September 25: Foam Party Love

The first time I saw her, she was soaking wet. I was with my friends and she was with hers. The room was dark and noisy with the sounds of laughter and celebration. Foam rained down from the ceiling and everyone danced in the damp surroundings. As the party and chaos continued, our eyes kept meeting from across the room until we found ourselves holding each other within the clutches of dance. Like sponges, we absorbed the soapy suds and cold water. We clung together before separating and spraying each other with fits of laughter.

We remained together for what seemed like minutes but felt like hours at the same time. Lost in conversation and flirtation, the room began to spin. Whether it was the detergent's scent or the sheer feeling of happiness, I'll never know but the room continued to spin faster and faster. Forced by the pull of gravity, I found myself against a wall where I was unable to pry myself free. With every rotation of the room, I grew more and more dizzy. I wondered where she had disappeared to, but I was too consumed with my lightheaded state.

I prayed for stillness. I prayed I wouldn't get sick. I prayed to see her again once more before the end of the night, but more than anything, I prayed for the room to stop spinning. And just like that, it did. Weak and exhausted, I peeled myself from the wall and collapsed into a cold, damp pile. The noise had stopped. The suds had stopped. The room had stopped. I faintly remember looking around the dark and humid room at a collection of tired beings that looked the same way I felt. The room exploded in light just before fatigue won the battle, forcing me to close my eyes and pass out.

When I woke up, I had the sensation of floating. Where was I? Was this another club? Still damp from the previous party, my body was warm and rapidly drying. As if in a dream of clouds, I tumbled feet over head and head over feet. I softly bounced around this room of wonder. When I had gathered my bearings, I was able to look around with a clearer state of mind.

I was in another room of recognizable faces. It was the same crowd that was at the foam party! I saw my group of friends. I saw her group of friends. Where was she? I slowly danced around the room in desperate search for the girl I had quickly fallen for. Warm, relaxed, and soft I brushed against strangers and friends alike until I spotted her. She was more elegant than I remembered. Her dark skin was smooth and silky. Paralyzed by her beauty, I stared until she turned and saw me. With a smile that made my heart leap into my throat, she glided toward me and I pulled her into my now-dry arms. We picked up right where we had left off at the foam party with the exception of a slower, more rhythmic sway. We danced. We laughed. We floated around the hot room and were held together by a static electricity that was pleasant and surreal.

Without warning, the room again exploded into light. Shocked and stunned, the occupants of the room dropped to the floor. My dance partner and I remained together, but we quickly found ourselves in a hot pile of strangers. Within the confines of the pile, I magically felt weightless. By forces I cannot explain, the group was pulled from the room and thrown on to a soft, flat surface where our pile fell apart.

I lied on this foreign land holding on to the girl of my dreams until I felt something grab my body and watched something grab hers. We held on to each other as the two things tried to pull us apart. The static that kept us together throughout our final dance sparked and crackled as our two bodies were separated. I watched in agony as this unexplained force placed her with her friends. She reached for me as I was deposited amongst my own.

I have no sense of time. I don't know how long ago that fateful night was. I don't know how long I've been in this dark cedar-scented place. All I can think about is when I'll see her again. I would give anything for another night with her. I would put up with spinning room and the warm floating room. I yearn for her silky touch. I long for the static cling.