his eyes away for a second. “Because I’m almost positive that Mrs. Scholz is going to poke one of his eyes out, and while I don’t really want to see that, I can’t stop watching.”
“I feel the exact same way,” Journee said, containing a giggle but just barely, her eyes never leaving the stage either because he was right. It was just so obvious that one of her seemingly random finger pokes in the air was going to connect with Crew’s eye socket that it was impossible to look away or even blink.
Not to mention the rest of their movements were hilarious in an adorable, they-are-so-cute-together kind of way.
“They definitely know how to tear up the boards,” Dante said, shaking his head and chuckling softly.
“And entertain. I don’t think there’s a single person here who hasn’t belly laughed almost the entire way through this.” It was true, the entire crowd of people were just laughing and roaring to the point they could barely hear the music, which was really loud.
Finally, as the song drew to a close, Mrs. Scholz leaned backward ever so slightly, lifted one leg from the ground, her orthopedic shoe dangling in the air, her knee bent, her fingers still pointed out in all directions while Crew had his arm behind her back, facing the audience, one big leg bent, and the other stretched out in front of him, his boot heel on the floor.
The song ended, and the entire audience erupted in cheers and clapping, most of them still laughing, as Journee and Dante were.
“That has to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen,” Dante said, several minutes later as the noise started to dissipate enough that they could be heard.
“I’ve got a feeling there’s going to be a new dance craze sweeping the nation.”
“Yeah, the poke your eye out bunny clop.” Dante checked his watch. “We’d better get going. We don’t want to miss a second of the instructions, giving ourselves every advantage we possibly can since someone is petrified of losing.”
“You can’t tell me that you want to lose.”
“I’m not afraid to lose. Actually, the odds are the same here as for a ball game, you’re either gonna win or you’re gonna lose.”
She nodded slowly.
“I’m not used to losing.” He opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, and then he snapped it shut. A father, holding a child in his arms and holding onto the hand of another, walked toward them, leaning down to hear what his son was saying.
Dante grabbed Journee’s hand and pulled her out of the man’s path.
The man, realizing that he’d almost run into someone, looked up. “I’m sorry. Excuse me.”
“It’s okay.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
They spoke together, probably looking goofy because after laughing their way through Crew and Mrs. Schultz’s dance routine, everything seemed funny.
“Thanks. I was still thinking about the dancing competition. There is absolutely no way anyone could beat that. They’re definitely the winners, now all anyone else would be dancing for would be to not have the pie thrown in their face.”
“I have to agree with that. I can only hope that we do the Not Such an Ironman Ironman competition that well.”
“Me too.”
His hand was large, and he didn’t let go as they started walking again.
She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
Chapter 13
Dante had held plenty of girls’ hands. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal to him.
He couldn’t help but notice the look on her face as he took it and then held it and didn’t let go.
Just fleeting expressions. It wasn’t like she made a big deal about it. But the surprise, and a bit of wonder, and something else, something that made him feel like it wasn’t something that she did every day and it was special to her.
He liked that idea. The idea that what was between them could be special.
He hoped it could be more. Wanted more, now that he knew she was The Healing Pen.
Funny, since he’d only technically known her for a few days, but she felt so familiar because he knew her through her letters.
Time had flown by a little faster than what they thought maybe, because when they got to the area where the Not Such an Ironman Ironman Contest was to take place, it looked like everyone else was there. At least, there was a whole group of people, and a man with a clipboard and a big bushy beard stood in front of them.
He looked