Going out should be done during daylight hours today. Tendency to overindulge when the sun is down will be prominent. You might end up pushing limits at any gatherings with friends. Be cautious of shopping and alcohol or you may wake up regretting something you said or did.
~Daily Zodiac App Saturday, July 18, 2020

     My arms formed the wet noodles that whipped above my head as my hips swayed completely out of sync from the beats that raged around me. People kept a safe distance from me on the dance floor. The train wreck that made up my footwork killed any chance of meeting new people. With my friends still sitting at our table enjoying a drink, I had some space to myself.

     "We both knew this was temporary," the words echoed. "We're both too young to settle down. I'm moving overseas for med school, it's a good time to end this."

     I belted out a whoop of excitement, which melted into the drumming K-pop music and choked back the tears that had threatened to form. Hours in a club full of cute guys, and I could only think of the one I never wanted to think of again. A dozen shirtless go-go boys to watch on stage right in front of me, and I could only pine for one on the other side of the world. Once the dance floor started to fill up after midnight, all I did was drink and dance.

     "Long-distance never works out. Why waste years on being miserable when we could spend that time meeting new people and having fun?"

     "I can move too. Just give me a little time. I can find a job there."

     I reprimanded myself. I was supposed to celebrate my new life, not wallow. I already had a new job, which would start in two days. After half a year of fortune-tellers, applications, temple visits, and interviews, a window of opportunity had opened. Come Monday, I was going to be a junior teller for the international transactions counter at Fuhuang Bank.

     "You don't speak a word of German and have no work experience. What kind of job can you get?" Cold eyes locked onto me in a deadpan stare. "Look, we had our little thing. It's been a fun few years, but now is a new chapter in our lives. Time to turn the page to something new."

     The memories seeped through the walls. I danced faster to burn them away, but they just kept coming. I didn't want to meet new people. I had never thought of us as just a fling. After the marriage laws passed last year, I started to think that we would...

     Hips swayed next to mine. Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed them. They weren't invading my space, but they were much closer than anyone else dared get to my flailing. And, they were attractive hips. I tested the waters, shuffling a step and a half closer. His feet shuffled another step closer.

     A self-conscious seed sprouted. The slender body attached to those hips moved well with the music. I did not. With each beat of the music my hopeless thrashing slowed. I looked back at my table, searching for my friends. They stood a few steps from the table, feet pointed in my direction but unmoving. Their eyes watched me for a moment. My eyes begged them to join me. They smiled at me and sat back down. Jerks. They had dragged me out to a club, then abandoned me.

     "I'll have to thank your friends later for this dance," he called over the roar of the room.

     Strong hands planted themselves firmly at the top of my hips. The gentle tug of his fingers—and the alcohol that soaked my system—started me moving again. This time, I moved with the beat. I moved with him. After some time, he took the training wheels away and let me continue to move on my own.

     Maybe I still wasn't the best dancer out there, but at least I wasn't totally embarrassing myself. A few shuffled steps and I was turned to face the guy responsible for my newfound feats of rhythm. Sweeping blue and purple lights revealed glimpses through the smoky haze. He wasn't much taller than me, but the high quiff hairstyle he had chosen for the night added several centimeters more than my shaggy mop. A collared shirt clung to him, the rolled-up sleeves showing off a fair amount of muscle tone. Too bad we weren't at a place with better lighting, like a sunny beach.

     The smirk on his face told me my stare wasn't as subtle as I thought, and that he thankfully didn't seem to mind.

     "Good to see you're feeling comfortable again," he shouted. "But I have to admit, how you danced before was much cuter."

     I must have had more to drink than I thought. My face started to heat up.

     "Time to turn the page to something new."

     Dancing at a club was something new. A night of eye candy was out of the question with a super jealous boyfriend. Staying out until an hour before sunrise was something new. Heaven forbid I should upset my boyfriend's sleep schedule. Mr. Hot Hips was new, and I was single.

     "I think I need some fresh air," I shouted. "Care to join me?"

     He smiled. That was a yes, right? I asked him to wait for me by the door while I grabbed my bag. My friends stared at me as my feet shuffled. The more they stared, the smaller each step became. Staring turned to sudden chatting. Kyle and Roy started to rummage through their bags. I imagined they were looking for money to pay up for some bet. I needed new friends.

     I approached the table, ready to snatch my bag and run before the barrage of questions and jeers fell. Instead, a barrage of hands seized me the moment I was in range. Roy stuffed a drink into my hands for me to chug down. The cocktail burned down my throat, keeping me from protesting the pack of condoms Kyle was shoving into my bag. Without a word, Lucas picked at my collar, unbuttoned the top button of my shirt, messed with my hair, spun me around, and shoved me toward the door.

     The summer air of Taipei did little to stabilize the dizzy world or the growing nausea. The gorgeous stranger walking beside me remained silent, and without any insane club energy keeping me upright, I was too focused on putting one foot in front of the other without tripping. Once we sat down on a park bench, the world grew fuzzier. That last gulp of alcohol became my end.

     I remember steady arms helping me waddle away from the park. I remember some stairs. I remember flopping on a bed. I remember gentle hands untwisting me and placing me on my side. I remember those hips turning to leave. And I remember stopping them.