Friday Fun: An Excerpt from The Dance Club

OK, here it is as promised: an unedited excerpt from The Dance Club, the as-yet non-planned-for-publication book based on my adventures at the gym with my girlfriends. Part chick lit, part women's fiction, part nonfiction, all fun to write so far.

Lola leaned over and read aloud. “New dance class starting January tenth. Lose weight and have fun while learning all the hottest Latin steps.” She smiled. “C'mon. let’s try it. We don’t have anything to lose.”

Roxy sighed. “Girls, I’m a friggin’ trainwreck when it comes to dancing. Or anything that requires rhythm and counting. I think I’m gonna skip this one.”

Zoe waved the slip of paper in front of her friend’s face. “C’mon! You’re gonna pass up a chance to spend an hour looking at a hot piece of South American ass? No way. I know you better than that. We all do.”

Roxy frowned. “You think he has an accent? Like one of those really sexy ones where you can’t really understand what he’s saying but it all sounds good anyway?”

Soleil rejoined them and set down her coffee. “He does. I heard him talking to some little redhead in the lobby when I was picking up the flyers.”

“Is it sexy?” Roxy asked. “I mean, really, like, to-die-for sexy?”

Soleil blew on her coffee and smiled. “There’s only one way to find out, right? First class meets next Monday night. What d’ya say?”

###

“Check out the blonde in the front,” Roxy whispered. “What is she, six feet tall? She looks like a giraffe.”

Lola laughed out loud and then slapped a hand over her mouth. “You’re awful.”

“I’m just making an observation.” Roxy turned in a slow circle and surveyed the rest of the room. “And what’s up with the geriatric group in the corner? Damn, I thought I was old.”

“You aren’t old,” Soleil said. “You aren’t even close.” She adjusted her t-shirt and stared woefully at her chest. “I’m having these done the summer I turn forty. I told you all that, right?”

“You’re crazy,” Lola said. “I’ll get a facelift before I’ll get a boob job any day.”

“That’s because you already have boobs.” The voice came from behind them, and all three turned as Zoe skipped into the room.

“I hate you,” Roxy said.

“Why?”

“Look at you.” Lola poked her friend in the ribs. “There’s nothing to you. You’re beautiful. Perfect. You don’t need to lose weight.”

“I need to tone up. Plus I want to see this hot dance instructor.” Zoe glanced around. “Where is he?”

The stocky Chinese woman standing beside them shrugged. A pair of brunettes in matching pink sweatsuits, hoop earrings, and full makeup craned their necks in the direction of the door. A balding man dressed in fatigues and another thirty-something woman with a belly hanging out over too-tight sweatpants made up the rest of the crowd.

“Huh.” Soleil looked around. “Kind of a motley crew, aren’t we?”

“Well, it’s only the first night. And the place has only been open a few weeks. But you were right. It’s nice.” Roxy waved a hand at the polished floorboards and the mirrors that covered three of the four walls. “I’m loving the juice bar in the lobby, too. Think they’d slip a little vodka into one of those smoothies if I paid extra?”