Page 95 of How to Dance

“Well, don’t say stuff like that, or I’ll do it again.” His eyes lit up, and she put a hand over his mouth. “Breakfast, Freeman.”

He chuckled as she headed for the toaster. “You’ve got to work on your threats.”

She toasted the bagels and he made the coffee, and they were sitting down at the table to eat when she asked, “Are you about done with your video project?”

“For Vivez? Yep.” He reached for the cream cheese. “I want to make a database using all those old programs Linda has. All that footage isn’t going to do her much good if there isn’t an easy way to search through it.”

“Was that part of the deal?”

He shrugged. “She’s already paying me too much.”

“School’s gotta be starting soon, isn’t it?”

“Tuesday.”

She bit into her bagel. “I bet they’d still let you hang around even if you weren’t working on something.”

“Yeah, well.” He sounded overly casual, and she knew she’d read him correctly. “I wouldn’t want to just be wandering the halls.”

“Is that all?”

“I mean …” He cleared his throat. “It’d be fun if we worked there at the same time.” He glanced at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not a baby puppy.”

“Then stop being so sweet,” she teased. “Don’t stick around on my account, though. I might not be working there.”

“You will,” he assured her. “I know you’ve got your doubts, but Linda’s putting you on stage.”

“But I might not want to work there.”

“Oh.” He busied himself with the food. “Headed back to Icarus?”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I just don’t know if I’m up for that kind of work again.”

“Okay.”

She watched his eyes. “Try again.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t know how you can love dancing so much, be so good at it, and not want to do it for a living.”

There was a familiar tightness in her chest. “Loving it and being good at it aren’t enough.”

“I’m sorry.”

She believed him. She knew he wouldn’t ask any questions, no matter how badly he wanted to know, no matter how much he deserved to have those questions answered after last night.

“My mom calls me by my full name when she’s pissed,” she told him. “When I auditioned for Icarus, it was, ‘Hayley Michelle. Dancing is not a stable profession.’”

“Has she seen you dance?”

“Oh, she and Dad were at Icarus at least once a month. She knows I’m good. She just minds me trying to make a living at it.”

“What about your dad?”

“Dad worries too,” she said. “He figures if he can’t change my mind, he’ll try to protect me along the way.”

Nick smiled. “Especially if protection involves a power tool.”

Hayley nodded, laughing. “More than one.”

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