It was the spring season in L.A. Niki had tickets for a matinee at the Music Center, a world-famous ballet company doing Sleeping Beauty.
She and I had a casual relationship, based on common interests. Or to put it another way, we had casual sex whenever it interested us, which was quite often.
Another of our common interests was going out for drinks, where she had introduced me to her friend Peggy. Tall, I thought she was cute, in a gawky sort of way. She was pleasant though I wouldn't have dreamed of hitting on her. I mean, there's no way you can date someone's gal pal without having your every move relayed back in detail. Then again, it works the other way, too. I had no doubt Niki had already shared with Peggy a complete description of my physical assets, and the way I made use of them.
Anyway, that spring afternoon Niki had three tickets, and she invited both Peggy and me. Peggy had never seen a ballet before, and all the dancing was a blur to her. At the end she was vaguely dissatisfied, having lost the plot. I think she was expecting it to wind up like a Hollywood movie.
I told her, well, the last act - the wedding reception - is just an excuse for everyone to get into the show. There's a dance for Puss in Boots and the White Cat, and a foursome for the fairies. "You mean the guys," she interrupted. No, I said, roles like the Gold and Lilac fairies are danced by girls. Then there's the Bluebird pas de deux, and then the grand finale for Aurora and Florimund - in five parts - including the romantic slow part, and both male and female solos.
She was intrigued. "You know so much about it," she said. "Why do you like it?" I told her I liked to see slender young women in tight bodies prancing around in costumes that hid nothing.
The raw sexuality of my remark took her aback; but I think it charmed her, too; she smiled shyly as she cowered.