He was slammed tonight and could barely get a glimpse of her. The drink orders just kept coming. He hated Saturday nights, with the crowds and the noise and the rude little punks that yelled at him across the bar. She always dressed the way he liked her to when it was busy and it frustrated him until he felt like he could explode.
“I’m taking my break,” he called to Louis, the other bartender. She had a few choice words that he ignored as he escaped. He gulped down some ice water then went right out onto the dance floor and looked for her. Jane. He saw her, wearing all black from head to toe, even black leather gloves and boots. Her pink hair was tousled, and she had on the neon green goggles. She was lithe and moved like water when she danced. He got right next to her and said her name. She turned to him.
“James,” she said and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “James.” His heart was pounding. Her face was like a pixie, with an upturned nose and pointed chin. He had never seen her naked face, it was always behind goggles or dark glasses, but he knew she was beautiful. For fifteen blissful moments he moved with her and felt her small waist between his hands, her hands on his back. He always told her he wanted to see her, that he wanted to spend time with her, speaking boldly over the loud music. She always said she wanted that, too. But if he pressed her, asking when or how, she would dance away and disappear.
“I have to go back,” he said into her ear, “but I want to talk to you when we close. Will you wait for me?” he asked. She drew back slowly, looking at him from behind those goggles, and she smiled. She nodded. He hugged her and felt a happiness he had never known before, it was like a door opened somewhere and light spilled into his heart.
The image above depicts a futuristic cyberpunk portrait of a woman with short pink/red hair, and she wears a dark colored turtleneck. She wears what look like goggles over her eyes, they have bright green lights in circular outlines on each side. There is a bright red background to the image.
Copyright ©2025 Lisa Paul
A Little Bit of Everything, With Love 