AllFreeNovel
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“I meant it, too,” she reveals, and my eyes close at the sound of it. “So, what are the rules now?”
My mind is trying to catch up with my heart, that’s the issue. This is foreign territory. This is … I don’t know what the hell this is.
“There’s a milonga tomorrow night,” I say instead. “Come with me.”
“Uh. Not sure if I’m there yet.”
“You are. There’s a practice session an hour before, and then the milonga runs all night. But you could stay as long as you wanted. It could help you get a feel for different styles, help you get comfortable. Really get your feet wet. What do you think?”
“I think this feels like a low blow asking me when I’m hungover.”
I let out a small laugh. I haven’t been to one in a while. I’ve felt oddly removed from it, and the thought of going with Julie … well, it would be good for her. Maybe good for both of us. “People are non-judgmental. It’s just meant to be a good time. Drink some wine—”
“Don’t talk to me about alcohol right now,” she groans.
“Eat some snacks.”
“Also, no.”
“There’s a tango DJ. Does that sound enticing?”
“You’re funny,” She chuckles, but the following silence makes me wonder if she’s thinking about it. “And I can practice before hand? With you?”
“Yeah, we can meet an hour before.”
“Okay,” she concedes. “What time?”
“Let’s meet at six. The milonga starts at seven. Ideally you want to dress up for this but try to be comfortable. Oh, and it’s at the Midnight Ballroom. Down on Tenth street?”
“Yeah, okay. I can do that.”
I’ve got her, and now I need to keep going. “Want me to pick you up?” I offer.
“Seems to be the theme,” she quips. “Sure, I would love that.”
“Great. I can’t wait.” I bounce on the balls of my feet, the anticipation building.
“Hey Logan? Thanks for last night.”
“For what?”
“You know what. You carried me into a car for crying out loud.” She huffs out a laugh.
“Always. You know that.”
Her answering sigh is loud over the phone as she says, “Yeah. I guess I do.”
***
“Hey, do you thinkmom and dad gave you too much responsibility?”
“Uh …” Gavin is on the couch, remote in hand, searching for whatever new Netflix documentary he’s going to binge.
“Like, did they make you take care of me because you were the oldest?”
“They didn’t make me.” He shakes his head. “I wanted to. I had to. You know how things were after the divorce.”
“Yeah.” I nod.
