Mood: tap the media box above to listen to Hips Don't Lie by Shakira.

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

- Martha Graham

Nine p.m. Friday night.

The Koala Bar was an energy hub inundated with deafening music, bright lights contrasted against the darkness, and a mesh of bodies on the dance floor.

The closeted club air was infiltrated with the smell of beer and spirits mixed with cheap perfume and men's cologne.

"Eva, there's Jonas! Let's go and say hello to him," Maddy yelled, loud enough for me to hear, as the sound of people shouting was drowned the blaring beats of latest song playing in the club.

We moved through the mosh pit of bodies, making our way to Jonas and his group of friends, alive but not entirely unscathed.

My foot survived being stomped by a stiletto, and a painful bruise would no doubt surface in the morning.

"Hey ladies, I'm glad you can make it tonight," Jonas beamed, arms wide open, encouraging hugs from both Maddy and myself.

Maddy kissed Jonas on the lips and gently groped his ass, while I gave him a hug of friendship, more like a pat on the back.

She finally admitted to me that she and Jonas were "flatmates with benefits." It didn't take much to figure that out from day one, but I let Maddy have her moment when she revealed her grand non-secret.

A busty, tanned brunette with slim legs, wearing a tiny strapless top and a denim miniskirt, walked to me and smiled, as I winced in pain from watching Maddy and Jonas french kiss.

"Hallo! Nice to meet you. I'm Kaya," Sugar Lips purred.

"Hey, I'm Maddy's friend, Eva." I shook Kaya's hand, as my eyes darted at Maddy, who was busy vampire-sucking Jonas' neck for Viking blood, while he was busy playing with her curves, as if she was a fiddle and he was her fiddler.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"I've heard so much about you," Kaya continued, fighting for my attention.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Sven talks about you. We're in the same Scandinavian social circle here..."

My heart sank at the mention of his name. I was love sick, and it sucked. This was worse than my break-up with Brock Miller, which lasted for five days.

I still yearned for Sven thirteen days after we broke up. This set a new record. Maybe I should have a party. A fucking pity party.

I laughed off the absurd thought, trying to focus on Kaya's attempt to talk to me.

"Sven's from my home town back in Norway. We went to school together, you know. He's in one of my IT classes at QUT too. He showed me a photo of you on his Instagram and mentioned how pretty you were a couple of times," she commented.

"Oh." My eyes lit up, like the little sparklers that children played with on New Year's Eve.

"You are pretty." Kaya's eyes locked into mine.

"Thanks." I was flattered but I really didn't feel like making small talk. I hated pointless conversations with people I probably wouldn't see again after six months or so.

"He's here now." Kaya pointed at the bar, and there he was. I was dying to see him, like a woman thirsting for water in the desert. I needed my watering hole, and Sven was it.

Mr. Magnificent looked sexier than ever, mixing drinks and delivering them to thirsty drinkers at the crowded bar.

His strawberry blond hair was combed back, and he wore a fitted T-shirt to match his jeans, revealing his broad shoulders, muscular frame, and slender hips. His bright eyes shone on each customer, as he smiled and continued his job with an energetic bounce.

Sven looked genuinely happy-without me.

"So, Kaya, how well do you know Sven?" I enquired.

"I know him well enough. I mean, I may have had a thing for him once, but we're just friends now," she replied.

"Oh, cool," I acknowledged nonchalantly.

"He was the classic nerd in high school. He was a tall, skinny kid with braces and bad hair. Then he came home one summer after his first year of college in Oslo. He returned as a different person," Kaya revealed.

"Really? Gosh, I had no idea!"

"He played the violin and made it in the national volleyball team. He's also very good at math. If you ever need a human calculator, he's right behind the bar." Kaya's eyes pointed at Sven.

"Look, Kaya, I appreciate you telling me all this, but tonight I just want to chill and hang out with friends," I lied, because I was really there to steal a glance at Sven.

Fuck my life. My nose may have grown a couple of inches. Maybe a whole yard... Got a yardstick?

"Okay! We'll talk later. Wanna dance? I love this song!" she screamed into my ear, enough to temporarily deafen it.

Before you know it, I was on the dance floor, going all footloose with Kaya, who also knew a thing or two about dancing.

After a couple of songs, I was in my own little world, shaking and swinging my hips to Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, together with my newfound Norwegian friend.

Some hand grabbed my waist about a minute into the song, as the music picked up the pace, while Kaya started to dirty dance with one of her male Scandinavian friends who came up behind her.

I turned around, ready to slap the shit out of the annoying fucker who dared to touch me, only to stare right into a pair of familiar ocean eyes, which were now dark with rapturous desire.

Sven Handsome. I mean, Hansen.

"Nobody dances like the way you do," he complimented, leaning forward as I felt his breath on my neck.

His hands roamed around my curves, and I was lost in his universe...again.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the bar?" I asked, moving closer and placing my arms around his shoulders.

"I've got a buddy covering for me. I said it was about a girl," he murmured, his lips dangerously close to my skin, as he stroked my shapely hips.

"I miss you so fucking much." Sven smoothed the back of my head and kissed my lips, before turning me around and pressing my hips against his, moving to the music.

He was right behind me, and ever so close, rocking his sensual body into my mine.

