Page 132 of Just a Little White Lie

“Relax,” I whisper into her hair. “They’re doing great.”

And they really are. They’re in time with each other, their moves are sharp, and they’re getting mid-dance cheers from the audience. That’s a really good sign.

By the time they shift into the final sequence, the arena is vibrating with excitement. Maverick pulls off a stunning backflip, along with Arlo, to an eruption of whoops and applause, which only crescendos when he throws Alexia up and catches her with a strength and beauty that’s all his own.

Lauren was right all along. She sees him in a way I never could. I’m a little ashamed of my judgmental behavior. But I’m incredibly proud of my girlfriend.

I kiss the top of her head as the final beats of the song crescendo and the Misfits settle into their finishing pose.

“Yes!” Lauren jumps out of my arms, clapping and cheering.

I stick my fingers in my mouth and whistle while the students run off the stage and form a hyper group hug with their teacher.

I step back with a grin, loving the way she is with them.

“You guys were amazing!”

Trixi’s crying, and Tobias is sniffing as well. He hugs her, and they sway together while the rest of the group continues to jump and celebrate.

“We were on fire!” Arlo’s going nuts. “Did you see me? Did you see? Jack, I pulled off that flip, man. Did you see?”

“Of course I did.” I laugh and high-five him.

“Let’s hope the judges think so.” Cedric worries his lip.

“Stop it.” Maverick nudges him.

“Did you hear the crowd? They loved you.” I rub my hands together. “If you win them, you’ve got a really solid shot. And that’s what you guys have. That’s the best you’ve ever danced.”

My encouragement seems to supercharge them, and I’m blinded by their beaming smiles.

“Okay, Misfits.” Lauren grabs their attention. “You can take a breath and relax now. There’s still a bunch more performances before they announce the winners, so let’s go watch them.”

“No way.” Cedric shakes his head. “That’ll make me too nervous.”

Dante snorts and shakes his head. “He’ll have no nails left, Miss Fillion.”

She laughs and grabs Cedric’s hands, giving them a light squeeze. “You can do this.”

He lets out a whimper as she drags him out to the contestants’ viewing area. We find our seats as quietly as possible and sit through the rest of the performances. I whisper a running commentary into Lauren’s ear, resisting the urge to kiss her between each sentence. Her smooth skin is right there. But I behave myself and tell her what I can about each performance.

“They’re good, but their dance doesn’t have much backbone. I don’t think they’re a threat.”

A few minutes later, I’m hissing. “Damn, these guys are good.”

It makes Lauren twitchy, and maybe I should stop, but the second the next group comes out, she’s leaning forward for my take. I wrap my fingers around her fidgeting hands and give them a light squeeze. She’s desperate for this win, and if I’m honest, so am I.

I want to see these kids succeed.

The Misfits need this confidence booster, and I wish there was some way I could secure it for them.

But I can’t.

So I just have to sit. And watch. And wait. And do what I can to keep Lauren calm.

It feels like it takes forever, but eventually the final school does their thing, and we clap and cheer along with everybody else.

Then the judges torture us some more by going off to deliberate. Lauren checks on her crew, then turns to me, and we try to come up with a top three together.

---