“I did no such thing.”

“Well…then…you should have.”

She paused, looking around. “Yes. I should have,” she said.

He took her hand. “Wait a minute.” He paused as if listening for something,

still holding her hand. “Slow dance is coming,” he said finally.

She cocked her head. As if on cue, a syrupy keyboard started to play a ballad. “How did you know that?”

He shrugged. “It's an acquired skill. Guys learn to figure out when the slow

dance is coming. If there are three fast songs, then you ask the girl to dance on

the fourth. You do that dance without any pressure. It's a fast dance, right? Now, the DJ usually tries to mix things up, which means the fifth song is usually a slow dance. Then you look at the girl and go, 'Hey, wow, a slow dance. Since we're already out here…' ”

She nodded. “That's very scientific.”

“Thank you.”

“I'm not sure I meant that as a compliment.”

“Well, at this point, I'll take what I can get.”

She laughed. “Guys are that devious?”

“When it comes to beautiful girls, we are highly motivated. Besides, I paid

the DJ ten bucks to make sure all of our songs are slow dances.” He reached for

her waist.

She moved closer. The song continued. They began to rotate together under

the disco ball.

“You didn't have to do all this,” she said, gesturing with her head.

“I really, really wanted to.”

“Why?” Her heart thumped, waiting for the answer.

“Lucius told me a story.”

That wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. “Really?”

“It was about Kate the Monster.”

“Really.” She shot a glance at Lucius, who was with Carol by the punch bowl. He raised his glass at her, grinning.

“The monster part wasn't as important as the part about me being a spineless weasel and losing you forever.”

Losing me?

He drew her closer. His hand was warm and safe on her back. It carried her

along as they slowly moved around the wooden floor.

She glanced around.

“They're all staring at us,” she said.

“I know.”

“You'll never live this down. Your students—”

“I know.”

She paused, remembering. Raccoons and possums and bears. “I'm going to

kill Carol.”

“Oh, don't blame her. It was my idea.”

“Then I'm going to kill you.” But she couldn't stop smiling.

“Not until we're done dancing. It's homecoming, remember?”

The music played on, the multicolored light from the disco ball passing sleepy stars through their hair. She watched them spin away across the floor, like scattered pieces of colored glass.

The dance floor had cleared. It was just them now.

“So, I was thinking,” Peter said as they turned.

“Yes?”

“I was thinking, maybe we're not as far apart from each other as we think.”

She squeezed his hand, the heat from his chest warming her. “I don't see how

we could get much closer.”

“No, I mean, maybe it's like…a…what do you call it when two words sound

the same but have two different meanings? Like 'deer' the animal and 'dear' that

you start a letter with?”