Page 27 of The Explorer
Indiana gave a grunt in support of my review of the drink.
“Then go get something else to drink. Do you want me to introduce you to people, or would you like to browse the place for yourself first?”
Indiana and I exchanged a glance and then he spoke. “Aubri and I will go and dance.”
“Dance? Don’t you need to be drunk for that?” I asked because the times we had danced had always involved Indiana being intoxicated.
With a disgusted look to the spicy drink in his hands, Indiana emptied the glass in one go like it was medicine that needed to be taken.
I followed his example and stuck out my tongue as if that would help get rid of the awful taste.
After we set down our empty glasses, Indiana led me back down to the dance floor.
The music had a strong beat and many of the French people were jumping up and down and singing along. Others were swaying with a partner and a few even kissed on the dance floor.
We had bars in the Northlands, but this was like something from before the Toxic War when there had been even numbers of men and women.
We’d attracted attention from the moment we entered the club. Maybe it was the way we took everything in with open curiosity, or maybe our size and way of carrying ourselves revealed that we were different.
Indiana was the tallest one in the club, but plenty of the men were taller than me. Even with my six feet, Indiana still had eight inches on me. It was weird how back home I’d never thought of him as large since he walked around with Mason, who was taller. Seeing him among the Europeans, he looked different somehow.
All eyes were on us although no one dared approach us in the beginning. I saw Alex dance with a blonde with purple eyebrows. They looked like old friends and smiled a lot.
I wasn’t surprised that the French had a different style of dancing from us, but I didn’t like how much attention we drew with our different looks and moves. We were athletic by nature and both of us had rhythm. I enjoyed the music, but I wasn’t as good as Indiana when it came to shutting everyone else out and focusing on us.
After twenty minutes of upbeat dancing, the music changed to a slower pace.
“Wanna find a place to sit for moment?” I shouted to Indiana over the music.
He nodded and steered me toward Banni, who sat in a corner with a large group of mostly women.
“Come join us,” Banni called out to us and moved to make room for me between him and an elegant woman with black hair.
Indiana sat down opposite us and right away some of the women moved closer to him and asked him questions.
“Aubri, let me introduce you to my new friend, Lucille. She was just admiring your dancing.”
The woman pushed her styled hair back and gave me a warm smile. “You and your friend have good rhythm and toned bodies; are you dancers?”
“No, but we are used to being physically active, if that counts.”
She had pretty features that I found pleasing and I wondered if Banni had introduced us because of my comment that I wouldn’t mind a sexual experience with a woman.
When she lifted her hand, I saw that, like most people here, she wore a lot of jewelry. The light in the room reflected on her many rings and bracelets.
I sat still as her fingers played with my red locks.
“Is this your real hair color?”
“Oui.” It was one of the few words I’d picked up this past week in Old Europe.
“C’est magnifique.” Her choice of words was close enough to English that I understood her praise.
“Merci.”
I was impressed with myself and figured that before I left this country, I’d be fluent in French.
Lucille’s fingers were still playing with my hair when Banni pushed a drink into my hand.
