"You're doing it again," Tallulah said.
I blinked. "Doing what?"
"Grinding your teeth and overthinking. A crease appears right above your nose." She lifted her hand from my shoulderand gently tapped the space between my eyebrows. "Right there, when you're thinking hard."
"I think hard a lot."
"Must be exhausting."
"Not really. It's my normal state."
The music ended, and Carmen gave the class a round of applause. "Wonderful job, everyone! I am so very proud of you. Well done. We've come to the end of our first class. The next one is on Thursday, but I recommend you practice at home tomorrow night so you don't lose what you've learned this evening. The more you practice, the easier the steps will become—like second nature. I'll see you all in two days!"
The other couples began gathering their belongings, chatting and laughing. Tallulah and I stepped apart, and longing surged through my chest as I missed the warmth and softness of her body close to mine.
"The class wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be," she said, picking up another one of her colorful bags from against the wall.
"I agree. I'm glad I didn't leave."
She slung the bag across her body and looked at me questioningly. "You were going to leave?"
"Right before you arrived. When I saw you, I changed my mind since I was basically caught."
"Well, I'm glad you stayed."
We said goodnight to the instructor and some of the other students who hung back chatting in the room. Walking down the stairs together, we made our way to the parking lot. Night had fully fallen, and the streetlights cast a golden glow on the cars and buildings around us.
"Thank you," I said.
"For what?" Tallulah asked as we strolled toward our vehicles.
"For not getting angry when I stepped on your foot. For not laughing at me for being incredibly awkward."
"I was laughing on the inside," she said flippantly.
"I figured."
She laughed out loud, the sound as beautiful and engaging as when I had first heard it at the bakery. Something inside me loosened and warmed. Her laughter had been burned into my brain since I first heard it, and I had relived the sound multiple times since then.
She unlocked her car but didn't climb in immediately. Standing beside the door, she held her keys and watched me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"I heard you were nauseous the day after the bakery incident."
I nodded. "I've never been high before, and after what happened, I don't plan to ever be high again."
"Either you have a low tolerance or you had a bad reaction because you hadn't been exposed to cannabis before."
"I heard you didn't do so well yourself."
"Sadly, I have a low tolerance for weed. I tried it in my twenties and did not fare well. I'm one of those people who have a very intense reaction to it."
"Tough lesson to learn."
"Tell me about it. Well, sir, I enjoyed our dance tonight," she said, speaking in a formal tone.
I followed her lead, speaking in a formal tone as well. "As did I, milady. I'll see you on Thursday."
"So you're definitely coming back?"
