Yvette was typing her report in her cubicle. She was not typing as fast as usual, but was set to finish on time. She liked her previous keyboard's click-clack sound, but had to change it. As she was finishing up, she was visited by one of her co-workers, "Hey, Yvette, what happened to your other keyboard? You used to have this really cute one, the one in all blue that made the clicks sound muted", she asked as she sipped her energy drink. 

     Yvette gave a sullen smile as she explained herself. " Oh hey, Emily. I had to get rid of it, so I gifted it to someone else in the building. I'm back to the plain old black keyboard". Emily thought for a second and it clicked, "Oh...was it, you, know, 'his'.

     Yvette looked at her keyboard and somehow felt happier with this black one, "Yeah, that was one of the last things I forgot to get rid of. I'm feeling much better now that I see less of him around me, but there are still some things that I can't part with just yet". 

     Emily stared at Yvette, almost analyzing her expressions and body movements. She gave a sly smile, "Oh, and I see you are extra smiley today too, are you talking to someone new?".

     Yvette avoided Emily's gaze, fidgeting in her chair, " Nothing like that. But I am going to a dance class with an acquaintance".

     Emily gave a wide grin as she quickly pulled a chair next to her, "Oh my God. Tell me everything. Is he cute? Is he part of the company? How did you meet? ".

     Yvette was taken aback at the rapid-fire questions, "How did you know it was a he? "Yvette laughed but indulged in her co-worker's little game",...Well, he is pretty good-looking, and he wears glasses. Um...he's not part of the company, at least I don't think he is, I've never seen him. And he helped me when I was caught in the rain. I fell, and he was nice enough to get me some dry clothes. I wanted to repay him for what he did, and he asked if I could be his dance partner since he needed one for a dance class he wanted to attend".

     Emily looked perplexed at the odd short chain of events," That... and he just helped you without asking anything of you? That sounds like a fantasy man. Is he that good of a person, I wonder?".

     Yvette thought about Cane. He was a bit odd, but she felt it wasn't healthy to suspect everyone around her. He had been nothing but helpful, even taking her and meeting with her in a well-lit public space. "He seems decent. But I was the one who brought up wanting to repay him. But when he asked me to be his dance partner, I was surprised. I did look up the studio beforehand, and it was a real place; it's been active for around 5 years. He even offered to take me, but I felt that was going too far. What if he was a stalker?" Yvette joked as her friend laughed. 

     Emily placed her head on Yvette's shoulder as she sighed, "Well, as long as you keep yourself safe, but text me when you get home or need a ride, okay?".  Yvette blushed, "I wouldn't worry too much, but I'll text you afterward". 

      It was the end of the day, and it was time to see Cane again. Yvette decided to freshen up in the bathroom and head out instead of stopping at her apartment.

     She drove to the dance studio. She followed the map through the twists and turns until she saw a magnificent building illuminated by lights. She started at the building and saw that it was stacked on top of the garage. She parked inside and waited in front of the building with her bag in hand. 

     She looked up at the glistening glass and saw the instructor pose and then stop. He smiled, talked briefly, and said goodbye to the participants. She saw a woman then go up to the instructor and say something, but he answered with a no, shaking his head. The woman looked disappointed, but she didn't leave the room yet.

     The instructor was sweating a bit and decided to open the window nearby and light a cigarette. The cold breeze felt nice on his skin. He took his break with ease; his next class was in thirty minutes, but it didn't worry him. He looked around, and below he saw the participants leaving, all except a new face who was waiting for something. 

     All of her wavy hair swept up in a ponytail, it bounced as she made her way closer to the building to move off the street. The instructor saw her open her phone and immediately called a person named Cane. "Hmm, so you are planning to come", the instructor thought as he saw the woman suddenly look up. Startled, he didn't know if he should wave or say hello, so he did both. But, due to his mistake, he forgot about the cigarette in his mouth, and it dropped directly on her head.

     Yvette saw as the lit cigarette slowly fell, she tried to evade it, but the lit part caught a bit of her hair. Yette's eyes went wide as she remembered all the hairspray she had applied, and suddenly, a small fire appeared on her ponytail.

      She quickly pulled the hairs out, but her panicking made it difficult to concentrate on the fire alone. However, she quickly felt someone wrap their hand in her hair and whip it out. In one miraculous swoop, the fire was put out. 

     Yvette looked back, tears in her eyes. It was Cane.

     The duo made their way inside, where the instructor was apologizing profusely, almost bowing down.

"I am so sorry, I promise I didn't mean to set your head on fire". Yvette could only laugh as she dismissed the incident, "It was an accident, I wasn't hurt, just surprised. And besides, my hair is fine, I was lucky Cane was there too". 

     Cane seemed more annoyed than anything, but also took the time to make fun of his friend, "Honestly, Damien, I think you need to get longer break times. The spins are scrambling your brain."

      The instructor seemed annoyed at this remake but was still stung with guilt, "In any other instance, I would've had a comeback ready, but I did hurt someone. I am sorry, how can I make it up to you?". 

     Yvette gave a sympathetic smile, " Please, I would just like for you to teach us, but if you could ignore my two left feet, that would be a plus". 

     Damien laughed at the remark. He then introduced himself, "Well, I am glad you are not hurt and are more upbeat than I am, and even though this is a little late, I'm Damien, I own this studio. I've been trying to get this guy to get out more. A while ago, he said 'Maybe I should learn the tango' out of the blue while on his phone. I wonder what he was looking at. I then told him I teach tango on certain days, but he was still on the fence. Imagine my surprise when he called me saying he had found a dance partner. So, thank you."

     

     As this conversation was happening. The woman who stayed back was leaning on the open windowsill. Her emerald eyes darted from outside the window to the trio, but soon stopped as she saw two more couples walk in. Everyone started to warm up, and the woman saw that both Yvette and Cane were on the floor doing butterflies.       The woman had never seen Cane smile like that before. His expressions usually only seemed to come out due to a sense of obligation and politeness. He would smile, pay attention, say hello, and thank you, but not because he wanted to, just common courtesy. But with his dance partner, he was putting in effort, even adding on to lengthen the conversation, trying to get closer as he tried to hold her hand. 

     The woman never had an interest in Cane; whenever she saw him with Damien outside work, Damien always shone brighter. But now, she felt she saw him in a new light. Perhaps it would be best to approach him now. He always felt distant, and to be honest, even though he was never disrespectful, there was always something about him that was off. When it came to Damien, he was always at the center when it came to well-connected crowds, but for Cane, it was like he was wearing a mask when others were around. It felt like he only let himself relax with Damien. But now, that creepy feeling was slowly fading as he interacted with that girl. It could be a good time to make friends. But, she doubted it due to that eerie sensation that would never completely fade.