Page 3 of Single Chance

I resumed my path to the bar near the arcade, taking in the costumes and characters on my way. The eighties were before my time, but I’d fallen asleep to so many movies in the past two years that I’d seen at least pieces of all the big ones from that decade and beyond. I spotted a group of ninja turtles, a Ms. Pac-Man, the couple fromThePrincess Bride, Prince, and a lot I couldn’t identify in a flash as I walked by.

This little town was going all out for its New Year’s celebration.

I’d never been to Dragonfly Lake before, but Presley had promised me it was adorable and friendly and would make a good landing place. She’d arranged for me to meet her best friend, Chloe Henry, to discuss a possible job opening. I had no idea whether it would pan out, but I was grateful to have a starting point.

I waited in a short line at the bar, keeping my head down but my ears open. I was curious about this place but not up for meeting bunches of people. With each introduction would come questions I wasn’t sure I could answer without getting emotional. My introverted self was content to be in the crowd but not too connected to it.

“What can I get for you?” the female bartender asked when it was my turn.

“A Blue Lagoon.”

She tilted her head as I said it, studying my light pink blouse and white scarf. “The popular girl fromThe Breakfast Club?”

I nodded, impressed because she looked several years younger than my twenty-nine. “You got it.”

When she handed over my drink, she said, “Good luck finding your bad boy.”

I laughed as I turned around, then stopped short.

The brown-coat guy stood there, front and center, six feet from me, all his attention on me, holding a large boom box in both hands above his head. He was even better-looking this close, with one side of his mouth quirked up in a half grin and his warm, hopeful eyes gauging my reaction.

At once, I realized he was dressed as the guy fromSay Anything,and the song the DJ had just started was “In Your Eyes” from the same movie.

I laughed self-consciously, and this time I did look behind me to make sure it was me his focus was aimed at. No one at the bar was paying attention to us, though a few people around him had noticed his bold antics and watched for my reaction.

I smiled, unsure what to do, but then he stepped forward and said, “Lloyd Dobler. Would you like to dance?”

The name jogged my memory as the movie’s main character, so I replied, “Sure. I’m Claire.”

“Lloyd” lowered the boom box and held out a hand toward me, smiling more fully, flashing me that dimple.

My insides dipped, and a spark pulsed through me as I took his hand. As he led me to the dance floor, he set the boom box aside on a table. I took a couple of swallows of my new cocktail, then set it next to the boom box. I wanted to dance more than I wanted that drink.

When he laced our fingers together, it felt natural, which was strange since I didn’t even know his real name.

Once on the dance floor, we faced each other. He kept holding my right hand and slid his other hand to my back, above my waist. I rested my left hand on his shoulder, and we swayed to the in-between beat with just a couple of inches between us.

“You look old for high school,” he said with a grin.

“High school?” Did he somehow know I was a high-school teacher? Then it hit me: He was still referring to my character.“Oh! Yes, well, you look too old for high school too, so I guess we have something in common.”

We both laughed.

“You’re not from Dragonfly Lake,” he said.

I shook my head. “You must be if you know I’m not.”

“I moved here a couple of years ago.”

“I arrived after the sun went down, so I haven’t even seen the town yet.”

“Where are you from?”

“Nashville. Where did you move from?”

“I’m originally from St. Louis.”

My brows went up. “You moved from there to this little town?”

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