thought to himself.

"Let's go back. Eric would be looking for us," he said to her.

He knew for a fact that Eric wasn't going to return to the table anytime soon but he made that excuse so that she would not insist on dancing any more right now. She looked completely drained yet oddly defiant, as if at war with something or someone.

She nodded and followed him quietly to their table. Once they reached the table, he ensured that she sat down. Murmuring that he would be back shortly, he walked away without any further explanation.

Jia Li was still dazed by her near meltdown at the dance floor.

"Do I want my first social outing with the bosses to be an embarrassing one? God, I have zero self-control, don't I?" she covered her face with her hands.

"Umm… are you alright?" Hui's concerned voice reached her ears.