Page 24 of A Game as Old as Time

“Are you trying to explain vocal ranges to me?” Her voice went harsh in an instant, and the confidence that Gunner had felt moments earlier shattered around him.

“No, no, I just…” She was moving quickly toward him, standing over him in seconds. “I just, I mean, you know…listening to everyone over the last few years, I just picked some things up.”

She glared down at him, making him squirm.

“Well, I appreciate you trying to show off, but it is getting late, and I have to go.”

Damn, she is SO tough.

And just like that, she was already back on the steps. Her dressbounced above the Converse sneakers that she always wore.

“I mean, you can also dance…”

Last chance, Gunner.

“So I assume you are going to teach Bridgette how to waltz?” He tilted his head in hopes of a response.

“The waltz?” She stopped. This time, though, she immediately spun to him. Her eyebrow curled inquisitively instead of furling in anger.

Got her.

**********

He is baiting me. This is a game to him.

Her mind was telling her to simply walk toward the exit.

Do not respond; just walk to the door and leave.

Hailey, however, did not move. The young man she had been trying to avoid for weeks was now front and center, and she was again struck by just how attractive he was. His short, dark brown hair was messily parted to the side, and his green eyes glistened in the lights. He played the part of a football player perfectly, with his broad shoulders and shirt sleeves that hugged his large biceps. The tight South Mountain Football shirt also made it clear that he took good care of his core and chest muscles.

Walk away!

She couldn’t help it. His eyes pulled her back toward him.

Stupid, stupid Hailey!

“What do you know about the waltz?” she asked.

He smiled at her, his white teeth gleaming in the auditorium light.

“Well, most believe that the waltz originates from outside Vienna in the early seventeenth century. Since the film we all watched as kids is staged during the Victorian period, I guess this dance is some adapted French version of it.”

How does he know any of this?

She was moving across the stage without even realizing it.

“I see you have watched the movie and have access to a computer.”

He shrugged, his eyes pulling her even closer as he got up and began to amble around the stage.

“You see,” he said, taking a few steps. “My dad had the entire football team take dance lessons two years in a row.”

He was box-stepping across the stage, and she was struggling to pull her gaze away.

“The waltz, you see…the waltz was one of my favorites.” He started inching closer to her. “It’s slow tempo, elegant, forces you to work with your partner.”

He stopped and extended his hand to her.

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