The Red Pony was hopping for a wet Friday night, Walt shed his jacket within a few steps of the saloon doors, the fire was burning merrily and a press of bodies at the far end of the room was responsible for the buzz of noise.
Hanging the jacket over an empty barstool, placing his hat luck side up on top, he raised an eyebrow at Henry and shrugged a shoulder in enquiry at the excitement while Henry poured him a tall foam topped glass of Rainier.
"We have some new music for the jukebox. It is not country and this has caused much excitement amongst the locals"
Walt took a long swallow, it was good to be Sheriff and not be on call in the weekends, that's what he had deputies for. Except as the crowd jostled two familiar bodies lurched towards him, arm in arm laughing. Cady and Vic?
Breathlessly they piled up against the bar and ordered another round of drinks, Cady gave her Dad a pleased hello and a kiss to the cheek while Vic leaned nonchantly against the bar and had a healthy swallow of her beer. As nonchalantly as one could dressed in a rather short dress with a floaty skirt and a pair of cowboy boots. Walt wondered when Vic had acquired the boots.
"Henry the new music is fantastic, classic rock and blues!" Cady's eyes were bright and her face flushed from the warm room, and Walt assumed exertion on the dance floor. It was good to see her enjoying herself for an evening, though when she and Vic had become friends was a data point that yet eluded him.
The music started up again, definitely a slow seductive blues rhythm, and Cady grabbed arm "Come on Dad, come and dance with me, I know you know how". Trying not to spill his beer at her earnest jostling he slid off his seat and tried to fend her off.
"Cady, that music is not… appropriate… to dance with my daughter to" and Cady pouted at him, he was concerned how much she had had to drink and cast a side glance at Henry, who unhelpfully shook his head. An unexpectedly familiar voice that sounded huskier than usual caught his attention as a hand slipped into his
"It wouldn't be at all inappropriate to dance with me, would it Sheriff" and there was something about the way she said it that made it a statement and not a question. With her leading him by one hand and Cady's shove from behind he found himself making his way to the dancefloor.
Vic turned and placed herself in his arms, one hand in his and one around his waist and whispered loud enough to be heard some distance away "Not embarrassed to dance with me are you Walt?" and he sighed and took her in his arms, and started a slow two step.
She smiled lazily up at him, melding her body a little closer than necessary, and forced him to slow right down, the music was a sad blues love song, slow and seductive, and he found himself following the undeniably sexy beat of the words and the mournful guitar. It sounded vaguely familiar.
He was concentrating so much on the music that he started when the woman in his arms, who he had to admit danced better than he thought spoke, voice still low and husky but this time pitched for his ears alone "They say dancing is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire". When the guitar mournfully wailed its pain to the world, she loosened her hand from his, spun out then back til her back was to his chest and she slowly, in time with the music, swayed her body against his, down and up and down again.
This time when she spun out it was at his direction, and as the guitar pitched itself higher and higher, he circled them in fast tight circles, one hand tight at her lower back pressing their hips tight together, feet stepping lightly and fast.
Without warning he spun her out, and back, and out again a different way, and the rest of the dancers were giving them room now, so he did a complicated spin and release, stepping quickly sideways to catch his nearly breathless dancer and spin them around in those tight fast circles again.
The guitar solo was driving the rhythm again and heading down the other side from the piercing loneliness, so he slowed it right down, rocking them both driving from the hips. The crowd was watching avidly, and a few claps and whistles. He essayed some more swaying, and closed his eyes for a moment as Vic did the same, taking the opportunity to grind her hips into his. The music slowed right down now and he judged his moment, spinning her out and around and around and around bringing her hard against him, bracing them both and dipping her deeply back, much to the appreciation of the audience.
He wasn't sure who else noticed the hand he slid from the back of her knee, almost all the way up the back of her thigh during the dip, but the blonde who whispered "Sheriff!" in fake outraged tones certainly did. It was lucky she chose to walk back to the bar in front of him, still clasping his hand in hers up over her shoulder as they made their way through the crowd to much applause.
The rest of his beer was thankfully waiting for him and Walt took an appreciative and necessary pull, he had forgotten how much work slow dancing was. Cady was laughing and talking with Vic who also drained a healthy amount of her beer, talking to Cady but her eyes were on him. Thoughtful, pondering eyes.
Henry's eyes were also thoughtful and pondering, and he essayed another slow and yet again unhelpful nod, this time with a slow and knowing smile. Walt sighed and drained his beer, leaning with both elbows on the bar, to get his breath back, when a familiar orangeblossom fragrance and a firm hand on his thigh announced the arrival of Vic into his personal space.
She leaned forward, lips nearly touching his ear and sang very softly "I've still got the blues for you" and pulled back to lean against the bar and cast a flirtatious laughing glance at Henry "Henry I think I need dancing lessons to keep up with this guy"
Henry nodded, placing both elegant hands on the bar "Vic I am not so sure, but I am not the man to ask" and she looked at him in curiousity. Henry spread his hands in surrender "Walt is a much better dancer than I am, if you want lessons you will have to ask him"
Walt quailed slightly under the three pairs of eyes now trained on him, as Vic leaned slightly forward and said in that husky tone "Well Sheriff?" and as he felt himself redden she continued "Private lessons of course, its so hard to concentrate when you have an audience" and Walt suddenly couldn't breathe.
Henry provided a welcome interruption with another round of drinks, and he hid a sigh of relief as attentions were directed elsewhere. Vic was now leaning backwards against the bar, a drink in one hand and seemingly watching the other dancers across the room when she said softly for his ears only "We will continue this later Walt". A hand reached out to firmly squeeze him on the inner thigh, very firmly and very high up, and she walked away, calling out to Cady to come dance with her again.
Boy howdy!
My iPod threw me a Gary Moore song and it reminded me I hadn't heard Still Got The Blues for a while, so I got that going and suddenly this scene created itself in my head during the rest of the drive home.
Enjoy and feedback always welcome.
FWIW I studied Swing Dance for 3 years and did some beginner Blues classes in my last year, its very very sexy to dance with a partner to blues.