Chapter 2 #2
Cassie envied Janay’s ease in crowds and her love of social interactions.
Cassie wasn’t sure how much of it was Janay’s innate personality and how much was her being born and raised in New Orleans, probably a bit of both.
No one was ever a stranger in her presence.
Cassie, on the other hand, was originally from Boston.
And though she had lost much of the harsh accent over the last fifteen years she had lived in NOLA, it was not the smooth Cajun lullaby of accents from this region.
But what she lacked in smoothness in tone, her personality made up for in its jovial, welcoming acceptance.
Others always assumed it was a natural ability, but it took a lot of work some days.
Rosie’s was packed. Other than a few clubs with an occasional LGBTQ+ night, Rosie’s was the constant, the only queer club in the city catering to women.
It was primarily a dance club with a huge dance floor surrounded by a bar that ran the length of one wall and booths for people to sit down.
A couple of pool tables along one of the walls were for those who didn’t enjoy dancing or who needed a break between songs.
The lights throughout cast a pink glow, creating even more of a sultry ambience than a space full of women dancing with each other.
The smell of sweat, perfume, and alcohol seemed as permanent a fixture as the furniture around them.
“I wanna dance.” Janay pulled Cassie’s hand, leading her through the sweaty mob to the center of the dance floor. She raised Cassie’s hand and twirled her. “Dance with me, Cas!”
Cassie laughed and flung her free arm in the air “Stayin’ Alive” style before Janay twirled her back and dipped her.
As soon as Cassie was back on her feet, Janay moved on to dance with the people around her.
When Janay danced, people were drawn to her.
She allowed everyone around her to let down their guard, let go, and just live. Even if only for one dance.
Cassie loved to dance and was generally okay with being on her own on the dance floor. She didn’t have the magnetism that Janay exuded, but she was chill enough that she could enjoy herself almost anywhere.
As the night wore on and Cassie became increasingly hot and sweaty, she caught Janay’s eye. She waved her hand in front of her face like a fan and Janay nodded, returning a sign for a drink.
Off the dance floor, Cassie found a somewhat quiet area near an empty booth in the corner of the room. The tabletop held several abandoned drinks, some with napkins tossed haphazardly inside them, so Cassie stood as she waited for Janay.
“Hey!” Janay appeared through the crowd of women and handed her a glass of ice water. Janay somehow still looked fresh and vibrant, her rich umber complexion barely glistening in the lights from the dance floor whereas, Cassie was pretty sure she looked like a drowned rat.
“Oh my god, thank you!” Cassie grabbed the glass and gulped nearly half of it immediately.
“Sorry I took so long. I ran into . . .” There was no need to keep listening. Janay always ran into someone and always took longer than expected as a result. Even as she was telling the story, more people interrupted Janay and dragged her back to the dance floor.
Cassie took a few moments, enjoying the break from sweaty bodies bumping into her and the hot cloud of sweat and body odor enveloping the dance floor. She took one final sip of her water and bopped back to the dance floor.
She searched for Janay as she danced her way past people. Most people jumped around and matched the fast tempo, except for the few who were grinding their way to a more sensual experience, unaware of the song or people around them.
Cassie found a spot behind a group of people and swayed to the tune.
She raised her arms in the air, closed her eyes, and for a moment, despite the crowded room, she felt free.
As the song ended, her eyes opened once again and she watched several people leave the dance floor.
It was past 1 a.m. and the room was emptying slowly.
Janay usually closed the place down, and Cassie normally went home before her, but tonight she wanted to keep dancing.
The DJ played a slower song with a heavy beat as Janay appeared and slow danced with her.
A group of women cleared out behind Janay, and Cassie’s eyes fell on the woman beyond them.
She took in the skintight leather vest with nothing underneath and the leather pants, the way the woman moved to the music and against the woman in her arms. She was intriguing and sexy as hell, and though Cassie could feel herself staring, something wouldn’t let her look away.
The woman whispered something into her partner’s ear that made her smile, then ran her hand through her own wild hair, revealing her face.
Drea. Before Cassie could look away, Drea’s eyes lifted and caught Cassie watching.
Cassie let go of Janay, horrified at the thought that Drea had caught her drooling over her. Well, a hot woman who was moving sensuously on the dance floor. Not Drea. If she had known it was Drea, obviously she wouldn’t have watched.
Janay didn’t even notice something was wrong, a dazed smile lingering on her lips from a few cocktails earlier in the night.
She took Cassie’s hand and twirled her around, the move pulling laughter from Cassie as she smiled at her ridiculously adorable friend.
Her worries calmed as she felt the joy and freedom that she always felt dancing.
It was her happy place. Even more so now than when she used to drink.
She connected even more deeply to the music without alcohol as a numbing agent.
When the music stilled, she risked a glance in Drea’s direction, but she was gone. She scanned the room and saw Drea leaving with the woman from the dance floor.
The tinge of disappointment in the pit of Cassie’s stomach surprised and alarmed her.
This ridiculous jealousy over watching Drea leave with some hottie would be unbearable if they were dating.
Thank god they never would be. She knew Drea’s reputation.
Tonight was par for the course where Drea was concerned.
And Cassie was definitely not that kind of girl.