Chapter 5 - Dancing With A Stranger
"I'm sorry but you've got the wrong person. I'm Dylan."
Dylan?
Dylan?
DYLAN?!
How could he lie to my face?
He had told me not long ago that his name was Dennis and he had said it like he had meant it. But now he was telling me that his name was Dylan?
"Does he have a multiple personality disorder or something?" I whispered to myself. I groaned loudly as I turned in my bed. 675Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxgW7NkiIY
What was going on? I screamed in my head.
This was what my morning was like the day after the class. I couldn't stop turning in my bed as thoughts about Dennis─Dylan─ whatever his name was, filled my mind. I slowly willed myself out of my bed as I heard the sound of my alarm filling my room.
After rushing around, I was finally able to leave, prepared to start the work day. After my usual drive, I entered the building, saying good morning to Dan on the way to my office.
When I opened the door, I was surprised to find someone already inside, sitting on my seat with their back towards me, probably looking out the window.
"Um can I help you?" I asked, startling the person based on their quick reaction. The person stood up and turned to face me.
"Nate?" I asked, surprised to see him in my office.
"Yeah sorry I wanted to ask you about something... But I changed my mind," he said. I slowly nodded my head as he began to walk towards me but I stopped him when I spoke.
"You said that Dylan was your friend right?" I asked him, earning a nod of his head.
"Yeah why?" he asked.
"Well I met someone not long ago and he looked exactly like Dylan. But he said that his name was Dennis." As soon as I said the last part, his eyes lit up in recognition, a small smile appearing on his face.
"You're talking about his twin," he said casually.
So they were twins, I thought to myself, he wasn't lying after all. Nate walked closer to me and stopped beside me in the doorway. I turned slightly to look at him, expecting him to say something. But instead, he sighed and walked out.
He had been acting odd when Lexxie had been proposed to and now he was still not his usual self. I wasn't sure if I should've been worried or not. I shrugged dismissively and entered the office.
---
"Ready?" The sound of Elisa's voice caused me to look up from what I was doing. I smiled slightly as I nodded, getting up and joining her at the door. Instead of walking, she continued to stand there, looking at me in surprise.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, slightly worried.
"Well I usually have to force you to go but today you're not putting up a fight." She replied thoughtfully. I rolled my eyes as I left my office, hearing her walk behind me.
"I want to see how things are going for our newly engaged friend. Is that so bad?" I asked her.
"I guess not," she said.
"Looking fine, ladies." Dan's voice caused us to groan in unison.
"When are you ever going to stop, Dan?" Elisa asked him rhetorically. But he didn't seem to get the message.
"When one of you realizes how much you're in love with me and decides to marry me." I rolled my eyes again and followed a retreating Elisa.
"Bye Dan."
At the sound of his chuckle, I couldn't help but to smile. I entered the elevator with Elisa when I heard my phone ring. I quickly took it out of my purse and answered to an excited Lexxie.
"Where are you guys?" she screamed, causing me to remove the phone from my ear to let it recover.
"We're on our way. Why?" I asked her.
"I just got a great idea for the wedding and we need to talk about it. Hurry before I forget!" Before I could tell her to write it down, she hung up the phone. I shook my head as I felt my lips turn into a smile.
"Was that Lexxie?" Elisa asked, looking at me curiously. I nodded and told her what I had been told.
"What do you think of a beach side wedding?" we heard Lexxie say as we walked to our usual spot.
"Sounds romantic. But what if it rains or something?" Alyce asked her. Lexxie's face dropped as she thought of that possibility.
"You know how hard it is to trust meteorologists," I said jokingly, taking my seat across from her. Elisa sat beside me as she nodded in agreement.
"But it sounds so nice don't you think?" Lexxie asked.
"Well it's your wedding so it's up to you to choose the venue," Alyce said.
"Let me see the ring," Elisa interrupted enthusiastically. Lexxie reached over the table to show her magnificent ring, her smile full of pride. It was so beautiful and it looked even more amazing on my friend's finger.
"I'm so happy for you Lexxie," I said. She turned to look at me and leaned across the table for a hug. I returned her hug before returning to my seat.
"Do you know what would make you even more happy?" Alyce asked me, her expression one of mischief.
"What?" I asked, slightly curious.
"If you found your Mr. Right and got married too." My eyes immediately widened at her words as I shook my head.
"That's not happening any time soon." I looked down as I began to fidget my fingers.
"You never know, maybe you've already met him," Elisa said, gently bumping into me with her elbow.
