Page 13 of Last Call Lindy Hop

“No.”

“What do you do for work?”

A moment of uncomfortable silence. “I’m… between jobs.”

I knew when to not push, and struggled to find a safe topic. Unfortunately the song came to an end before I could think of anything that wouldn’t make Lance shut down.

“Thanks for the dance,” he murmured, stepping back as the music faded out.

I couldn’t leave it like that. Something in me needed to make sure that I would see him again.

I needed to see him smile; know that the broken parts of him were whole again.

I grabbed Lance’s hands before he could walk away. “You’ll be back next week, right?”

Lance looked at the floor. “I… don’t know.”

“I’d like to have another chance to dance with you.”

His eyes met mine for the briefest moment. “I’ll think about it.”

“Ok.”

He glanced back to where he’d been sitting, obviously trying to make an exit.

“I’ve got to go pack up and talk to Jackson,” I said, giving him an out. “I’ll look for you next week.”

He studied me for a second, then nodded. “Thanks for the dance.”

I smiled. “I’ll have to let you lead next time.”

A moment of silence, then I turned to go pack my laptop. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how.

“Thank you,” Kenzie murmured as we passed, going in opposite directions.

“You’re welcome.”

Amber draped herself over me as I disconnected my laptop from the sound system and slid it back into my bag.

“Late night chili fries?” she asked.

“Sure,” I replied, though my thoughts were still on Lance.

I couldn’t put my finger on the reason, but I couldn’t get him out of my mind.

Chapter 9 - Lance

Kenzie sat next to me on the couch, leaning against me while I stared at late-night to-go containers.

“Was it a bad idea?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. You tried.”

“Did you have any fun at all? Was there anything you liked about it?”

“It was nice to dance with you,” I offered.

“Anything else?”