Page 15 of Take a Chance on Me

She moves away to help another couple, and I take the opportunity to check in with Derek. “You still doing okay?”

“So far, so good,” he says with a half-smile. “Of course, we haven’t had to move yet.”

“Okay, now we begin,” Pauline says, clapping her hands. “We will start with the basic box step. Men you will step forward with your left foot, women you will step back with your right. Then, men will lead the next step with a step to the right then step back with your right foot. Women, your job is to follow so let the men lead, but men, that means you have to lead. Let’s try this now. Step, step, step.” She claps her hands with each ‘step.’

Derek takes the first step, but I accidentally step forward instead of backwards and our faces collide. “Ouch,” I say, dropping Derek’s hand to rub my nose as my eyes water.

“Sorry, are you okay?” he asks. The concern on his face makes my heart flip in an irregular manner.

“I’m fine.” I blink away the tears, wipe the remaining traces from my cheek and take his hand again. At least I’m fine as long as I don’t count the beating of my heart which has taken on an erratic pace.

“Okay, let’s try again,” he says. This time I step back before he steps forward, leaving a huge gap in between us.

“No, no, too far apart,” Pauline says, appearing behind us. She pushes me closer. “Now, try again.” This time Derek and I both step at the same time, but not together and he ends up stepping on my foot.

“Ow,” I yelp as we separate again. Now the throbbing in my foot matches the throbbing on my face.

Derek’s face turns red as his eyes drop to the floor. “Sorry. I told you I’m no good at this.”

“Again,” Pauline says, and we manage to get through a basic step with no missteps. “Yes, yes, continue like this.”

She moves on and Derek and I continue to practice. Slowly, we learn each other’s movements, and we are able to speed up our steps, but it isn’t always pretty. He steps on my foot a few more times, and I end up bumping into him more times than I can count. Every time my face gets close to his, my heart does its gymnastic routine in my chest, but I tell myself it’s just because we’re dancing. Dancing is romantic, that’s all. It doesn’t mean I’m developing feelings for the guy or anything.

Before we leave, we decide taking any class will be fine for the scavenger hunt and Pauline offers a forty percent discount for anyone who mentions the app. I consider it a win.

“That was exhausting,” Derek says as we exit the studio.

“Yes, it was, and now I’m starving, so how about we grab some lunch?”

“I suppose I could eat. Shall we drive this time?” I nod and follow him to the car. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular?” he asks as he unlocks the car.

I scrunch my face and rub my chin as I slide into the passenger seat. What am I in the mood for? And more importantly, what’s available around here? “Ooh, how about Sabai Thai?” Warm, spicy Thai food suddenly sounds delicious.

A look of alarm crosses his features. “That’s Thai food, correct?”

“Yeah, hence the name. You don’t like Thai food?”

His forehead furrows, and he shakes his head. “I’m not a fan of spicy things.”

How could I have guessed that? “Well, there is a heat scale. You could always ask for the lowest heat.” I’ve been to some Thai restaurants where the lowest heat is still pretty spicy, but he doesn’t need to know that or I’ll never get him to agree. As he doesn’t appear to be budging, I let out a sigh and say, “Okay, where do you want to go?”

“How about First Street Haven?” he says. “They have delicious sandwiches and they might even still be selling breakfast. I’ve heard their breakfasts are divine.”

Divine? I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a man use that word before and especially not about food. Before I can stop it, a tiny snicker escapes my mouth, and his gaze lasers in on me.

“Did I say something funny?”

“It’s just… divine? Most men would not use that word to describe food. Or anything else.”

As he tenses, I realize that I’ve hurt his feelings, and immediately I wish I could take my words back. I was teasing, but it is clear that he did not take it that way. “I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s fine. I am unlike other men in many areas. Why don’t you ask your novelty toy which place we should try?”

“It doesn’t work that way. It has to be a yes or no question.”

“Fine. “He flicks his hand as if the rules of the eight ball are unimportant to him. “Ask if we should eat Thai food. If it says yes, I’ll agree, and if not, we dine at my suggestion.”

I know he’s poking fun at me, but I have faith in my ‘novelty toy.’ “Fine.” I pull it from the bag, wave my hand over it, and ask, “Should we have Thai food?” I wait as the triangle appears in the window and then grin triumphantly at him as I hold it close for him to read. “‘It is certain.’ Guess it’s Thai food after all.”

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