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“But I am pretty bad.”
Josie tugged at her ponytail. “You’re learning. That’s not the same thing as being bad at something.”
She had a point, Dane supposed. He was just so out of his depth that he didn’t know how to gauge his own progress.
“And don’t forget how happy Alissa will be when you finally show her your moves. She’ll be so surprised,” Josie added.
“True.” Dane took a deep breath and let it out. He had to keep that in mind. This was all for her. “Let’s try it again.”
Josie pressed play on the video again, copying the moves with ease. The dance classes she said she had taken as a kid and in high school were still coming in handy. Dane tried to mirror her movements, but each of his feet seemed to be controlled by a different person. And his arms were on another planet entirely. He and Josie burst out laughing.
“Okay, let’s slow down,” Josie said, hitting pause on the video. “Maybe this video is too advanced.”
“The title of the video is literally ‘hula dancing for absolute beginners.’”
“Well, maybe it’s the video and not you.” Josie clicked onto another one. “I think the issue is that you’re trying to do your hands and your feet at the same time and it’s tripping you up. Let’s try just the feet first.”
Josie stood next to Dane and coached him through where to put his feet and how to move his hips.
“Okay, I think you’ve got it,” Josie said, stepping back to the computer. “Let’s try it to the music.”
She hit play on the video and Dane started the dance using just his feet. Splitting his upper and lower halves helped immensely. He still felt awkward, definitely, but he was able to follow the short tutorial.
“There we go!” Josie said once he ran through it twice. “You’re getting there.”
“Yeah?” Dane asked.
“Definitely.”
Dane half-smiled. “Good. I still feel goofy, though. I can’t remember the last time I moved like this.”
“It’ll be worth it in the end.” Josie went back to the beginning of the video. “I promise.”
“I hope so.” Dane shook out his legs. “Let’s do it again.”
* * *
Alissa sat down at her desk, her stomach pleasantly full after her lunch. She was glad she had gone for a salad with chicken, strawberries, and a lemon poppyseed dressing. It was light, but filling enough to last her for a while.
She went to wake her computer up and noticed a folded note with her name on it next to the mouse pad, written in Dane’s familiar blocky handwriting.
Her heart skipped a beat. Was he asking her to the luau?
She opened the note and her heart sank as she read it. He had been in and out all morning, so the note just said how much he missed and loved her. She sighed, folding it back up and putting it down in front of her. It was sweet and she appreciated it, but she couldn’t shake the disappointment that it wasn’t what she thought it would be.
The luau was coming up quickly. Did he not want to ask her? Did he not want to go? He told her how excited he was about her work, so she assumed so. Maybe she was wrong. Or worse, maybe she was missing something. He had been a little bit secretive lately, working late some days without going into what he was working on. Maybe it had something to do with the financial side of the paper, which she wasn’t as privy to.
She tucked the note in her desk, where she kept other notes Dane had left her, and blew a curl out of her line of vision. At first she thought she was worrying for no reason, but the longer this went on, the more questions she had.
Before she could ruminate any longer, the door to the office opened. Since Josie was out to lunch, Alissa went to greet whoever it was.
“Oh, hey, Hannah,” Alissa said with a smile. “What’s up?”
“Hey!” Hannah held up a folded piece of paper. “I just came to drop off The Crab’s specials for the luau. I was in the area and figured I’d drop off the hard copy.”
“Perfect, thank you!” Alissa took the paper from her and unfolded it. She wanted to print it in the paper ahead of time to get people excited. “Oh, this all sounds amazing!”
The menu was varied, a mix of New England classics like lobster rolls and Hawaiian-inspired flavors. Alissa couldn’t wait to try them all.
