Page 26 of See Her

“So, what I’m hearing,” Tyler continues on, “is that this stupid fear of letting the two great things in your life come full circle is the only thing making you act like a fuckin’ pussy.”

My eyes quickly dart to the guy next to him, to see him still watching our exchange like he’s at a damn tennis match. I try not to acknowledge him and stay silent, refusing to let Tyler know he’s right.The noise in the bar rises a little, and I look up to see more people flooding in.

“Fuck,” I huff out. Time to really get to work and it’s fucking hard right now because I can’t get my head in the game. “I can’t deal with this shit tonight,” I say, taking a step back to watch the wave of customers taking their seats.

Tyler looks like he’s at war with himself.

“Tyler, you okay?” I prod. “What’s going on man?”He finally lets out a breath, and stands up abruptly.

“Dammit, Jack. Close out your fuckin’ tabs,” he says, looking like he’s making to leave.

“What are you talking about, where are you going?” I ask, completely confused, wondering what the hell he’s doing.

“I’m going to get my uniform out of my car. Go talk to Mayzie so you can quit acting like a jackass and get back to your life. I’ve got your shift.”I’m still confused and taken aback by what he’s doing, but at the same time, I’m feeling a small sense of relief. Not a complete repose, as things are still sideways with Mayzie, but knowing I don’t have to play nice for customers and that I can actually go and try to fix things makes me feel marginally better.When Tyler comes back about ten minutes later, I don’t know what to say to him.

“You sure you want to do this?” I ask.

“If it helps you get your head out of your ass, then yes,” he rolls his eyes. “And don’t worry about it. Working a Saturday night might get a few more ladies on my dance card.” He sticks his tongue out at me.

“Thanks, man.” I give him a look of gratitude as I walk around the end of the bar and head towards the back entrance.

Mayzie

I storminto Dance It Out, trying to keep my face neutral enough to give Emma a pleasant smile when I get up to the desk. She appears to be the only one here.

"Hi, girl," she greets me. "Whatcha going to do tonight? Work on some choreography?"

"Just need to move,” I say, handing my card over so she can process my payment.

"I hear ya,” she says, after handing it back to me. "Listen, can I give you the keys? It's dead here and I thought I'd duck out early. I'm going to hang around a little while longer, maybe an hour, but can you lock up?"

"Yeah, no problem,” I say, retrieving the keys from her.

"Have fun,” she says, as I head off down the hall.

Once I'm in the studio, I set everything down and grab my dance shorts out of my bag and duck into the bathroom to change. When I come out, I take a drink of water and sync the Bluetooth on my phone to the sound system. I sit down and do some stretches while I scroll through my music app. I know what I'm looking for. When we do classes, it's generally to some pop songs. That’s just how it is; they always have the right beats and they're crowd pleasers, but I like to go off–book sometimes, like tonight. I need something hard hitting and high energy. That calls for my Favorite Rock playlist. It has a decent variety, if I do say so myself; everything from Thunderstruck to Radioactive, and even some old “hair band" classics. It's amazing, the moves and choreography you can put to this stuff, making for a powerful dance piece. More importantly, in my case, it's awesome for working out some aggression and negative emotions. I find it and put it on shuffle as I get up to set my phone out of the way. I do a few more bends and stretches to loosenup my back, shoulders, and hamstrings the best I can. As I let the adrenalizing music set in, I step around the studio, sort of like a tiger pacing. I usually start this way, soaking in the music and letting it take effect first. And then, when I'm ready, I throw myself into it.

13

JACK

Aquick cruise by Mayzie’s house revealed that she’s not home, and I find myself stumped at a red light. I scrub a hand along my jawline while the other rests on the wheel as I wait for the light to change, wracking my brains on where she could be.

I don’t want to be a relentless stalker, but minute by minute I’m coming to realize that things not being right with Mayzie and me means things not being right in my world, period.

When the light switches to green, I continue on aimlessly. I left work to make things right, and I don’t want it to be for nothing. There are a thousand places she could be on a Saturday night, and I feel myself tightening up more with every block.

She’s never seen me play. It’s the one part of myself I’ve never shared…

Then it hits me.

I’ve never seen her dance.

It’s a long shot, but it’s the only definitive place I can think to try.

Twenty minutes later, I pull up in front of the dance studio and see Mayzie’s car parked just a few spots up on the street.I hope what I’m doing won’t piss her off, but I feel the need to take this chance.I need to see her, let her know how I really feel, and try my hardest to make this better.I get out of the truck and head up to the studio,open the glass door, which has theDance It Outlogo etched on it, and walk up to the front desk.Behind it, there’s someone who appears to be another dancer by the way she’s dressed, shutting down the computer and gathering her bags like she’s making to leave.

“Excuse me,” I say, and she looks up.“Is Mayzie Walker here?”

---