First Dance
Point of view: Lucy Jones, first person.

"So, whose idea was this?" I was smiling at Bobby, the music so loud I could barely hear my own voice. I could see Bobby replying, but had no idea what he was saying. So, I smiled and kind of nodded, and then finally I shrugged. He smiled because he could tell I had no idea what he was saying. I watched him point to the bar, indicating he was getting himself something to drink, asking me if I wanted anything. I pointed to the same glass of water I'd had for the past 30 minutes, that was still pretty full. I watched him walk off to get another beer.

The club was fairly crowded, mostly people in their 30s, well, maybe their late 20s. I was a terrible judge of age. We were out with Alex Eames and her NYPD firefighter friend Jon Riddle. He was very nice, perhaps a few years younger than me, which made him a several years younger than Alex. But, they seemed great together. I had never really seen Alex having fun. Mostly, when I had occasion to meet Alex or talk with Alex, the situation was decidedly not fun.

Bobby returned with his beer and stood next to me. We were on some kind of upper deck, with the dance floor like ½ a floor below us. I could see Alex dancing with Jon; they were smiling at each other and acting generally pretty goofy. I felt like I was in some kind of alternate reality, watching acerbic Alex Eames be a bit goofy.

Bobby was tapping my shoulder, and I could see him talking to me, but I still could not hear a word he was saying. Again, I did the smile and shrug thing, and he gave up on conversing with me. We stood next to each other and people watched for a while. I thought that Bobby seemed pretty comfortable in any venue when he could be left be left alone, and be the observer. He reminded me of a social scientist, kind of studying the culture around him.

I, of course, was studying him. Sometimes, I just couldn't help myself. Each time I thought I had a part of him figured out, I realized I was only scratching the surface of some deeper complexity. Though tonight, there was nothing particularly deep about my thoughts. I was simply admiring how handsome he looked. He was wearing a dark button down shirt and dark pants. I thought to myself that in terms of his attire, he kind of fit into the crowd in the club. But as always, his size seemed to set him apart. He really was much taller than most men, and just generally a lot bigger. I smiled to myself as I realized his age kind of set him apart as well. His short salt and pepper hair gave him away as no longer 20, and no longer 30.

I watched him set his empty beer glass onto the table. He gestured toward the dance floor and grabbed me by the hand. At first I smiled widely, clearly revealing that I thought he was kidding. I could not remember the last time I had been to a club like this, let alone the last time I had danced at a club like this. He tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me forward a few steps. Too late, I realized he was serious. I had never danced with him before, in fact I had never even seen him dance. I couldn't really fathom why he was choosing this moment for our first dance, in this crowded club. Maybe it was the third beer he had just finished that had set him over the edge. But my inhibitions were still firmly in place, and I was nervous as he led me down the short flight of stairs and propelled me out onto the dance floor.

I could hear Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" starting, and I actually laughed out loud. The experience was becoming more surreal by the moment. I could see Alex and Jon leaving the dance floor, as were quite a few other people. The retro tune was probably not their speed. But, I was soon to find out it was most definitely the perfect song for Bobby.

Without even missing a beat of the music, he moved one arm around me, the other holding my hand. We were about 30 seconds into the song when I realized that Bobby was effortlessly leading me through an incredible rendition of the hustle.

I gave myself to Bobby and let him lead me through the Marvin Gaye lyrics, – I used to go out to parties; And stand around; 'Cause I was too nervous; To really get down; And my body yearned to be free; So I got up on the floor and found; Someone to choose me. My father used to dance with me all of the time, and though I was no where near as comfortable with the hustle as Bobby appeared to me, I was pretty good at following a strong leader, and Bobby was incredible.

As the song neared the end, he gracefully spun me out in a full turn, and when he brought me back in, my back was to his chest, his arms wrapped around me, and he dipped me slightly backward and kissed me softly on the lips. I couldn't help it, I burst into giggles, and reached up to touch his face. I felt like I was in that scene in Saturday Night Fever, when John Travolta spun the Stephanie character around in a very similar move.

He pulled me up from the dip, spun me around to face him, and kissed me again, this time, pulling me close. I threaded my arms around him and kissed him so soundly that he actually lifted my feet off the floor.

Author's Note: Many thanks to SoutherGaelic and JanxAngel for First Dance. In my mind, there are two standout episodes where Bobby hits the dance floor (one is in some kind of dance class where he is trying to figure out who is robbing banks by strapping a fake bomb to herself (supposed to be fake anyway), another where he is questioning a paid-to-dance-club girl in relation to the murder of her petite friend). In both he is super, super sexy.

Funny right, but I definitely remember the hustle. I bet Bobby knows all kinds of dances. Thanks for all of the ideas and reviews.