One More Time
I'm a huge Daft Punk fan. HUGE. They've got this song called "One More Time" that you may have heard before. I've been listening to some of my favorites of theirs a lot recently, and this one in particular reminds me of someone I used to know.
Back when I was a teenager I used to date This One Particular Lovely Gal. I've only got nice things to say about her, but ours is not a "feel good" tale. It was the first relationship I was ever in where I really came to feel bad about myself. Tales of my cluelessness with regards to The Fairer Sex are legendary, and some of the best include this girl.
For instance, when we first started getting involved, I wasn't sure if I could get her number until we were rounding second base. We were at a party (I knew her through a mutual friend) and had stolen away to spend time alone. I wasn't sure if I had a shot of maybe taking her out on a date sometime until... well, WAY past when it should have been obvious. Even while we were starting to make out I still thought, "gee, I really like her, but I'm not so sure if she's into me..."
Anyways, we dated briefly and remained friends over the next couple of years. Sort of. It was more of a "I am a scumbag who is constantly not measuring up, but she deigns to be my friend and forgives me anyhow" sort of situation. That's not to say that she was manipulative and/or crazy, but I was really clueless about the nature of our friendship.
We lost touch for a while, and then I saw her again about 5 or 6 years ago when I was home from college during an xmas break. A bunch of us went over to Canada, where the drinking age is 19 (in Ontario, at least) and we were looking for a place to dance.
AWESOME SIDE STORY: there were two car loads of people, and I was in the first car that arrived at the club. The other was a couple minutes behind. So I walk in, hang out for a minute, and then decide to wait by the door for the rest of the crew to show up. As soon as they do we all walk back into the club and I am immediately accosted by two young, rather attractive girls who are like, "Are you JESSE MOYA??" My ego has never really come back down to Earth after all my friends got to witness my fame as an International Man of Mystery. Turns out we went to elementary school together (I went to four elementary schools, actually) and I left quite an impression on these two young ladies a decade previously.
So we're in this club, we're dancing, and we're all having a great time. Then the DJ puts on "One More Time." That is my fucking JAM, dude. Like, I am going to seriously start my own severe weather pattern on this dance floor. "Run towards the hills to avoid the high floods, I can do a dance that'll make the sky cry blood," as the song goes. And I'm not just going to dance, I'm going to dance with This One Particular Lovely Gal.
Here's the thing about her: boy, can she dance. She'll stop your heart and set you on fire - and you will love it.
We danced up a metaphorical and metaphysical storm; in a very real way we stopped time. I left a part of me on that dance floor that night. It was one of the best times of my life, and I was finally connecting in a healthy way with a friend that I cared so deeply about, but whose friendship really cost me over the years. I had ached for things to be right between us, and for five minutes and twenty one seconds it finally was. I remember that feeling so vividly that it's very much like I'm back on that dance floor with her for a split second every time I think about it.
This story is an example of why I used to believe in God. Someone HAD to have set this up, because Real Life doesn't just work like this. Have you listened to the lyrics of this song? They're perfect. Just a little TOO perfect, really. I lived this, and I can still barely believe it. "Music's got me feeling so free, we're gonna celebrate - celebrate and dance so free ONE MORE TIME."
It was the last time I ever saw her.