by Emily Lowry
“Did we take a wrong turn?” I asked.
Zoe looked at me innocently. “What? Don’t think you can keep up?”
As she spoke, one of the older gentlemen spun his partner around twice, then pulled her into him and dipped her.
“I’m positive that I can’t keep up,” I said.
“I’ll get you there.” Zoe took my hand and pulled me to the dance floor.
An older woman with bright blue hair and a plaid shirt pulled away from her partner, and two-stepped over to us. She smiled brightly. “Zoe! I didn’t expect to see you today. You know, you’re supposed to be above 65 if you want to attend this dance.”
“I’m an old soul,” Zoe said.
The woman threw back her head and laughed. “You got that right.”
Zoe grinned. “Verity, this is my partner for the day — Mason. He wants to learn how to dance, but he’s a bit shy. So I thought I would bring him here where he doesn’t have to worry about his friends seeing him.”
Verity smiled again. “Pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Zoe’s is a friend of mine.”
I shook her hand. “I’m sorry for what you’re about to see.”
Verity laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Just think — if you start dancing now, imagine how good you’ll be when you’re my age?”
“Your age? You don’t look a day over 20.”
Verity swatted my shoulder. “Looks like you found yourself a charmer, Zoe.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “He likes to think he’s charming. Let’s see if his moves can back up his mouth.”
I tipped my hat to Verity. “If you’ll excuse me, ma’am, I have a date to attend to.”
Zoe rolled her eyes again and pulled me onto the dance floor. She put her hand on my shoulder. “Hold my hand with your right hand and put your other hand on my hip. Perfect. Now, for the two-step, it’s simple. Just think of this rhythm in your head: quick, quick, slow, slow.”
“Quick, quick, slow, slow,” I repeated.
“Since you’re the guy, you lead. I get to walk backwards.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I said.
“It doesn’t, does it?” She laughed and gave my hand a quick squeeze. “But life’s not fair. Okay. On three. One, two, three.”
I immediately stepped forward with my right foot and stepped on her toe.
She winced and stumbled away.
I blushed. “Sorry — I didn’t mean — “
“Lead with your left,” Zoe said, grinning.
I looked at my feet. “One, two, three.”
This time I lead with my left. I watched her feet, trying to time her movements with mine. Quick, quick, slow, slow. Okay. This wasn’t so bad. Maybe I could do this.
“Space Face,” Zoe said. “Watch where you’re leading me.”
I looked up. I was steering us directly into another couple. But, despite knowing that we were on a collision course, I couldn’t seem to stop. Quick, quick, slow, slow. “What do I do?” I said, panicking. “How do I make you turn?”
Zoe smiled, and I could tell she was trying to hide a laugh. “Don’t overthink it,” she said. “Just start moving to the left a little.”
I pulled her hips slightly and started moving to the left. Sure enough, we easily avoided the other couple. I went back to looking at my feet.
She squeezed my shoulder. “Word of advice?”
“Yes,” I said. “Please give me all the words of advice.”
“Dance with your feet, not with your eyes.”
“Okay, great,” I said, still looking at my feet.
She squeezed my shoulder again. “Look up at me.”
“But I’ll step on your toes,” I said. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was about getting this right. I could feel how tense my muscles were. It was easier to stare down a growling linebacker and make a throw then it was to dance. Or at least, a growling linebacker was less terrifying.
“Better to step on my toes while looking in my eyes, than while staring at the floor.”
“Fine, but if I break your toes — ” My words got lost as I looked into Zoe’s eyes. They caught the light and sparkled, and I could see flecks of gold in the green. They reminded me of a summer meadow. Right after a rainstorm.
Zoe smiled warmly. “You’re doing good, I promise.”
We continued to two-step for two more songs, and I only stepped on her toes three more times. Not once did she stumble. Not once did she make a mistake. The dance was probably simple to her, but she moved with a grace that I could only dream of having.
“Ready to spin me?” Zoe asked.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Brave of you to put your faith in me.”
She grinned. “Don’t worry — for the guy, spinning is easy. You just have to time the spin with your steps. But the actual spinning part, you don’t have to do anything but raise your hand a little. Like this.”
Zoe lifted my hand slightly and spun underneath. She smoothly came back to me, resting her hand on my shoulder. “Not so bad, hey?”
I was so focused on my steps I didn’t realize what happened. “Wait. How did I do that?”
Zoe laughed. “That’s the great thing about two-step — you just have to lift your hand and I’m supposed to do the rest.”
“Perfect way to learn,” I said. “Okay. I’m going to do it. You’re going to spin.”
She smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Whenever you’re ready, cowboy.”
Quick, quick, slow, slow, spin.
Zoe spun beneath my arm and pulled up against me again. My hand fell over the familiar curve of her hip. “Not too bad, cowboy. But I got a few more tricks to teach you.”
We spent the next hour dancing. She taught me a few more spins — and again, it felt like she was doing 90% of the work. By the end of it, I could dance while looking her in the eye. Occasionally, one of the seniors would recognize her and say something. When they did, she always responded in the most adorable Texas drawl.
