They sat there in silence.

Kopano lifted the kettle and poured the dark brown-reddish hot liquid into the mug, took two small sachets of sugar, tore each open with his fingers in swift motions, poured them in his mug, and stirred with a golden teaspoon.

Lerato spied on each of his actions, drinking her coffee on the other side of him.

Kopano looked outside and realised that he couldn’t see anything because the heat inside had blocked his view with steam, so he quickly ran his hand on the glass, creating a small circle, and clearly saw the rain falling outside in a steady rhythm.

He turned his attention back to the woman opposite him.

She was wearing a light blouse that had about five small buttons up to the collar, with two left unbuttoned, leaving the top parts of it undone, exposing her red bra inside.

Kopano looked away as if he was caught ogling, and sipped his tea.

It was amazing how the woman in front of him had become a stranger. It seemed like yesterday when he saw her for the first time dancing in the crowd of fellow Jo’burgers while attending the annual December Jo’burg, Art, Music, and Chill Festival. She was dancing freely, then, swaying her hips side to side with one hand in the air, while the other one held a red cup.

Kopano smiled at the memory.

***

Kopano was surrounded by a lot of women, but his eyes were set only on that one wearing a mini skirt that was hugging her buttocks, revealing brown, tantalising thighs, not far from him. Her body was moving rhythmically to the drum-kit that DJ Kabza De Small was releasing up from the stage.

Kopano was breathing in and out multiple times from where he standing, unashamedly staring at this breath-taking woman a few paces away from him. He was garnering the strength to approach her. He couldn’t go as he was. He felt naked, so he quickly turned to Sabelo beside him and snatched the red cup from him.

‘What the hell?’ Sabelo exclaimed.

‘I’ll be back,’ Kopano said softly.

‘What?!’ Sabelo shouted.

‘I said I WILL BE BACK.’ Kopano shouted over the music.

‘Where are . . .’ before Sabelo could finish his sentence, Kopano had given him his back, heading away from him, and disappearing through the crowd.

‘Excuse me. . .excuse me. . .sorry. . .going through,’ he was saying as he passed through the bodies that were dancing, either focused on the DJ up on stage or lost in the ecstasy of music, with their bodies swaying on auto-pilot.

He finally arrived in front of her.

Before Kopano could say anything to her, the music abruptly stopped and then Kabza De Small said over the microphone, ‘Are you having a good time?!’

The crowd, alongside the girl in front of him, chorused, ‘Yebo!’

‘Well, grab your partner and dance to this one,’ Kabza De Small announced, as the next tune with a slow rhythm started, and the crowd screamed in response.

People started partnering around him, and the girl in front of him frowned and started looking around her.

‘In need of a partner?’ Kopano asked.

The girl turned to him in surprise, eyed him down and up, and said, ‘Yes, how did you notice?’

‘I just. . .’ his mouth moved, but he couldn’t be heared because the crowd loudly sang along to the song.

‘Sonwabile!

‘Siyathandana!

‘Bazamile kusihlukanisa!

‘Kodwa bahluleka!’ the crowd sang each word over at the top of their lungs.

Kopano and the girl smiled, and they both came towards each other slowly.

Kopano nervously brought his arms at her back, just above her buttocks, while she brought hers up around his neck and joined in on singing the song, but sang it to each other, ‘Asibe happy munt’wami!’

The singing paused while the catchy beat went on, and then they sang again, ‘La-la, lala, la-la, lala!’

***

‘What are you smiling at?’ Lerato asked, putting the mug on the table.

Kopano nearly choked on his tea.

He quickly put his mug on the table and wiped his mouth in embarrassment

‘Now you have to tell me. I want to know what have you blushing so,’ Lerato said, looking at Kopano expectantly.

‘I’m not blushing.’ Kopano swallowed and pulled himself together.

‘Yes, you are. You forget I know you?’ Lerato laughed a little. ‘I’m not going to let up until you tell me.’

Kopano thought of lying to her, but he figured, What the hell?

‘I was thinking of the day we met,’ he blurted out.

‘You mean the night we met?’ Lerato smiled at him warmly.

‘Yes, the night we met.’ Kopano smiled.

‘What were we dancing to, again?’

‘Oh, don’t pretend you have forgotten!’ Kopano said laughing, sipping his tea.

‘Fine, you caught me. It was Asibe Happy by Kabza De Small,’ Lerato said with a treacherous smile.

‘What made us dance like that? I mean, we were strangers, but we just locked hands, danced, and sang together,’ Kopano asked with a curious voice.

‘I don’t know, hey. It just felt. . .right.’

‘Weren’t you. . . you know? Compelled?’ Kopano said softly.

‘By what?’ Lerato asked quickly.

‘What do you mean by what? People practically paired with each other when that song came on, not to forget Kabza De Small urged all of us to find a partner, and you were standing there alone.’

‘You were also standing alone,’ Lerato pointed out laughing.

‘So, were we compelled by those expectations?’

Lerato slowly rotated the mug on the table in silence. ‘I don’t know. . .if you put it like that, I guess. . .’

‘Yeah, hey,’ Kopano said resignedly. ‘But it sure did feel right.’

Lerato smiled at him.