"1-2; 1-2; 1-2-3 step; 1-2-3 step. Don't look at your feet…3 step. Glide, damnit, glide! Listen to the count…no, don't look down! Ugh! HOW CAN YOU BE SO BAD AT THIS?"
Ed stormed across the dance floor and hit stop on the CD player.
"I'm sorry," Danny whined. "I have some sort of mental block. I can't find the rhythm."
Ed sighed in frustration. He had no idea when he told Danny about his surprise for Mary that it would lead to emergency dance lessons for the groom. Danny was insistent that he be able to twirl Mary around the floor without embarrassing them both so he and his boss were currently holed up in one of the small ballrooms at the Montecito the day before the wedding. Ed was pretty sure at this point there was no way he could teach Danny anything remotely resembling dancing before tomorrow.
"Okay, look—let's try a different approach. Think of it this way…dancing is not about steps—those are just the details—it's about a connection. I can't believe I'm about to say this to you, but it's like making love. You have to relax so you can feel the music, not just listen to it. Now, close your eyes and imagine you have Mary in your arms."
Danny obeyed and Ed walked back to the CD and hit play. As the music started again he watched as Danny began to sway. Once he felt like the younger man had found the rhythm he slowly lifted his arms into the dance position. "Now," he said softly, "keep imagining Mary and then glide your feet like I taught you. If you've got moves in the bedroom then you can surely have moves on the dance floor."
That last line was all it took and just like that they were dancing. After a few successful turns around the floor, Ed rolled his eyes.
"I should have known that all it would take was a sex analogy to get you to understand the fundamentals."
They continued to glide across the floor, Danny's movements still stiff, but his rhythm much improved. As the song came to an end Ed stepped back and looked at Danny's bewildered face, "See, you did it. Now all we have to do is teach you how to lead. I'll make a dancer out of you yet."
"I really appreciate this, Ed. Mary loves to dance and it's something I've never been able to do so I really want to surprise her with this."
"Yeah, well as much as I enjoy watching you make a fool of yourself, I'd rather watch the look on your bride's face when you break out the fancy footwork. And besides, who else was going to teach you. It's not like we could get you an emergency gig on Dancing with the Stars."
Danny chuckled and again stood in dance position as he waited for Ed to join him.
"Okay, let's try this again, but this time you're in control. You've done a pretty good job of convincing Mary that you're not a pansy and you'll completely blow it if you get out there and let her lead."
"Got it."
"So, close your eyes again and imagine…well," Ed trailed off as he tried to think of the best way to phrase his instructions. "Well, just…think about what I told you earlier, but this time you're in the driver's seat…so to speak."
After another hour Danny was moving around the floor like a pro…a really bad pro, but it would pass for dancing. Danny spun Ed out and back in time to the music before completing the song with a final dip just as the door to the ballroom swung open.
"I'm sorry. Did you two want to be alone?"
It was a miracle Danny didn't drop Ed right then and there, but he carefully helped his boss back up and glared at a smirking Mike.
"I just thought ya'll might want to know that there's quite a crowd gathering in the security room. They've been watching you guys for the last couple of hours. They've got popcorn and everything."
"It's nice to know that my casino is so well protected," Ed snapped as he shot a disapproving look at one of the cameras.
"I'm just playing, Mr. D," Mike assured him, although it was only partially the truth. They didn't really have any popcorn up there.
Ed rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket off one of the chairs. "I'll see you two knuckleheads tonight," he growled before exiting the ballroom.
"Is he pissed at me or at you?" Mike asked, a little fearful.
"Oh, definitely you. He likes me now," Danny assured him.
"Well, if I'd known all it would take to get on the boss' good side was a little hokey pokey, I would have done it years ago. You guys looked really…um…close."
"Look, Mike, listen…we were just," Danny tried to explain, but Mike cut him off.
"Say no more, my friend. I get it. Doin' a little experimenting before the big day---it's only natural."
"WHAT? I'm not… we weren't…,"
"Danny, it's okay. There's no reason for you to feel ashamed…it's okay to be curious. I've had similar thoughts myself." Mike's last statement was accompanied by a gentle caress to Danny's arm.
