Page 9

"What do you want to do, señor?" he asked in better English than I expected. "You look for mujeres?"
"Mujeres?"
"Women, señor," he smiled, and cupped his hands in front of his chest.
"No, no. Where’s a good place to go dancing?" I asked.
"Rumba."
"Yeah, rumba," I said, thinking he was talking about the dance.
"No, no, señor. Rumba is a club in old San Juan."
"Oh." I felt stupid, but fuck it, I’m on vacation.
"I tell you, señor, the club is small and it gets crowded, but it’s known in San Juan’s underground nightlife circuit as one of the places to go. They film many crowd scenes for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights there."
"Really?"
"Sí, señor."
"That’s where I want to go," I told him. And before long, I was at Rumba. It was packed just as my driver said it would be. I looked around the spot, wishing one more time that Taye had been awake to come with me. I went to the bar and ordered a drink. "Barcardi 151," I called out to the bartender. When he handed it to me, I quickly drained the glass, grabbed the first woman that walked by, and took her out on the dance floor.
While I was out t
here doing my thing, I happened to look around and became excited when I saw Avonte dancing her ass off. She was wearing a flowing white sleeveless dress that tied around the neck, and fell right into those tits I had admired earlier.
I watched her while she danced. She had the prettiest smile and eyes that drew me to her like a bee to honey. When she left the dance floor, I quickly thanked the woman I was dancing with, and went after Avonte. I had never cheated on Taye. The idea never even crossed my mind. Aside from the fact that we hadn’t been having sex on a regular basis, I really loved my wife—even though, lately, she’d been making my life a living hell. All that changed the moment I saw Avonte walk through that lobby. Since that moment, I hadn’t been able to think of anything else.
She went to the bar and I walked up behind her. "Hello again, Avonte."
She turned around quickly when she heard my voice. "Well, hello, Devin."
"You look like you’re enjoying yourself."
"I am. Having a ball," Avonte said, and turned to the bartender. "Kettle One and orange juice." She turned to me. "What are you drinking?"
"Barcardi 151," I told her over the music, leaning close.
When she handed me my drink, I moved closer to her, and once again, I felt the heat of her body. And once again, it caused the same effect.
"Come dance with me," Avonte said when a new song began.
I followed Avonte out on the floor, our drinks in hand. We finished our drinks on the dance floor, discarded our empty glasses on the nearest table, and kept dancing. We stayed out there for a long time. Avonte was quite the salsa dancer. We were smiling and laughing and having a good time. By the time we left the floor, we were both drenched.
We went back to the bar and I ordered another round of drinks. While we drank, we talked about the time we had just spent on the dance floor. Then I asked the question that I had wanted to ask her since I’d first seen her. "Did you come here by yourself tonight?"
"Yes."
"Where’s your husband?" I asked.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Avonte laughed.
"Yeah, but I asked you first."
"To be honest with you, my husband is in New York."
"Is that where you live?" I asked, hoping she’d say yes.