Vegas to Varanasi (Fortytude Series Book 1) by Shelly Hickman

mouth, only to discover she’s reached the bottom of her drink. “Ah, damn it! I need a refill. I’m gonna get us another round. Hold that thought!” She points a finger at me before she heads for the bar.
    I continue to watch as the couples circle the floor, the men spinning the women as they make their way around. How do they do that? When I was a kid, my parents used to go disco dancing and my dad taught me in our living room, mostly to Donna Summer music. It wasn’t too hard because, really, the guy does all the work, but you stayed in one place. You weren’t twirling and traveling around the floor at the same time.
    I try to locate the elderly gentleman, but seem to have lost him. When I turn my gaze away from the dance floor, he’s standing just a couple feet away, towering over me with a kindly smile. He must be at least six four, or else it’s the cowboy hat adding to his stature. “Hello, Miss. I was wondering if you would like to join me for a dance.”
    I’m taken off guard and quickly scan the place for Julia because I don’t want to lose our seats. Then again, we’ll lose them the minute we decide to brave our new dance moves anyway.
    “I’d love to, but I don’t know how to dance like that. At all.”
    Julia comes up behind him with drinks in hand and smirks.
    “The only way you’ll ever learn is by giving it a shot,” he says. “I saw you watching everyone and you looked like you’re dying to try. I promise I’m a good teacher.” He holds out his hand.
    Julia joins in. “Go ahead! Your drink will be waiting when you’re done.”
    I glance around uneasily. “Okay, but I hope I don’t cause a pileup.” I hop off my barstool.
    “I’m Martin, by the way,” he says once we’re on the floor.
    “Nice to meet you, Martin. I’m Anna.” The woman he was with earlier must not have been his wife because she’s nowhere to be seen. It seems he just comes here to dance, and I envy his spunk.
    “Alright, Anna.” He takes my right hand in his left and places his other hand on my shoulder blade. His arm is right beneath my armpit and it feels way too high, but I as I look around, that appears to be standard form. I hope I don’t sweat on the poor guy. “Now, place your other hand just below my shoulder,” he instructs before letting out a chuckle. “Don’t look so panicked. You’re gonna do fine.”
    I respond with a brief nod.
    “The steps are very simple. When I step with my left, you step with your right. And it’s just two quick steps, followed by two slow steps.” He moves backwards, pulling me along with him. Some of the couples passing give me encouraging smiles.
    “So it’s quick, quick, slow, slow. Just like this,” Martin says.
    A couple of times I accidentally step with the wrong foot, landing on his boot. “D’oh! I’m sorry!”
    “Nah, it’s alright. You’re doing just fine. You might wanna stop looking at your feet, though. I tend to think it hurts more than it helps.”
    I lift my head and he gives me an appraising nod. “See? Now you’ve got it!”
    For about half a minute, I have all the grace of a hippo. But after that, I finally start to get my rhythm. “Hey, this isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
    “I told you.”
    As we pass Julia, she grins and gives me a thumbs up.
    “Are you ready for me to give you a twirl?” Martin asks.
    “Sure. Why not?”
    He twirls me once and I momentarily lose my stepping, but quickly recover. “Thank you for the lesson. This is a lot of fun!”
    “See? Sometimes we tell ourselves we’re not cut out for something, but when we give it a chance, we find out how wrong we were.”

 
    Fifteen
     
    Carly sits on the edge of my bed as I pull on a pair of jeans. “So, what are we calling this outing with Kiran? Is it a date?”
    “No, it’s not a date. We’re gonna walk through the Shark Reef and grab a cup of coffee afterwards.” I slip on my flip flops.
    “Are you sure he doesn’t consider it a