Page 38 of From Rivals to I Do

“Alright,” I reply with a nod, and I’m surprised when I stand up and Eli grabs my hand in his, our fingers intertwining as he leads me to the dance floor. I can’t help but grin ear to ear, my cheeks ablaze as he takes me over to the side and away from everyone else.

“Trying to hide me?” I joke.

“Not at all,” he says with a smile. “I just want you all to myself.”

“Is that so?” I flirt back.

“Oh! you hear that?” Eli asks, and I hear Brooks and Dunn come on.

“Oh gosh, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie!”

“Mm-hmm!” Eli says with a smile. “This is perfect! Alright then, you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, and with his hand still in mine he begins to guide me through the moves.

“So, it’s right twice, left twice,” Eli says as he clicks the heels of his boots on the ground.

“Right twice, left twice,” I say quietly to myself as I do the same.

“Okay, now, right, left, right,” Eli says, and I replicate it. “Good! Now, do a little hitch with your foot and turn.”

“Like this?” I ask, kicking my foot up and crossing it over my other so I can turn.

“Yep! Just like that!” Eli replies, beaming brightly. “Now, do you know how to do the grapevine?”

“Do I!” I say as I do the steps, and he laughs.

“Good! Then clap and go the other way.” As I do it, he lets go and comes in front of me to do it with me. “Now we’re going to do a little rocking step with the little lasso move here,” he says, and as he does it I can’t help but giggle.

“What? Did I do something funny?” he asks.

“Oh no, I’m just having so much fun,” I say.

“Me too,” he replies as he continues to teach me the dance. “Alright then, you ready to give it a spin with me?” he asks.

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” I say, and then the both of us start dancing, giggling all the while. I surprised myself, not only that I got it down so fast, but how fun it was.

I truly miss doing stuff like this, just going out and having a blast. Or maybe what I really miss is having this sort of connection to someone. Either way, the two of us continue to dance throughout the night, and he teaches me more moves.

“Okay, so, it’s like this?” I ask and Eli shakes his head and laughs as he comes up behind me, surprising me when he gently grabs my arms.

“No, no, like this,” he says as he guides my body, and I glance up at him just as his eyes flicker down to mine.

“Is this better?” I ask breathlessly, my face turning a bit more toward his.

“Yeah, like that,” he replies quietly, and his face slowly begins to gravitate toward mine.

Oh my, this is it! He’s going to kiss me! I think to myself. But then I hear a familiar laugh from across the room, and my face breaks away from Eli’s, turning toward the sound. It’s so loud I jump a little, and when I look over to the bar, I can’t believe my eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper.

“Pardon?” Eli asks.

“It’s. . . it’s nothing,” I insist.

“It’s definitely something,” Eli says.

“My ex, he’s. . . he’s at the bar,” I say, feeling a bit of anger crop up before it is quickly replaced by fear. The last words he said to me ring in my ears. “We should go,” I say as I let go of Eli and make a b-line for the door, hoping Joseph won’t notice.

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