began to end their routine and the other eight made an entrance, jumping and flipping into the center of the circle. The group did a pose as the music ended and all light in the tent died and they were spotlit. The crowd roared cheers and the lights came up and they rushed in to meet the performers and dance to the music.
The lights flashed around us to the beat of the music. People on the dance floor swayed back and forth with some girls running their hands over each other, and others running their hands through the air as guys would approach with an arm outstretched. It looked like they were asking for acceptance. It was more surprising when one girl turned her back on a guy and he slumped away, disappointed, into a group of his laughing friends. However, if the girl was inviting, the guy would put their hands around the girl’s waist and it was like the two would become one, moving around each other as if her on gravitational pull was keeping them from getting too far apart. Sam took my hand and led me over to the bar and got us some strawberry juice.
"What is this place?" I asked her having to shout over the music.
"It's club Masteria, it’s not like other places where the guys just grope you, only for you to turn to see some ugly ass guy and not the cute and shy guy you hoped for because that's just a contradiction. Here, it’s the girl’s choice. That makes the guys who come here look and behave differently," she explained and I looked around and there were very few people I would say I wouldn't find attractive.
"If a guy sees a girl he likes, he will ask to join her," she continued. "Look over there." Sam pointed to a girl who was moving her hips like a wave and had her hands in the air, swaying like leaves in the wind. A guy made his way over to her, his hand outstretched towards her, and she noticed, giving him a wink. She spun and he caught her in a low dip. Holding her hand, he began to circle her, spinning her, and I could see the joy on her face. They drew even closer. He moved and placed his hands on her hips, She placed a hand on his cheek, and they began to dance as if they had been partners for years.
"When I found this place online, people always said that the connections you made with people here were really strange at times," she said a little awestruck. "But yeah, it’s all about her choice though. If the girl doesn't accept, but the guy is pushy... see the guys floating around the edge? They will pull him out and allow the girl to keep looking. Here, it’s about attraction and the chase." Sam smiled, she knew attraction, but had never chased anyone, she didn't need to. "I'm going to try it," she said, pushing off the little bar and making her way onto the dance floor.
She shook her hips swaying left and right as she walked onto the crowded dance floor, any guy would have described her as breathtaking when she moved. I didn’t know she was capable of moving like she did. I saw several of the guys around the club look up at her and I could feel a shift in the room as some were trying to decide if the public rejection was worth the risk of a dance with her. A year ago for her birthday, her mother had given Sam belly dancing lessons as a gift after Sam swore it was strictly to tone her stomach. However, it had a greater purpose tonight, at least in Sam’s opinion. The short skirt she wore would flutter and rise just a bit every time she spun or moved extra passionately, just enough to show a little more leg and nothing more. She spent maybe two or three minutes alone on the dance floor until I saw the guy move in and she stopped mid-dance, posing to stare at him with her hands raised and a sly look on her face. The guy stretched out a hand in a gesture to see if she would accept, and she took a step towards him,