When Terry met Alicia, it was love at first dance. She was the most alluring girl at the dancing school, intelligent, attractive, and fun to be with. He knew he wanted to see more of her. Of course, Alicia was friendly with all the men at Encounter's Dance Studio. Still, she felt an attraction to Terry that interested her. He was intelligent, handsome, but above all, honest.   
 
Alicia had a few disappointing dates with men previously on the dating websites, and she was through with that cattle call scene. So now, when she met men at the dance studio, it was based on learning to Rhumba, not meet-ups to form mating scenarios. Her encounters at the dance school were only for the joy of dancing and socializing. But, if the vibes were right, it was a proper way to meet someone without prejudging them.     

As for Terry, he'd also had enough of the single scene on dating sites. It seemed like women there were only looking for that so-called 'Perfect Man.' But when he discovered the dance studio, it was a much better way to meet women without preconceived notions, and Alicia was everything he wanted.     

After several months of dating, the couple began talking seriously about marriage. But circumstances in their careers soon placed a burden on their relationship. Terry had received notice his company was moving its head office to Dallas. As a result, he would have to either move or give up his promising career. Unfortunately for the couple, Alicia could not leave the prominent women's college she attended in Virginia and go with him. She planned on obtaining a business degree there and didn't want to lose her place after working hard to get into the school. So they agreed to continue a long-distance relationship, and meet up for holidays and vacations until they could marry. However, as these early years drifted by, they pulled back from each other—the demands placed on their lives to succeed, and the distance apart harmed their connection.     

But Terry felt something else was also affecting his interest in their relationship. Terry started sensing a feeling in his psyche, and his body that he had long been denying to himself. Beneath his male persona, he felt urges that countered his desires for the opposite sex. Or, more aptly, Terry became more aware of his true sexual identity and began to feel he was transgender. He still loved Alicia, but not in the same way as before. Alicia was a woman, and Terry now felt powerful impulses towards men. But he hid them and tried to keep his female side a secret.     

Regrettably, Terry's employer held staunch negative attitudes towards the transgender community and probably would not accept his new persona. The worst part was that he still had deep feelings of love for Alicia, but to keep leading her on would not be fair to her. She needed a proper mate for life. So he slowly broke off their relationship, and their lives soon drifted in different directions.     

It would be many years of secrecy before Terry would successfully transform himself into a female. First for him were the ongoing counseling and therapy sessions. Then, there were more years of receiving hormone treatments, followed by radical surgical procedures. This involved a series of operations to remove and reconstruct his sexual organs, which mentally and physically, transforms a person into a completely different gender. So, after many years of struggle, Terry finally became Teri.

However, Teri's career in Dallas couldn't survive the long transformation, so he—now she, decided to move to Sacrememto, California. This more open, and accepting environment would be a good place to restart a new life. In Dallas, dating had been out of the question. How could she have entered a relationship when she couldn't understand her own feelings, much less someone else's? But now, in a different location, with a new identity, she thought maybe she could dip her toes into the dating pool again. Teri still disdained the Internet scene, but perhaps she could rekindle her love of dancing. The New Dawn Dance Studio would be a good place to start over. She would go there, only now in a woman's role. If she met a man, it would start as a friendship, Teri would not lie to anyone about who she was.     

The old darkened dance room, looked modern and well layed out, but there was'nt many younger members or instructors—too many years had gone by. So this visit would be her first test. Thankfully, she was easily accepted as a new female member. Teri found a table and sat, waiting for a teacher to introduce her to another student. Soon an instructor approached, and an attractive man about her age was with him.     

“Hi there,” the instructor greeted Teri. “I see you're new here. Would you like a dance partner?”     

“Oh yes,” Teri replied, “but I'm just a beginner.” Teri thought about how well she had danced as a man, but now she was a woman in high heels. “Nothing too advanced just yet, please,”   

 “Of course. Teri let me introduce you to Alex. He just joined us also.”     

“Hi,” Alex said, greeting her with a broad smile. “I'm a beginner here myself, so don't worry—slower, the better for me.”     
The instructor then went to the podium and placed an easy, romantic tune on the amp for the two neophyte dancers. The newly matched couple took the dance floor, held a stance, and began a few steps.     

“You'll have to forgive me,” Teri told her new partner. "I used to dance, but it's been a while.”     

“Oh, you're doing fine! I'll try not to step on those nice shoes,” Alex joked. “We'll learn together.”         

The tune playing was a slow, old love song from the '70s. Teri recognized it immediately as This Magic Moment, by The Drifters. “I love that song,” she told her partner. “It was my old high school prom dance theme.”   

 “I'll be damned, my prom dance too. What a coincidence. Did you go to the high school here in Sacremento?”     

“Oh no, I graduated back east And you?”     

“Yes, me as well. were you in the class of 86?” He asked, “I'm sure I wouldn't forget you.”     

“Oh, it's a big school. We must have met casually. I had lived here for years after graduation, but my job was transferred to Texas, so I had to move away. I just recently returned after working in Dallas for eleven years.”     

“Dallas.” Alex reflected. “I once had a friend who moved there also, but he never returned. I'd always hoped that one day we might meet again. But I never heard from him again.”     

“Oh, that's too bad! I hate it when we lose connections.”             

Alex gave her a soft smile. “Yes, he was a buddy.”     

“Well, I had a good friend here also, Alex. Her name was Alicia, and I met her right here at this same academy.”   

 “Alicia, you say. A woman friend? Um, how did you know her? Please don't mind my asking. Women can have that kind of friend, but it's much harder for men. People always think the wrong things about that.”     

“Oh, we were very close, Alex, but we had to say goodbye after we parted.”     

“You know, Teri, my friend's name was also Terry. How 'bout that? Just like yours. I also had to say goodbye to him.”             
Teri stopped dancing and stood still, a startled look on her face. She put her hand on Alex's shoulder, holding it firm. She now recognized something—this person seemed very familiar.     

“Oh, my God!” She searched his face, holding her breath, "Tell me, Alex, are you—were you, Alicia?”     

Alex's face turned ghastly white—mouth agape. "Yes, I was! But I'm Alex now. And you! Good lord! Were you Terry?”     

“Yes, I was, but listen, I still loved you, but I couldn't break your heart for becoming a woman. I thought I'd lost you forever, and now I've found you as Alex!”     

The two just re-acquainted dance partners stood in the middle of the dance floor, clasped in a lover's embrace. Their lips locked in passion as the old love song played to the scene.     

The instructor, with several bystanders, stood staring in total disbelief at the intense drama unfolding on the dance floor.     

“I always put This Magic Moment on for new dancing partners,” the teacher told his students. “But DAMN! It's never had that strong of an impact before!”