Dance with me

The Meridian Ballroom was open with a wooden floor that had no bubbles and a chandelier. People that knew I was from East Saint Louis would have thought that I didn’t have the experience of knowing that a ballroom received a certain ambiance. I traveled since I was 3 and these opportunities were afforded to me, however since I set foot on the campus and told people where I was from they assumed that I came from a state of nothing. I was so surprised to see all the students that were there. It was hundreds of people ready to dance. I also went to dances and got my first kiss at one in Centreville. I spied a familiar face across the room and we were dancing hard on the same beat. In those days that was hard to find. We could grind but some guys liked to rub their body against yours while others wanted you to face them. At this point I never did either, I had a great body, yellow teeth and was consistently musty. Plenty of boyfriends though, so should I have complained. I don’t think so. Either way this day I remembered deodorant and I just showered before the dance. This is when my familiar partner reached me. He was happy to share the floor with me and follow me around. I was used to having guys as friends and he was ready to share his new found freedom with me. We were inseparable. Just dancing into the night, exchanging apartment numbers, and leaving at midnight.