I’d never seen this side of her before. I always knew she was dorky — Tyler talked about it constantly. But before today, she’d never been dorky around me.
The last song finished.
“Time’s up,” Zoe said.
“I guess it is,” I said. I was still holding her hand, still resting my other hand on her hip. I spun her once more. Then finally, reluctantly, I released her. “What do you think?”
“You’ve a bright future. The brightest, even,” Zoe said.
“Well, now you’re just lying to me.”
“It takes practice. Practice leads to confidence, confidence leads to good dancing.” Zoe snatched the hat off the top of my head.
“What, do you need that for another student?” There was a slight pang of jealousy in my voice. Where did that come from?
Zoe didn’t seem to notice. “I need to bring this back home. If Nina finds out that I gave away her cowboy hat — ”
“That was Nina’s?”
Zoe smiled innocently. “Couldn’t you tell?”
I couldn’t tell if she was messing with me or not. We stepped out into the afternoon sun.
“I’ll see you Monday,” Zoe said.
“See you on Monday.”
Still wearing her cowboy hat, Zoe waltzed away. Two passing skateboarders looked at her weirdly, but she just stared back at them, tipped her hat, and continued on her way.
I laughed. Where had Zoe been hiding this part of herself all my life?
18
Zoe
My chances with Kevin were improving, but only slightly. We didn’t have any classes together, so I didn’t have any easy opportunities to have a real conversation with him. But at least now he was acknowledging me in the hallway. We’d pass each other, say hi, and then go our separate ways. He probably forgot about me instantly. But for me? This was HUGE.
I couldn’t wait to tell Mason about my “progress.”
“The problem is we’re not exactly part of the same group,” I said. It was an overcast
Tuesday, and Mason and I were sitting next to each other in Life Skills. “And we don’t have any classes together. So I’m not sure what I should do. Or say.”
“Having a class together would help,” Mason said. “But changing your class schedule to overlap with his would come off as super creepy. And it’ll backfire big time if things get awkward.”
“Which they will.”
“Which they might,” Mason corrected. He scribbled down an answer on his assignment, then checked it against the textbook.
I’d already finished my assignment. I offered to let him look at my answers, but he refused, which was strange. I’d never had a class with him before, but I had never known Mason to care about school. Wasn’t he supposed to take the easy way out in class?
“I don’t know what it is,” I said. “All I know about him is that he’s smart and he likes chess and board games. Which are great, but they’re not exactly my hobbies. It feels like we have nothing in common.”
“Uh huh,” Mason said. “And did you ever wonder why you’re so interested in a guy you have nothing in common with?”
“It probably goes back to my childhood,” I joked.
Mason smirked.
I looked out the window at the ocean. The waves were rougher than usual today, the water the same grey as the clouds. The world felt colorless. “The only thing I know about dating is you don’t get to choose who you like.”
“Which would make life so much easier,” Mason said. He finished his assignment. “It’s not a big deal. You probably do have things in common with him, you just don’t know what they are yet.”
“And how do I find those out?” I asked. “What’s the next step in Mason’s Dating for Dummies?”
He shoved the assignment into his binder and clamped the clips closed. “The next move you need to learn is a classic. I call it the ‘oh my gosh I accidentally bumped into you when I didn’t know you would be here’ move.”
“If you want your dating class to take off, you’re going to need to think of catchier names for your moves,” I said.
Mason grinned. “I call it like it is.”
“Whatever. So how do I pull this off?”
“You start by making yourself pretty with makeup and voodoo and whatever else it is you girls do. You know, the blush and the mascara and the moisturizing sparkle toner.” Mason mimed slapping makeup on his face. “Then, you meet me after school on Thursday night, and I’ll take you to where Kevin is going to be.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And where might that be?”
19
Zoe
The Night Market at High Street took place every Thursday evening from September to October. Stalls were set up in rows along the beach with fairy lights strung between them. Three food trucks were parked on the sand. These were different each week. Tonight, we had Churro Chums, Something Tasty, and The Pierogi Girls. The smell of sizzling onion and garlic wafted over from the Pierogi Girls truck, and it made my stomach rumble.
I stood, alone at the top of High Street, fidgeting with the hem of my sundress. Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I spun around. Mason. He looked pretty amazing in a fitted blue t-shirt that brought out the sapphire tones in his ocean eyes. His tousled blond hair flopped on his forehead and he smiled. I grinned back, a little dazed. I’d never had Mason’s charm directed at me before.
I was sure he was just trying to show me how it was done.
“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” He spoke in an accent right out of a forties movie.
I played along, infusing my mannerisms with extra daintiness. “Why, I took a wrong turn and ended up here. And now I’m hopelessly lost without a gentleman to save me. Now, I don’t see any gentlemen around, but perhaps you’ll do?”
Mason laughed. “Have you eaten?”
My stomach growled in response.
“Let’s find you some food before you eat me,” Mason said. We lined up for Pierogi Girls and ordered.
