For Greener Pastures

                She smiled broadly as she entered the studio. There was a couch and two chairs nestled in among a couple of fake trees to the left against the wall. The reception desk was immediately opposite the door, and off to the right was a giant hardwood dance floor.

                What caught her eye, however, were the two men behind the desk. One looked up as she entered. He was middle aged, slightly pudgy around the center, and had thinning brown hair. His name was Louis, if she remembered correctly, and he was Cameron’s husband and business partner. The second man was one she had not seen before. He was much younger, closer to her own age of thirty, and very easy on the eyes. Though she could only see from his shoulders up thanks to the height of the desk, she could tell he was very fit and had the body of an avid athlete. His face was masculine with a sharp jaw, high cheek bones, and large bright olive green eyes. He was clean shaven and well groomed, she noticed, and his eyes were locked on the computer screen in front of him.

                “Welcome!” bellowed Cameron from the far side of the studio before Louis could get to it.

                She finished hooking up a large speaker and then sauntered over, her fiery red hair changing shades as she moved under the lights. Marnie turned to face her new instructor and extended her hand. Cameron took it and, with an overly enthusiastic amount of energy, shook it vigorously.

                “How are you?” Marnie asked.

                “I am well. And how about yourself?”

                “I can’t complain,” she said truthfully.

                “You were here at Christmas, weren’t you?” asked Cameron as she moved to the desk and took a clip board with several sheets of paper on it from Louis.

                “Yes. I was here with my sister, Missy.”

                “Missy!” Cameron exclaimed, again with too much genuine enthusiasm. “I love Missy. She’s so sweet. And she’s your sister?”

                Marnie nodded.

                “Fantasic. Perhaps you can give her a run for her money, then.”

                “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

                “Nonsense! Everyone can dance. It just takes practice!” she said, handing the clip board over. “If you’ll just fill those out for me real quick, we’ll go ahead and get started!”

                Marnie took the clip board and sat down on the couch to look over the paper work. It was mostly just personal information like how to contact her, what her address was, and what kind of experience she had dancing. It took her less than five minutes to get everything written out. She dug the credit card out of her purse and started over to the desk.

                “That should do it,” said the younger man, his voice silky and beautiful. “You had a bad partition. I’ve told you before, Louis. Don’t partition the drive unless you wipe it and do it from scratch. It screws everything up.”

                “Tell that to my wife,” he replied.

                Marnie got to the desk and Louis gave her a friendly smile.

                “All done?”

                “I think so,” she said, handing him the clip board and her card.