"One dance. That's all you get," I teased, as I let his hands move with my body. His hips swayed with mine, locking me in, so there was no space between us.

My mind was lost in its own little world while my body and heart took over, bringing me into a state of autopilot, where I was completely rendered intoxicated and breathless.

We were dancers, working with the music to be joined as one. One beating heart, steady and strong. One energy flow, fused in harmony. One state of mind, in line with the physical laws of the universe. It was as if we were meant to be that way.

That was until the song ended. Only then did our bodies break free, and we disconnected from each other. Our energies were no longer flowing as one. We were two separate people again, Sven Hansen and Eva King.

"We need to talk. Are you ready?" he proposed.

I nodded and let him guide me through the sea of people toward the fire exit.

I noticed that Kaya rejoined her circle of friends and held her thumbs up, when she saw us both heading toward the exit doorway.

Maddy and Jonas were nowhere to be found. They were probably back at their place, shagging the night away.

***

A minute later, Sven and I were alone at the bottom of a stairwell, which smelled like a combination of urine and beer.

"People pee in here, you know." I scoffed and wrinkled my nose.

"It's the only place where you and I can get some privacy," Sven replied.

"Well?" I pulled my poker face, hoping not to give away the mess of feelings that created an emotional oil spill in my heart.

"I shouldn't have let a customer kiss me. I did pull back, but by then I realized it was too late. Eva, I fucked up." Sven's eyes pleaded for forgiveness.

"Yeah, you did."

"I've never been in a serious relationship before."

"Okay, that's nice to know"

"You're hotheaded, you know, Eva?"

"Mm-hmm. Tell me something I don't know. Now, go ahead and talk."

"I am truly and deeply sorry. It all happened so fast, and I should have retracted sooner." Sven's solemn face revealed his remorse.

"What were you thinking when it happened?" I asked.

"Eva, I'm going back to Norway after I graduate in a few months. For good. You and I both know that it was never my intention to be in a long-term relationship with an Australian," he confessed.

I kept staring at him.

"Look, I can't get a visa to stay here longer, not after my student visa expires. I'm not going to ask you to marry me for the sake of staying in this country. No company would employ me without a visa, and I can't get a visa without getting a job. See my dilemma?" Sven spoke the painful truth.

My heart was in flames. Fucking Cupid sucks. I hate you, Eros.

"I see, Sven. There's no need to explain any further."

"Wait, Eva! There's something more. I want to-"

"Oh my goddess, Sven!" In pounced a sexy little minx, her face masked with professional makeup and her long, dark hair tied in a swish ponytail.

Her breasts were about to pop out of her minuscule, ridiculously skimpy crop top and her tight jeans hung low.

I looked at Sven, whose eyes glanced at the woman and quickly became clouded with guilt.

"I'm Yasmina and I work with Sven. I was looking all over the place for you, Sven." The hellcat smiled at him devilishly.

"Sven?" I felt my knees turn into jelly, feeling the forces of nature in foul play again.

"Uh, yeah, just give me a second, Yas..." Sven faltered.

"No worries, take your time. Just like last night," Yas purred and winked at Sven.

"He likes fire exits, you know? He's not the type to settle either, FYI," she continued, eyeing me up and down, before opening the door and disappearing into the rabbit hole she came from.

I turned and stared at Sven.

"Did you fuck her here?" I barked.

"No, I didn't stick my cock in her."

"Then what? Did she give you a blowjob?"

"No!"

I sighed, slowly trudged toward the steps, sat down, and lowered my head. Sven sat down, inching closer to me. I felt his body warmth radiating, as his arm touched mine.

"All we did was kiss. It happened last night, because I thought you and I were truly over. Then I saw you on the dance floor tonight, and I just... I just couldn't forget you," he said.

I lifted my head up and shook it profusely.

"What are we doing, Sven? I mean, what are we really doing?" I gazed at him.

He kissed my forehead, took one of my hands, and placed it within his large hands, gently rubbing it and holding onto it, as if it was made of an element so precious and priceless.

"You've got cold hands." He smiled.

"I know. Deep down inside, I've got a warm heart. You know, I don't cry. I can't seem to shed tears, but inside my warm heart, I am crying right now," I admitted.

"Come here, babe. Come closer," Sven coaxed, and I snuggled into him. His arms wrapped around mine, hugging me tightly as my heart cried. I breathed in his fresh, masculine scent and buried my head into him.

No tears came, but my heart ached. Yet, he was there, keeping my cold hands warm, and drying up the tears of my tormented heart.

"I want to go home, Sven." I whispered.

"I want to go with you," he pleaded, as he held me close to his chest.

"Where's home for you?" I asked.

"Home for me is wherever you are, honey. Oh, Eva?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to start again? Try to make it work and see where we go?"

"Sven, I'm too tired to think right now." I yawned, then stood up.

"C'mon. I need to get some sleep." I beckoned Sven, lifting his heavy arm before giving up.

He teased me with a cheeky smile as he got up from the step.

"Does this mean that we're together?" He was testing his luck.

"I don't know. You're sleeping on the couch tonight, by the way."

A/N: Have you ever been in love with someone from another country or culture? Were there any challenges that you faced to stay together?