"You sound like you have someone in mind for me," I said to her, wondering who it was that she was thinking of.
"Maybe I do," was her defiant reply. I continued to look at her, unsure of whether or not I was supposed to know who she was talking about.
"Anyways! We have to go out tonight," Lexxie said happily. We all looked at her confused as to why she would say that.
"Oh come on, don't look at me like that. We need to go out and celebrate my engagement. It's not everyday that I get engaged," she said, reaching for her drink.
"What do you want to do then?" Alyce asked, causing Lexxie's face to shine brightly.
"Let's go clubbing."
---
I walked out of my car and straightened my shirt and jacket, not quite looking forward to what was to come. I quickly locked the car before walking to the entrance of the familiar club. If it wasn't for Lexxie's celebration, I would've chosen to stay at home.
Sighing, I entered the building, immediately surrounded by loud music and laughter. At the sight of a wave, I walked to the back, unsure of whether it was meant for me or not. Luckily it was Elisa who had waved.
"Hey," I greeted them all, taking a seat beside Alyce. They all replied cheerfully, making me smile. After a few words were exchanged, I went to the bar and ordered a drink. Not long after I had returned, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Would you like to dance?" I heard someone ask as a hand came into view. I turned in search of the person and was surprised to see brown eyes which had plaqued me since last night. Unsure of what to say, I shook my head and returned to my drink. But he persisted.
"Come on Cadence, you know you want to." At the sound of my name, I felt my lips twitch as I tried to fight back a smile. But I wasn't convinced.
"If you let me have one dance, I promise that I'll leave you alone." I turned to face him again as I felt my brow raise in question. He smiled brightly as he gestured his head to his still waiting hand.
"You know you want to Cady," Lexxie said again, causing me to look at her to find her winking at me. But I still stayed in my spot.
Suddenly, everyone at the table began to cheer, egging me to go. Biting my lip slightly to keep back my smile, I removed my hands from the glass and placed one into his waiting hand. They all continued to cheer as I followed Dennis or Dylan to the dance floor.
There was a slow song playing, making me slightly nervous about being close to someone whose name I didn't even know. But almost as if to answer my worry, a Latin song came on. He turned to the DJ and nodded his head as if in approval, earning a nod and smile from the DJ.
"Shall we?" he asked me once he turned around. But before I could answer him, he placed my free hand on his shoulder before placing his on my back. I wasn't sure how this was going to go─I had only been to two classes after all. But with that thought still in my mind, I began to follow him as best as I could.
He started with the basics, taking turns taking steps back and forth, occasionally adding a spin. Not too far away, I could hear the claps of my friends as I felt their eyes on us.
"Why don't we heat things up a bit?" he asked, moving closer to me. I looked at him with widened eyes, slightly afraid of embarrassing myself but he just smiled, a warm smile which slowly started to melt my worries away. I took in a deep breath and looked down as he picked up the pace, not wanting to step on his feet.
But he removed his hand from my back to lift my head, forcing me to look into his eyes, before returning it to my back.
"Look at me, don't worry about your feet too much. Just let the music take over." He mirrored what Nate had said on my first day. And just like then, all I did was nod before following his lead. As the music started to pick up, so did his pace. But surprisingly, I was able to follow his lead, finding him to be a fun partner.
We continued to dance, smoothly transitioning between steps as if we had practiced. The feeling of people leaving the dance floor increased until it felt as if we were the only ones on it. But regardless, we continued to move, feeling the music becoming a part of us and losing ourselves in the fun.
I could hear as the amount of people cheering for us increased but the thought quickly left my mind as his moves got more complicated. But I continued to follow him, refusing to stop now with so much energy coursing through me. We continued until upon hearing the music stop, we stopped moving, looking at each other as we tried to catch our breaths.
"Not bad Cadence," he complimented me, breathing heavily.
"You're not so bad yourself," I replied, smiling. We remained in our positions until a loud sound filled the momentary silence after all the cheers had died down. He quickly looked over at where the sound had come from, causing me to do the same. But he quickly turned my head around before I could see who it was.
"Looks like I have to go now," he said, his eyes filling with sadness before his bright smile caught my attention. "I hope to see you again Cadence." He turned around to leave but I grabbed onto his wrist to stop him. He looked at me slightly puzzled and panicked.
"Are you Dennis or Dylan?" I asked him, still trying to catch my breath. His smile returned.
"Dennis," was what he said before he was dragged away by an elderly woman.
I stood in the center of the dance floor, looking at his retreating figure as I wondered whether I would be able to meet him again.
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