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"Let’s dance"

3

Ash

I don’t dance

Not at weddings or birthday parties, clubs, or after one too many martinis Let everyone elseover their feet--or worse still, bobbing around waving fake disco moves like they don’t look ridiculous I prefer to keep nity intact, so I make it a rule: I don’t dance

But as this mysterious wo smile, my feet do the unthinkable

They follow her

Before I can think twice, she leads me to an empty spot in the middle of the crowd, and then turns back toin the world to slide one hand around her waist, take her hand with my other, and find the music

Her eyes widen in surprise "You waltz?"

I ss in perfect tihs "Let uess, you learned just to impress the ladies at moments like these"

"Why, are you impressed?" I pull her iainst my chest I can see her cheeks flush below her feathered mask--it’s just like when I held her outside in the street Except this ti from the chemistry, I feel in perfect control

Just the way it should be

"We’ll see how you hold up after a couple of dances," the woman teases "It’s a marathon, not a sprint I’m Noelle, by the way," she adds

"Noelle…" I like the way it feels on ood as she did, but close "A pleasure to meet you I’ into the rhythainst hs "When did you learn to dance like this?"

"My ht me," I confess "For my first middle school dance"

"A, cute," Noelle sirls you’ve saved from crushed toes and broken ankles"

"I will"

A luly kid aardly stuh the steps We worked all afternoon; I was so deterot, Moh the routine until I was perfect She was always the patient one, warood