Page 88 of Between Earth and Eternity
“For my birthday, please come dancing with me?” Ori’s dark eyes attempt their best puppy dog impression as I walk out of my room.
“Happy birthday, and no.” I yawn. I had no idea it was even coming up.
“Come on. Just for tonight?” She clasps her hands, begging in a high-pitched tone. “A girl in the singles group told me about an amazing club that would be so perfect.”
“Have you ever been to a dance club before?” I ask lazily, looking for a coffee cup.
“Of course I haven’t, but I want to experience it with you.”
I stare at her skeptically. But Ori has been the only consistently good thing about this entire voyage. I can make her happy on her birthday.
“Is it really your birthday?” I give her a suspicious look.
“Yes!” she exclaims, rolling her eyes.
“Fine,” I say.
She squeals in that excited way she always does when she gets what she wants, and I can’t help but smile.
“Lana told me the partying doesn’t truly begin till after midnight,” Ori says, braiding her silky black hair into two long boxer braids several hours later. Ori insisted that arriving too early would make it appear like we didn’t know what we were doing, to which I promptly pointed out that we had no clue.
“Oh, goodie,” I reply, twisting half of my hair into two buns and securing them with bobby pins on top of my head.
“Here.” She offers me a shimmering sliver contouring stick. “Lana let me borrow this.”
“Who is this Lana you keep talking about?” I take the tube and apply a swipe on each cheekbone.
“You would know if you hung out with the singles group.”
“Has she replaced me then?” I ask half jokingly.
She pauses and suddenly goes serious. “Never.”
I give her a weary look.
“Good.”
I wear a basic black tank top and jean shorts as we enter the club an hour later. I may have never been clubbing, but I know we’ll be glowing with sweat in no time. The good thing aboutthis club is that the dark ambience casts everything in a shroud of obscurity with an electric aura.You can be anyone tonight,it seems to say with every beat of music and flash of light beaming down onto the dance floor. Tonight, I am a woman who wants to unwind and have fun. I want to pretend for a moment that I’m not speeding through space, that the world I know isn’t billions of miles away.
“Ori! Happy Birthday!” A woman pushes through the crowd toward us, a couple of others following in tow.
“Hey, Lana!” Ori replies as she pulls her into a hug. “You remember my friend, Skyler?”
Lana automatically hugs me too. “Of course! We’ve missed you at the single outings.”
I shoot Ori a disapproving look as if to say,you told her to say that, didn’t you?She shrugs with a mischievous grin.
“Come. Come. Let’s grab you two drinks,” Lana exclaims, waving us toward the bar.
We slide into a row of empty stools, and Lana orders all of us the signature drink of the night, but I don’t catch the name of it. It’s purple and fizzy and tastes like a mix of champagne and gin; a couple of sips is all I want or need. The song thrumming through the club shifts into another hypnotic beat.
“Okay, I can’t wait any longer! Let’s go!” Lana exclaims.
All the women give a cheer of approval and make a beeline for the middle of the dance floor. Ori senses my hesitation and drags me into the center of dancing bodies. My feet are heavy, my body stiff and awkward. I’m impatiently waiting for the song to take over me.
“I hate this!” I yell.
She only smiles wide and yells back, “Go with it!”