Realizing that his best friend was messing with him Danny shrugged off the hand and turned to collect the boom box and his coat. "Very funny, Mikey."
Mike chuckled a bit before turning to help Danny gather his things. "You ready for tonight, man?"
"Definitely!"
"And Mary's still okay with you going?"
"It's my bachelor party, Mike. Mary's not going to deny me that…besides, she doesn't have anything to worry about," Danny was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. A quick look at the display revealed the caller to be his bride and Danny grinned as he hit the "talk" button. "Hey, I was just thinking about you."
"Oooh, good thoughts I hope."
"Always. I'm on my way upstairs to change before Mike and I head out. You with Delinda?"
"Yeah. We're on our way to Ed and Jillian's. I just wanted to tell you to have fun tonight and try not to get into too much trouble."
"We'll be with Ed, sweetie. How much trouble do you think we could get into?"
"Last time you went out with Ed you ended up in jail, Danny."
"True, but this time will be different. I promise I'll be good. I'm not going to do anything to mess up tomorrow, Mary, I swear."
"I know, sweetie. I love you."
"I love you too. Have fun with the girls and I'll see you tomorrow." Danny disconnected the call and turned a menacing look towards his friend. "Mike, if you let me do anything stupid tonight…"
"Woah, Danny? I got your back, man."
"Good."
"Besides, Mary would kill me," Mike shuddered at the thought of pissing off the extremely hormonal redhead.
---
"So, are Danny and Mike headed out for his last night of drunken debauchery?"
"Yep, so now you can spill about what you two have planned for me."
"I already told you, Mary. As soon as we get to the house we're having manis and pedis then Paolo and Ian are coming over to give us massages…isn't that enough?" Delinda inquired, trying to sound innocent.
"Oh, it's more than enough, but I know you two. You've got something else planned and I want to know what it is."
"Good things come to those who wait, my dear Mary," Sam replied just as they turned through the gates of the Deline house.
Mary narrowed her eyes at Sam before turning her glare towards Delinda.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not saying anything…except…there might be hot chocolate involved."
Sam and Delinda squealed as Mary dropped her face into her hands and groaned.
---
Several hours later…
"Attention everyone," the DJ called into the microphone. "We have a very special guest with us tonight at the Spearmint Rhino. Danny is here for his bachelor party." Cheers erupted from the drunken crowd and Danny--feeling no pain after the five pitchers of beer they'd already shared--raised his glass and welcomed the applause while Mike, Ed and the rest of their group laughed at his ego.
It didn't take long for a slender hand to snake its way around Danny's neck and run down his chest. The stripper gently lowered herself into his lap before whispering seductively in his ear, "How about joining me in the Champagne Room?"
"Uhh, …," Danny stumbled a bit over his words as warning bells went off in his head.
"Come on, Danny. It's your last night as a free man," his buddy Roger said as he handed the girl a stack of rhinochips. She took a still-unsure Danny by the hand and led him to the private room in the back of the club as everyone at the table chanted his name over and over again, pounding their fists and beers on the table. Everyone except Mike who had gone to the bar with Ed for more beer. He looked almost as terrified as Danny did when he caught sight of his friend being dragged away by the half-naked woman. Yep, Mary was definitely going to kill them.
Once inside the Champagne Room, the girl helped him sit down on one of the couches and began moving her body erotically to the music as Danny glanced nervously around the room for a possible escape route. Danny had enjoyed his fair share of lap dances in the past and he was all for having a good time tonight, but a private dance was just a little out of his comfort zone on the eve of his wedding to Mary.
He sat on his hands as the girl straddled his hips and pulled her long hair away from her face, finally making eye contact with him.
"Danny? Danny McCoy?"
"Yeah?" Danny was a bit confused at first, but then he realized the girl looked familiar.
"Amy Reed--from Vegas South."
"Amy? Wow, I haven't seen you since high school." Once he knew her name, Danny immediately recognized her from his sophomore English class.
"Yeah, it's been awhile. So you're getting married?" She sat down on the couch next to him and he turned to face her so they could talk—all thoughts of the intimate dance forgotten.
"Yeah," Danny's tone was wistful as he thought about his future with Mary.
"So, you're finally doing right by Mary Connell."
"What? I mean…yes, but how did you know it was Mary?"
