Instructions for Dancing(37)

“Should we just leave it tied?” he asks.

“Why? Are you afraid to lose?”

“Yeah, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to get out of this with your dignity,” he says.

I roll my eyes. “You let me worry about my dignity,” I say. “But can we eat something first? I’m starving, and their burgers are really good.”



We order at the bar and then sit at one of the small tables up front.

X takes a look around. It’s more crowded now than when we first got here. One of the old-timers is at the jukebox, no doubt putting on a country-western song from sometime in the last century. I look over at Julio, who laugh-shrugs at me. He’s been promising to get better songs for the jukebox for years.

“So you and your dad used to come here?” X asks.

“Every Sunday morning. He and Julio would trade off giving me lessons, and then we’d just play for hours.”

“Man, your dad sounds great,” he says before remembering that I don’t think he’s so great. “Sorry, I forgot about—”

“No, it’s okay,” I say. “I mean, I used to think he was great too. Honestly, it’s part of why this whole thing sucks so much. It’s one thing that he cheated on Mom, but I feel like he betrayed my idea of him too. And now he’s getting remarried and there’s no going back to the way it was before. I dunno. I’m not making sense.”

“Shit, Evie, I didn’t realize he was getting married again.” He puts his hand on top of mine for a few seconds. “I get what you’re saying, though. It’s like he’s not who you thought he was.”

“Yeah, like in the movies when there’s a twist and it turns out the person you thought was the good guy is actually the villain.” My heart feels tight in my chest. I don’t want to make things so heavy between us, but I feel like I need to tell him the truth about how I’m feeling about the world.

“I wasn’t always like this,” I say.

“Like what?”

Julio comes by with the burgers right then, which is good, because it gives me some time to figure out what I’m trying to say.



X bites into his burger and then makes a happy, that’s so delicious sound. We eat for a little while before he prompts me again: “You weren’t always like what?”

I lean forward. “I don’t know if I believe in this stuff anymore.”

“What stuff?” he asks, chewing slowly.

I wave my hand between us. “Dating.”

He puts down his burger and his eyes are steady on me as he waits for me to go on. “Remember at the bonfire you asked me if Sophie and Cassidy ever dated?” I ask.

“Yeah, why?” I see the moment he figures it out. “They hook up or something?”

I nod.

His eyes roam over my face. “How come you’re sad about it?”

I don’t want to tell him about our fight and how I haven’t seen them all week. “I don’t think they’re right together, and when they break up it’s going to ruin our friendship.”

“Who says they’re gonna break up?”

How do I explain this to him without telling him about the visions?

“Nothing lasts,” I say. “My parents used to be so happy. If you’d met the Evie from a year and a half ago and told her that her dad would cheat on her mom and they’d get divorced and her dad would be getting remarried, she would’ve made merciless fun of you.”

“Well, I don’t know what the old Evie was like, but I like the new one a lot,” he says. “It’s okay you’re feeling cynical these days. It’s okay if you don’t trust the world so much right now. You have good reasons.”



And just like that, I like him even more than I already did. He’s so surprising, this boy, swagger and insight and gentleness all mixed up together.

We finish our burgers and head back to our pool table. “Ready to lose?” he asks, picking up his cue.

I don’t even bother to narrow my eyes at him. As soon as he’s done racking, I break, sinking two solids. After that, I proceed to run the table like it’s my job. Only the eight ball is left. I turn and give him the cockiest grin I know how to.

“I deserve that,” he says as he busts out laughing.

“Maybe I’ll sink it with my eyes closed,” I say.

“No way,” he says. “No way you’re gonna take that kind of chance.”

But it’s an easy shot for me. I’m not taking much of a chance at all. I sink it with my eyes closed. When I open my eyes again, he’s right there next to me.

He takes my cue from me and lays it on the table. “Nice game,” he says, pulling me into his arms for a hug.

I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face against his chest.

We stay that way for a little while, until he says, “We can go slow if you want.” He pulls back a little to look down at my face. “I mean, assuming you want to do this again. With me.”

It’s sweet how nervous he is. I smile up at him. “Okay, let’s go slow.”

“Does this mean we can officially call this a date?” he asks.

I laugh and put my head back on his chest. “It’s definitely a date,” I say.