“You don’t have to pay,” I said, pulling out my wallet.
It was too late — he’d already handed a twenty to the girl behind the counter. “You’ll need your money for later.”
“Oh?”
Mason winked. “You’ll see.”
We ate our pierogies while wandering through the Night Market. I kept catching girls stealing glances at Mason and then looking at me with… jealousy? This was a whole new sensation for me. Nobody was ever jealous of me. I peeked at Mason, who seemed oblivious to all the attention he was getting.
We explored the stores as we went. My favorite shop was a striped tent called “All That Glitters.” It sold incredibly garish fake jewelry. There were fake rubies the size of my knuckle, a “diamond” necklace with baubles bigger than my fist, and a crown with sapphire points. Mason put the crown on and started demanding that random passersby pledged allegiance to the King of the Night Market. To my surprise, some did. It was amazing how far blind confidence could take you.
Next, we went to a wooden stand that featured a muscular man and a woman in a bikini. There were little holes you could put your face in to get your picture taken. Naturally, Mason pretended to be the woman in the bikini, and I was the Venice Beach bodybuilder.
We had just finished buying a bag of saltwater taffy when Mason announced the next part of his plan.
“We’re doing a context switch. Fancy words — I had to look them up,” Mason joked.
“A context switch?”
He tied a twist tie around the bag of taffy. “Right now, Kevin only knows you as a girl who goes to his school. You’ve never talked to him outside of school. When you constantly see the same person in the same place, you put them in a box. And you don’t think they could ever be more than that. Think about how weird it is when you see a teacher outside of school.”
I thought about my recent run-in with Mr. Hinshaw and his wife on High Street. They were antiquing, he told me. And even weirder — he looked legitimately happy. Since that moment, he’d been nicer to me in Physics class, and I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe the context switch thingy Mason was talking about had happened. And worked. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll buy that.”
“So what you need to do is get him to see you as not just another student,” he said. “Which is why I told you to dress up all pretty tonight. By the way — mission accomplished.”
“Thanks.” I blushed. Mason didn’t really think I was pretty — he was just trying to be nice and psych me up before whatever it was he had planned. “So, where’s Kevin supposed to be?”
Mason puffed up his chest. “You should be proud — I used all my detective skills for this one. And by that, I mean I checked their website.”
“Whose website?”
“Sand and Sun Board Games.” Mason pointed to the end of the aisle of stalls, and sure enough, there was a small booth with board games. Kevin was inside the booth, adjusting the angle of a board game so it stood out to anyone walking by.
And, as usual when Kevin appeared in my life, I was immediately nervous. I took a deep breath. “What do I say?”
“You could start with something like ‘Hey Kevin’ — something simple,” Mason said. Was he making fun of me?
I rolled my eyes. “Clever. Real memorable.”
“Maybe tell him you didn’t know he worked there.”
“But I did know.”
“Yeah, not the point,” Mason said. “Guys like to help. Tell him you’re thinking about getting into the hobby and that you need an intro level board game. Tell him you’re tired of Monopoly.”
“At least that’s true,” I said. “I am tired of Monopoly.”
“You and everyone else,” Mason replied. “He’ll probably bring up something simple like Settlers of Catan or Ticket to Ride.”
I eyed Mason suspiciously. “Since when do you know about board games?”
“Since I became your dating coach,” Mason said.
I was impressed. He was putting more effort
into my dating life than I was. I took another look at Kevin.
He hadn’t spotted me yet.
“Okay,” I said. “I can do this. I’m not nervous, I’m not nervous…”
Mason put his hand on my shoulder. His touch sent a shiver down my spine. “It’s okay to be nervous. I’m always nervous before the game starts. You just gotta feel it and do it anyway.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’m going.”
The walk to Kevin’s tent felt like it took forever. I kept waiting for him to look up and notice me, but he was too busy adjusting various board games. A perfectionist, I figured. I could admire that kind of dedication. Finally, I was at the stall.
He still hadn’t noticed me.
“Hi, Kevin.” My voice squeaked like it came from a cartoon mouse.
Kevin looked at me, surprised, then smiled. “Zoe! How can I help you?”
I pretended to look at the various board games. The boxes were loud and colorful, almost overwhelming. “I was thinking about getting into board games,” I said. “I was wondering if you have any recommendations? Something easy to learn?”
“Right this way,” Kevin said enthusiastically. He guided me towards a shelf. “I’m always happy to get someone into the hobby.”
“Great,” I said. “I’m all yours.”
I was doing it.
I was actually talking to a guy I liked.
Now I just had to not blow it.
20
Mason
I hung out in a stall that was about twenty yards away from Kevin’s. The Night Market was crowded enough that they wouldn’t see me, and it gave me the opportunity to casually spy so I could think of things that Zoe could improve for next time. That’s all I was doing, wasn’t it? Just watching so I could help?
Zoe laughed at something. When she laughed — like really laughed — she threw her head back and ran her fingers through her hair, almost pulling it. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite sights — and sounds — in the world. It was such a carefree, relaxed laugh.