"I remember she was always coming in to deliver one thing or another to Mrs. Andrews during English class and you'd get this goofy, faraway look on your face. The same look you have on your face right now."
Danny chuckled. "Was I that obvious?"
"Oh, yeah," she smiled at first, but then it faltered, "Um…so...about the dance."
"You know what. Let's just not and say we did."
"Oh, good because I would feel a little awkward."
"I felt awkward even before I knew who you were so…"
"You're a good guy, Danny," she stood and reached out her hand to help him up off the couch.
"Yeah, well don't let it get out. My buddies would never let me hear the end of it."
---
The same time across town…
"Oh my….oh my……ooooohhhh my!" Mary's eyes were the size of saucers as she watched "Hot Chocolate" bend Sam over backwards and remove a can from his holster. He slowly filled her mouth with whip cream and then lowered a cherry to her lips with his teeth—letting her bite the fruit while he removed the stem.
"Woo hoo! Do Mary next!" Delinda shouted as Jillian drained her margarita.
"No way!" Mary said, unconsciously crossing her legs as the practically naked man turned his sights on her. "No offense, Mr. Chocolate, but I'm good."
"Come on, Mary. You've got to loosen up," Sam told her, licking the cream from her lips.
"I'm loose, I'm just not sure about this," Mary tried to argue, but Sam and Delinda continued to taunt her.
"Don't be a chicken, Mare."
"I just…," Mary stuttered as the stripper reached down and put his hand in her hair. "Hi," she smiled weakly and moved her head out of his grasp. Standing up and putting the overstuffed arm chair between her and him. "Listen, could you just go back over there," she pointed to the other side of the room before she tried to explain to her friends, "I'm sorry. I'm having fun. I really am, but I'm just not comfortable with someone who's not Danny touching me. I mean, geez, before tonight Danny was the only man I'd ever really seen naked."
"How is that possible? You lived with Jake for almost a year," Sam asked incredulously.
"Yeah, well, Jake was a lights out kind of guy. Things were very…,"
"Boring?" Jillian supplied, much to the shock of the other girls.
"Pretty much. It was probably my fault too. I just wasn't comfortable with him. I kept hoping that it would get easier, but it never did."
"You're never going to be comfortable with anyone but Danny," Sam told her.
"Well, it's a good thing she's marrying him then," Hot Chocolate finally spoke in a surprisingly effeminate voice.
All four women stared at him in shock before breaking into a fit of giggles. It took them a moment to regain their composure and then Delinda finally spoke, "Listen, honey, you're smokin' hot, but a little advice…you might want to keep the talking to a minimum."
They all tried to contain their laughter as Delinda helped the guy collect his clothes and showed him to the door, making sure to give him an extra tip for putting up with them.
Once she returned to the living room, Mary had curled back up in the arm chair and was looking a bit uncomfortable under Sam's scrutinizing gaze.
"Would you stop staring at me."
"I'm sorry…I just can't believe you've only been with two guys in your whole life. How can you be sure you're not missing out on something."
"Samantha," Jillian chastised, "Leave Mary alone. I had only been with one other man when I met Eddie. Do you think maybe I made a mistake?"
Sam looked appropriately contrite, "No, ma'am. I just mean…"
"If you're insinuating that Danny isn't good in bed then you're dead wrong, Sam." Delinda suddenly felt the need to defend her former lover, but it did not garner the intended reaction. Her mother shot her a stern look, Mary's face turned ten shades of red and Sam just rolled her eyes. "Too much information?" She asked meekly, trying to make eye contact with Mary.
"Just a little bit, sweetie."
Delinda nodded apologetically while Jillian tried to be the voice of reason. "Mary, honey, don't listen to these girls," she said with another menacing look, "It doesn't matter how Danny compares to other men. What matters is how he makes you feel when you're together."
"He makes me feel amazing," Mary whispered, a soft smile lighting her face.
"Then HoCho's right," Sam conceded, "it is a good thing you're marrying him tomorrow," Sam's last statement was interrupted by the chimes of the grandfather clock in the foyer. They all glanced at the time and then looked back at each other with matching grins.
"Today…you're marrying Danny today ," Delinda corrected before the room erupted in girlish squeals and laughter.