“Absolutely. Let me show you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Better not. I’m the designated driver.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means I still have my wits about me,” she said.
“Coward.” Russ looked over his shoulder at Stacia. “Do you enjoy joy, Stacie?”
“It’s Stacia,” she said, “and Ido.”
“Stacia.” He held out his hand.
She took it. “Are you sure?” she asked in a flirty voice. “I’m not wearing a special dress...”
Russ pulled her toward him. “That’s purely optional.”
Cherry stepped back to give them space.
Russ guided Stacia through a few back-and-forth steps. He was making eye contact with her, smiling. Stacia was laughing. He held her by her hand and by her beautiful bare waist.
Once they were moving in rhythm, Russ swung Stacia away from him, then reeled her back in. Stacia squealed, delighted. She was clumsier than he was, but that didn’t seem to get in his way. Cherry couldn’t help but smile.
After a few more moves, Russ wrapped his arm around Stacia, holding her close—then spun her out to the end of his reach. He quickly kissed her hand, then said, “Your turn, Cherry,” and grabbed Cherry’s hand. For a second, he was holding on to them both.
“Do it, Cherry,” Stacia said. “It’s so much fun.”
Cherry let Russ pull her close. “I don’t know how—”
“Just follow my lead.” He was stepping back and forth. His hand was on her hip. She looked down at their feet. “No,” he said. “Look at me.” He was already swinging her out away from him. Then back. He took her other hand and swung her to the other side. “Look at me, Cherry.”
She did. His cheeks were pink, and his eyes were sparkling. He reeled her into him, her back against his chest. “Relax,” he said. “Just be momentum.”
“Momentum,” Cherry repeated. Russ’s arm was firm around herwaist. He must be thinking about how much thicker she was than Stacia. He could definitely feel her belly under his elbow. He put his other hand on Cherry’s hip and spun her out again, under his raised arm. Then back into him. Then away from him. Cherry went almost limp, letting Russ push and pull at her. Had he spun Stacia this much? Cherry was getting dizzy. She was laughing despite herself. Every time he whipped her around, her skirt flew out in a circle. She was glad she was wearing tights.
Stacia was watching them, laughing and clapping.
As the song ended—with a furious fiddle solo—Russ spun Cherry gently away and grabbed Stacia’s hand and held it over her head, giving her one more twirl. All three of them were grinning. Russ’s face was flushed and sweaty. He was holding both their hands.
“That was amazing,” Stacia said.
“I told you it wasn’t hard,” he said.
Cherry let go of his hand but couldn’t stop smiling at him. “You did all the work.”
“How did you learn to dance like that?” Stacia asked.
“I took classes in middle school.”
That made all three of them laugh. Russ was still holding Stacia’s hand.
Some guy walked over and bumped Russ’s shoulder like he knew him. “Hey,” the guy said, ignoring the girls. “We’re taking off. Everybody’s going to your place.”
“Yeah, all right.” Russ looked at Cherry, then Stacia. “Everybody’s going to my place. You coming?”
“Yeah.” Stacia looked at Cherry, eyes alight. “Yeah, right?”
“Yeah,” Cherry agreed. “Sure.”
