Page 57 of A Game as Old as Time

Hailey had to use all her strength not to giggle at Gunner’s hesitant shout.

“So.” Melissa was a lot more relaxed now. “That’s the great Gunner Weston I’ve heard so much about?”

Hailey kicked a small rock in front of her and avoided her father’s eyes.

Maybe. I really don’t know.

Chapter 11

“Wow!” she exclaimed under her breath.

Not bad.

The ensemble had just finished their number and split to different corners of the stage. A loud clap from Ms. Summers was quickly interrupted by a shout.

“Damn AG! Stop stepping on my toes!”

Hailey had already gotten used to the boys’ constant bickering.

Not bad at all.

She pushed away from the large dinner table she had been seated at, amazed. However, Juliana’s twin brother, Emilio, who brought an intensity to the stage Hailey had never witnessed, appeared dissatisfied with the last number.

“Me!” Andy was standing perplexed, with his arms out wide.

“Yeah, man, you! You’re supposed to cross upstage, and I’m supposed to cross downstage! How many times do we have to talk about this!”

Oh my, these boys.

Hailey laughed, then tried to turn it into a cough. While the recentpractices had been very different from those in her past, she had actually begun to enjoy the brotherly arguments.

“Boys!” Ms. Summers was chuckling as she made her way up onto the stage. “You both were fantastic!”

The two stopped and turned to her.

“Really?” they said in unison.

“Yes!” She motioned to Hailey, who stepped forward.

“Actually,” Hailey flashed a grin to relax them, “you guys are great for these two roles.”

Perfect for them.

Emilio nodded and slapped Andy on the back.

“See! Now, if you just listen to me and counter correctly, we won’t have a problem, AG.”

It was Bridgette who laughed next. Her coy approach, how close she stopped to Emilio, had Hailey’s eyebrow raising.

Well, would you look at that.

“Emilio,” Bridgette playfully whispered as she locked her arms with his. “I noticed a few things in that last number we can work on. Follow me over here, and I can help you out.”

“Me?” He suddenly looked very unsure. “You want to help me out?”

Andy chuckled, but Emilio’s stern glare shut him up before Bridgette hastily pulled him away.

Interesting.

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