The Dance Partner Principle by Allie K. Quinn

Author:Allie K. Quinn [Quinn, Allie K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

sixteen

My plan after the show is to go to the dressing room to grab my phone, so that I can check to see whether I have disappointing or exciting texts before I go out to the commons to see the crowd. Also to talk to Ruby, so I can get a better idea of what, exactly, she’s going to say to Alex, and if me doubling with Parker is going to be somehow involved. I’d forgotten about that promise until Eva mentioned it during intermission, and I figure I should at least be prepared in case tonight’s the night it’s coming back to bite me in the ass.

But the curtain has barely closed when Alex is grabbing hold of my hand and tugging me off stage. In the opposite direction of the dressing room.

“What are you doing?” I say, halfheartedly trying to pull my hand out of his.

“Going to see our brothers,” he says, glancing back over his shoulder and smiling at me, even as he keeps towing me along. “And taking you with me.”

We’re out the stage door now and in the hallway by the art rooms. “But I wanted to go check my phone.”

He shakes his head. “Check phone later. See brothers now.”

“Okay, Tarzan,” I say, laughing as we run down the hallway. I can already hear the buzz of voices as people pour out into the auditorium and into the commons to wait for all of us to come out and say hello. “But seriously, I really want to check it before—”

“Surprise!” several someones yell, as Alex tugs me around the last corner of the hallway. I briefly register that our brothers are both there, with Austin’s family, and…my parents? Alex’s dad? But then Alex skids to a stop, so fast that I’m not ready for it, and I slam into him so hard that I make him oof. He steadies himself on the wall and me with his free arm and gets us both back to our feet.

“Well, that didn’t turn out quite how I thought it would,” he mumbles, blushing a little. “But are you surprised?”

I turn to face the “surprise!” crowd and see that yes, both of my parents are here. And our brothers, and Alex’s dad, Robert, and Austin and his family. And everyone, Alex included, is grinning like crazy, though Alex looks almost as surprised as I do.

“I—yeah, I—you’re here!” I say, launching myself at my mom.

“We are,” she says, laughing. “You could’ve told us Alex was your dance partner, you know.”

“Sorry,” I say, glad she’s hugging me so she can’t see my blush.

“It’s okay. It was like a trip down memory lane, seeing the two of you together up there.” She squeezes me tight one more time and then passes me along to my dad, then to Colby.

“Wait,” I say, when my brother finally lets me go. “This doesn’t feel like a last-minute thing.”

“Nope,” Colby says, looking way too pleased with himself. “Me and Ian and Alex knew about it.”

“Well, Alex knew part of it,” Ian says.

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