Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(102)

I looked around, searching for Amanda, and expecting to see her threatening Shane onto the dance floor with her glare. Instead, I found her stationed near the DJ holding the microphone. God, please tell me she’s not gonna sing. Amanda leaned in to say something to the DJ, and as she backed away and moved slowly toward Shane, the DJ cut off the song that he’d been playing abruptly and replaced it with a low, soft song that I’d recognize anywhere: “(I've Had) The Time of My Life.”

Amanda walked casually over to Shane, a devious spark in her eyes. But it wasn’t until she spoke that I knew for certain Shane would undoubtedly kill her. “Nobody puts Shaney in the corner,” she said, as she extended her hand down to take his. The look on Shane’s face told me he was wondering if there were any Philadelphia judges who might be able to perform an annulment at a moment’s notice.

With a look of horror plastered across his face, Shane surprisingly rose to follow Amanda to the center of the dance floor, watching her nervously. Amanda faced the audience and began to speak quietly. “Sorry about the disruption, folks. But I always do the last dance of the season." She can't be f*ckin' serious. "Or in this case the first," she said smirking at Shane, who didn’t seem at all amused. “But this year somebody told me not to. So I’m gonna do my kind of dancin’ with a great partner.” Yup, she's definitely serious. With that last comment, Shane made his first real attempt at utilizing one of the possible escape routes he’d probably been scoping out since Amanda had first grabbed his hand and ushered him onto the dance floor.

But as he made a movement toward the edge of the dance floor, Amanda grabbed him by the waist and pulled him against her before continuing to speak. “He’s not only a terrific dancer,” she said, “but somebody who’s taught me that it’s worth it to take a chance on someone. Somebody who’s taught me about the kind of person I wanna be. And what it means to really love someone.” Amanda turned to look in Shane’s eyes, and it finally became clear to me what Amanda was doing. She was expressing her true feelings for Shane publicly the only way she knew how: through a spoof of Dirty Dancing.

The music grew louder, and the guests cheered, urging them to dance. Amanda tossed the microphone to the DJ and moved behind Shane, who turned to look back at her as she ran a hand down his side and across his stomach just like Patrick Swayze does in the movie. The crowd grew more wild with every movement. “Do you think he’s actually gonna try to dance with her to this?” Adam asked.

One look at Shane’s face and I knew the answer. “I don’t just think it,” I said. “I know it. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.”

And with that thought, Shane shook his jacket off and tossed it to the crowd before Amanda spun him out and pulled him back in, their hands locking and their hips and legs moving to the beat of the music. Holy shit. It had all been an act. Shane and Amanda had learned the choreography to Dirty Dancing.

Shane pulled her out and then in again, wrapping his arm around Amanda's waist as he led her toward the front of the dance floor, gyrating to the music as it grew louder. At least they had switched roles and Shane had now taken the male lead. The guests sang, and Amanda spun in circles, wildly tossing her hair side to side to the beat.

They continued their routine, their eyes locking at all the right moments as they paused to catch their breath together before the dance would pick up speed and they’d shake their bodies against each other. The audience seemed to anticipate the climax of the dance and hollered and clapped in encouragement.

When Shane jumped up and moved away from Amanda, the crowd that had formed near them backed away to make room for his solo. He spun around, snapping his fingers and moving his hips until he dropped his knees to the floor to shake in an overly exaggerated impression of Patrick. For someone who didn’t like to dance, Shane could really move.

I couldn’t wait for the part when he would pick Amanda up over his head, and when it finally happened, it didn’t disappoint. As she ran toward him and jumped into his arms, Shane lifted her effortlessly above him, holding her firmly in his arms as they gazed at each other longingly. The crowd loved every second of it.

When he finally put her down, the two got lost in their own moment again, dancing with each other and inviting everyone else to join in. They'd both done the movie justice, each learning the choreography seamlessly. But as good of a dancer as each one of them was individually, nothing compared to how great they were together.

The excitement eventually died down, and Adam and I spent the next hour or so talking and dancing to a few slow songs. I enjoyed resting my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me and moved us gracefully to the music. After most of the guests had finished dinner, the wait staff set up an ice cream bar and brought out the cake for Shane and Amanda to cut.

We watched from a distance on the balcony above as Amanda slipped a piece of cake into Shane’s mouth sloppily. “Make sure you get a video of this, people,” Amanda announced. “Shane Reed’s eating cake. This might go viral.” Shane smirked and wiped a bit of the stray icing from his lips before sliding his fingers into Amanda’s mouth so she could lick it off. Then he leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Her wide grin transformed instantaneously into another emotion entirely. Desire maybe? The whole experience seemed so intimate, despite the fact that they had an audience of over one hundred and twenty-five people.