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I’m all ears, Cass. I’m all ears.

The music starts and I join one of the lines. Cass stands next to me. We move with the crowd: toe, heel, stomp. Toe, heel, stomp. Cass smiles a full smile. I can tell she’s impressed that I know the dance. I wink at her and walk backward. She’s at my side, rocking back with her hands on her hips and wearing a smile I’ll be thinking about on my next weekend at an away game.

Whenever Shania’s lyrics say something about what a woman wants from a man, Cass gives me that taunting look like I’d better listen up. The chorus comes on and Cass looks me right in the eyes. We’re still dancing, following the line of people next to us, in sync with every other person on the dance floor. Cass’s expression is teasing and full of what looks an awful lot like flirting.

I don’t know what to make of her.

Is she playing a part?

Does she like me now?

Are we friends?

Could we be more one day?

The song comes to an end and Cass reaches over and gives me a side-hug.

“Look at you, Cold Turkey. You’ve got moves.”

I lean in closer and say, “I think you know I’ve got moves, Carter.”

She leans back, a full, playful smile on her face. “Ah. Ah. Ah. Rules, QB. Rules.”

I’m ready to burn the rules to the ground. But I need to be patient. If Cass isn’t feeling what I am, I could run her off. We’re playing a running game here, and I’ll gain yardage one play at a time. No Hail Marys. Just steady progress until we’re in the end zone and I win her heart.

We dance a few more dances and then I offer to get Cass a drink.

The guys are standing around the refreshment table.

“I’m heading out,” Jaxon says. “It’s my bedtime. Right, Mom?”

I laugh. “Not your mom, but yeah. We should all get some sleep. I’m going to stay and help Cass clean up.”

“Just so long as your sorry self doesn’t call me in the middle of the night asking to be released from a storage container,” Trey says with a laugh.

The guys all crack up. The story of Trey rescuing us has spread through the team and been the source of plenty of teasing since.

I say goodbye to my teammates and then I stick around as promised.

Tonight, Cass has a team of volunteers cleaning up for her, including our local Waterford firefighters.

“Let’s get you home,” I suggest. “You’ve had a long day.”

“No one’s watching, Delaney,” she says. “No need to play.”

“I’m not playing. You’ve had a long day.”

Her brown eyes flick up to mine and hold. We stand there, staring at one another. She seems to be trying to figure me out. I’m just taking her in.

“Come on,” I say. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Okay. Let me just go over a few last-minute things with Dustin and Cody.”

I stand near the low wood fence separating the field from the parking area while Cass gives the guys whatever details she needs to.

When she comes back to me, she’s shivering. I take my coat off and wrap it around her shoulders.

“You’ve got this fake boyfriend thing down to a science,” she says.