Dance of Deception

Ryan looked at Bethany, surprised by her suggestion. Ryan had known Bethany for a while and had never seen her dance so it was shocking when she suggested they do so.

Unsure of Bethsny's dancing skills and unwillingness to engage in any activity that would make him look less cool, Ryan decided to ask for clarity on what he heard her ask before he gave her a reply.

"Did you just ask for a dance?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, I did. Is there anything wrong with that?" Bethany replied. 

Ryan paused, he had heard correctly so he had to give her a reply now. Ryan could turn her down if he wanted but he felt it would be good if the groom and bride were dancing with different people so he decided to accept her request.

"You sure you're up to it? I'm a really good dancer?" said Ryan taking Bethany's hand and standing up.

"Oh. Show me then," Bethany replied.

"My pleasure, try to keep up," said Ryan.

They went to the dancefloor and Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing. The same girl she had danced to steal attention from was now holding hands with Ryan, and from the looks of it, they were about to dance.

Claire had wanted to stop dancing soon because she was getting exhausted but she could not do so anymore.

A lot of questions began to go through Claire's mind. Who was this lady and what exactly did she want? 

Why was being the center of attention at someone else's wedding bothering her so much and why was she clinging to him so desperately?

Bethany was very happy with her hand entwined with Ryan's and Claire noticed this. To Claire, it seemed that Bethany wasn't just interested in the attention but was also after Ryan.

Claire wondered if she was a friend of Ryan or just one of his mistresses and wondered what kind of idiot would bring his mistress to his wedding.

Still, it was not clear. It seemed the feeling was one-sided as Ryan showed no sign of affection towards the lady.

Out of nowhere, Mason burst into laughter and Claire wondered why. Mason was an idiot, Claire had established that from the time she was working at the bar but she was still surprised by his recent action.

"Is anything the matter?" Claire asked.

"No, it's just that my friend hasn't changed one bit. Take a look, he's coming here with Bethany for a dance. I guess it's because we impressed everyone that he also wants to do the same. I'm college, Ryan was that way too; he never let anyone outshine him and I'm glad to see he still has that spirit in him," replied Mason.

Claire had gotten her name now and from the things that Mason said, it was obvious that they all went to college together. 

Since that was the connection they all held, it was only natural that she was present at his wedding. A few moments later, Ryan and Bethany reached the dance floor.

Mason and Claire stopped for a moment to exchange pleasantries with Ryan and Bethany. Claire didn't want to greet anyone but she still had to.

In their midst, Claire felt totally out of place. She wondered whether it was the fact that she was only impersonating someone else or whether it was the people around her.

Claire thought about Josie, she wondered if she would feel among if it was her that was in this situation instead. Knowing Josie, Claire knew she might probably feel the same way.

"Hi, I'm Bethany. Nice to meet you, congratulations on your wedding," said Bethany, extending a handshake towards Claire.

Claire smiled and looked downwards at the hand contemplating whether it was necessary to shake her or not. Eventually, Bethany concluded that with these people, everything was necessary.

"Thank you. I'm Claire," she said, taking the handshake and shaking her firmly. Claire wasn't a big fan of handshakes so the many she was receiving were making her feel weird.

"I've heard, everyone knows your name and with the great dancing moves you were dishing out here, I'm sure no one will forget your face soon after," Bethany replied.

Claire smiled, happy that the dance had gotten to Bethany. Bethany must have been infuriated by the dance moves and just tried to get the attention back by coming to dance with Ryan.

Ryan, who hadn't seen anything strange in it, must have agreed. Claire began to feel nervous knowing this would soon become a dancing competition.

"You know what, everyone thinks your dancing skills are so great and I think not. Mason, you've beaten me in a lot of things in life already. I'm not going to let dancing be one of them," said Ryan.

Claire rolled her eyes, men were jerks. How pathetic could they be, she wondered. Mason laughed and gave her a knowing look trying to tell her he had been right about him.

Claire rolled her eyes and looked away. 

"Ok really, I'm glad you have the dignity to admit it. By the way, if that was a challenge, you better be ready for it because I still have a lot of dance left in me and I'm not going to ever quit when going up against anyone, especially you. you know that, right?" Mason asked, grabbing Claire's hands.

"Of course, I expect nothing less from you. You know, it's often said that you can judge a man by the power of his enemies. I think I'm going to have to show you how true the quote is," replied Ryan.

"I have an idea, why don't we make this a bit more interesting?" asked Mason with a mischievous smile.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Ryan.

"I suggest that we stream this dance online and allow the people to decide who the winner is," said Mason.

"Hmm, what about some money for the person who wins?" asked Ryan.

"Two hundred thousand then, what do you say?" asked Mason.