‘Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ow ow owwwwwwwwwww!’
‘Derrrrrrrringggggg chicaaaaaaa chica!’
They screeched along to the Latina music, while spinning in the centre of the room, doing an energetic performance with a lot of bending, to get us all in the mood.
Leo side-eyed me and I could see his lips were twitching.
‘Count me out for that,’ I said, as Chico flipped Catarina upside down and held her up by her legs.
‘Me too,’ Brooke said, looking rightly horrified. She hadn’t participated in any of the activities until now, but we were one down without Heidi, so she was getting a taste of her own medicine. A couple of the guests tapped their feet along, delighted, and I could see the hips starting to unconsciously move around the circle, but I don’t think any of us had imagined salsa dancing could be so dramatic… and, er… gymnastic.
‘Welcome class, it is our pleasure to teach you today,’ Chico said, with an elaborate bow.
‘Thank you each for coming on your LAST CRUISE SUNDAY,’ Catarina added, and everyone cheered. ‘We want to get you up and dancing straight away, so Dahlia, please hit on the music.’
‘Everyone to stand on this side of the room,’ Chico said pointing to the left, as he made his way over to the wall opposite.
‘We will do some improvisation,’ Catarina said, standing in front of us as Pixie Lott’s ‘All About Tonight’ started over the speakers. ‘Watch me first!’ she shouted as she strutted over to Chico, waving her hands in the air and wigglingher hips to the beat. She turned with a flourish and pointed to Leo. ‘You next,’ she shouted, and my stomach dropped.Oh please, no. Were we all expected to do it? This was my worst nightmare. A much more embarrassing version of dancing in the middle of a circle of your own friends. Sober and in front of strangers. I really, REALLY didn’t want to do it. Leo lapped it up though – of course he did – striding across the room wielding his air guitar, then dropping to his knees to do a solo.
Catarina clapped to the music and picked out her next victim. A tall woman in a velour tracksuit shimmied across to the beat, followed by a moonwalking man who was loving the whoops and cheers of the crowd. In the blink of an eye there were more people on the right of the room than on the left, and I had no choice but to launch myself forward. I didn’t want to go last. I did a locomotion across the floor and nearly died of mortification, until Brooke grabbed my waist and made it a two-woman conga.
‘Fantastico,’ Chico exclaimed, once we’d all finished. He clapped loudly to quieten the chatter, and Dahlia switched the music to ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ and turned the volume down. ‘Now, we have seen you can dance alone – some of you,’ he said, glancing at Brooke. ‘But dancing is really so much better as a shared experience.’
‘Twice as nice for pleasure,’ Catarina said, with an eyebrow raise.
‘Can you all find yourself a partner and line up here, in front of me.’
I scanned the room in panic. Dancing with Leo would totally give us away, but Brooke and Zach had bagsied a brother and sister – same nose – and everyone else wastaken. I looked around for any spares, but Leo and I were the only ones left.
‘Quickly, quickly,’ Chico shouted. ‘Two by two here please: men this side, women on my left.’
Leo flashed me a smile. ‘Me and you then, huh?’
‘Not again,’ I said, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
‘Whoever leads, needs to position themselves likethis,’ Chico said, clutching Catarina to his chest.
‘And to follow, wrap your leg around your partner, likethis,’ she said, lifting her leg thigh high and hooking it around Chico’s back. ‘If you cannot lift so far, then nuzzle in together, is OK.’ The velour tracksuit lady looked relieved.
‘Let’s stick with the PG version,’ I said, standing opposite Leo.
‘Are you sure?’ he murmured, making my insides melt.
The lights were shining in my face, and I was conscious of my sweaty palms as we held hands. We were the total opposite of Chico and Catarina’s hot, Latino dirty dancing, with at least a foot between us. We looked like we might start country dancing instead.
‘Okaayyy now everyone to follow us please as we lean nice and sloooow, then unfold, stay pressed together and GO; one two cha-cha-cha, three four cha-cha-cha.’ They were rotating their groins as one, in a never-ending circle. I smothered a giggle at the thought of Leo and I dry-humping in public and had to really concentrate on the solemn-faced plaster bust over his shoulder to hold it together.
We stepped back and forth feigning disinterest, but the distance between us made it worse somehow. A palpable vibration fizzed through our bodies as they connected andthe space between us was alive with energy. We were like two magnets attracting, and no matter how hard I tried to keep my distance, I kept getting closer. I couldn’t resist him. It was excruciating.
‘You might need to come forward a little,’ Leo whispered, trying to follow the steps. He moved towards me and put his hand on my back. His hands were soft and cool, but the heat between us was interfering with my chi. I hadn’t danced cheek to cheek with a man like this in… well, in forever.
‘You two get closer, much closer please,’ Chico called over, squeezing his hands together to make his point. ‘This is your holidays, enjoy yourselves, fall in loveall over again. Brrrrrrrrr, reeeeeee,’ he screeched over the music. Like Speedy Gonzales on speed. Was Speedy Gonzales on speed?
It was pointless trying to explain that we weren’t on holiday together and had never been in love. Chico didn’t care, he was already on to the next couple, suggesting they sniff each other’s necks to activate their pheromones.
Leo’s back felt smooth and solid through his shirt, and he flinched as I accidentally scraped my nails against him.
‘Sorry,’ I breathed in his ear.
