Cinderella
Going to a bellydance show

By Pierre Coda (Continued from Falling in love after first date)

I think I did not even fix my makeup when I left office today, something that I typically do. He said that he felt like having Middle-Eastern food again and he did some research to find out a restaurant in the area. Since I would have probably eaten dinner by the time I called him, he assumed, he wanted to catch me right at the station. How can you tell someone no at this point? Not that I wanted to, but he left no chance me to say it.

The restaurant was huge by Japanese standards since it was built in a relatively new area of Chiba. It was designed like an amphitheater with a circular dancing area in the center and then tables around it for diners. There was boxes for couples where you could not see other people but you had a good view of the stage.  As we talked about Hiroo's job, he shared with me the frustrations of living alone in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He thought that it was lifeless - people were not friendly, they did not like to make friends, girls just wanted to have casual relationships and were not interested in meaningful relationships. I thought, "He doesn't know a woman’s perspective on this issue. I have experienced what he has been missing and I know that it is not a lot of fun either".   I liked listening to him though since I was now starting to feel connected to him. I was getting to know him as a person.

While I was listening to him, the lights dimmed, soft melodic music started floating in the restaurant, and a strong beam of light was focused at the far end of the restaurant. The red velvet curtains slowly opened and I saw a woman dressed in white emerge. Her face and whole body was covered with lace and I could see mix of gold and white sheer fabric. The music got louder as she came right into the center and Hiroo bent over to look. He moved his chair close to mine to have a better view - in fact so close that I could feel his legs touching mine, though it did not seem to be deliberate. Just what you would do when you know that the other person would not mind and it is always easy to pretend that you did not know you were doing this.  As I felt a surge of sensation of feeling his legs against mine, I could feel the sensation even through my fishnet tights. At that very moment, the lights slowly dimmed to complete darkness and for a fraction of a second, the music stopped. It seemed that there was pin-drop silence in the restaurant.

While I took a sip from my mint tea, the music and light came on at the same time. The dancer had taken off her coveralls and she stood there exposing her perfect beauty - her white and gold embroidered bra with sequins and mirrors showed off her beautiful body, her see-through lace skirt was designed to show her even more shapely legs and hips.  What surprised me was that I was looking at her with as much passion as Hiroo was. His body was almost touching mine now and he had put his hands on my right leg. I have been to several belly dance shows before but with a more academic bent of mind and did not expect that someone could create such an exciting environment in a restaurant. As both of us were trying to take big sips of our drinks, the light dimmed once again, the music slowed, until there was complete darkness one more time. The only music left was the soft sound of the guitar.  Some of the guests were so confused that they even started clapping assuming that the show was over. The music suddenly rose in a soft tempo and this time the music seemed less Middle-Eastern and more African in tone. The dancer in the center stood still as I could barely see her outline. As the curtain opened there were three more dancers now who were about to join. It was beautiful to see these four beautiful women with shapely bodies performing for us. I almost wished that I had such a beautiful body and some day I would be able to dance in a public place and create similar passions among my guests.

While I sat there fantasizing about my future career as a belly dancer, Hiroo turned towards me and said, "Kyoko-san! Have you ever realized how beautiful you are and even though I have not seen your body yet, I think you have a gorgeous body".  Even though I was skeptical of everything Hiroo said, I was so taken by emotion that I put my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair for a moment and then gently touched my arms. As I closed my eyes, I felt his lips on mine and even before I realized, he was passionately kissing me. As I opened my mouth to feel his tongue, I was completely lost. The world could have come to an end at that moment and I would not have known. "So have you made up your mind about what you are going to have?" the question from the waiter made Hiroo pull away from me.

I was a little flustered but soon composed myself. There were several dancers that now emerged from the curtain, the lights were now turned on, and the music was more melodic now.  The dancers were now going to guests' tables and the two dancers that came to our table were dressed in blue and gold.  Both of them were very attractive and did not speak Japanese other than a few words but they were teasing Hiroo by provocatively dancing in front of him showing him their pierced belly buttons. While I felt a bit of relief that they were not teasing me, I was proved wrong soon since the blonde dancer came and started dancing right in front of me. As I shyly looked at her thin waist and was embarrassed to death, I saw Hiroo gesturing the other dancer to move closer to me. "What a nasty guy!" I thought about Hiroo.

Continued:   Missing her boyfriend   

Bellydancing to raise self esteem