“So who wants to do the Hustle?” the DJ asked as male backing vocals urged, Do it! The crowd responded with a louder wave of delighted screams.

“Oh my goodness, Tiler! The Hustle! Dance with your mother, honey!” Cindy called out from the edge of the impromptu dance floor where she’d been dancing between her husband and their mutual friend, with whom they had originally been supposed to have dinner with.

“Do the hustle!” the male voices in the background demanded again.

Both Tiler and Jia whipped their heads around in the direction of Cindy’s voice. They’d been slow-dancing, locked in their own world, dancing to their own beat, ignoring the faster tempo that everybody else had been dancing to. Tiler’s mom’s cry had pierced through their bubble. “Do you know how to dance that, babe?” Jia asked with a blissed-out smile as they swayed, easing their way into the loudness around them. Tiler was about to answer when she felt a tug on her elbow.

“C’mon, show me what years of dancing classes have taught you, darling,” Cindy asked as she grabbed hold of Tiler’s arm.

“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked Jia. She gave the beautiful blonde a conspiratorial wink when Jia playfully pushed a reluctant Tiler in Cindy’s diection.

“Your friend is doing a great job with the music, Tiler,” Cindy said as she experimented with a few steps. “And I’d heard from your dad you’ve been practicing …. for the party?”

Tiler nodded as she started to shuffle her feet also, unconsciously synching with the downbeat of the song. She whistled along with the blaring trumpets as she swayed her hips and shoulders, undulating to the song.

She tugged on her mother’s hands to bring her closer as they got their feet moving perfectly in rhythm together. After a few simple steps together to make sure they were in synch, Cindy challenged her increasingly relaxed daughter, “Then show your girlfriend just how good of a dancer you are, darling.”

Cindy waggled her eyebrows just before Tiler prepared to spin her out, as the stud wound an arm around her mother’s waist. Tiler searched for and found the sky blues of her angel, winking at her before releasing her mom like a top. Enjoy the show, babe.