A-Z Challenge: D is for Dancing 'til the world ends

Music does something to me - I can't explain it. The right song comes on, and the energy that kick starts inside of me insists that I move with the beat. So, naturally, the "playlist" in my head for Moonlit is something I take pretty seriously. Of course I'm about to say the name: Britney Spears, so maybe that hurts my credibility...

Anyways, there's a scene in Moonlit when Tanzy and Vanessa go dancing at a swanky nightclub - with some unforeseeable consequences. I can see it in my head, the bright, iridescent energy swirling around the room full of throbbing, wanting people. And I hear Britney Spear's song: Dancing 'til the World Ends every time I read the scene.

Tanzy isn't one to let loose, so she takes some coaxing from Vanessa on the way there. Check out an excerpt from Moonlit, where Tanzy gets her first taste of letting go:

           “That’s a good song. Turn it up,” Vanessa says, and starts to dance in the driver’s seat. “Come on, Tanzy.”

I turn up the volume and nod along to the beat.

“Aw, you’ve got more than that.”

“I don’t know how to dance,” I finally admit.

“You don’t have to know how to dance, you just have to know how to let go,” she says, and promptly releases the steering wheel. She twirls her hands above her head as we fly down a straight road.

“Vanessa!”

“I’m not stopping until you start,” she teases.

I do my best to copy her.

“Do you feel that? How can you not want to move? Close your eyes and feel it, Tanzy.”

Well, at least this way if we crash I won’t have to see it coming. I hold in a breath and close my eyes. The deep bass thumps like a heartbeat. My hands drum against my knees as the sounds flood my veins.

“There you go!” she says. I open my eyes and Vanessa grins in approval as she rocks her hips in her seat. I mimic her movement, feeling the little twists in my waist. My shoulders join in, rolling side to side with the music. Before I can stop them, my fingers press against the ceiling of her car and my body sways to the pounding rhythm.

Louisville’s lights fly past like a whirling disco ball as we speed through the city. Vanessa throws her head back with laughter, and I can’t help but want to feel just how she does in this exact moment. At last, I let go of the final thread of hesitation. I brace myself, sure it will feel like falling. But it doesn’t. Not at all. I’m soaring. I’m free.

 

You know what else starts with D? Discount! A friend of mine saw that Barnes and Noble online (BN.com) is currently offering print versions of Moonlit for $10.95. The price for print copies on Amazon (amazon.com) is also reduced, and they're selling kindle copies for $1.99.