“Then ask her.”
I exhaled.
“Okay.”
“Really?”
“Okay.”
She moved closer again. The music continued.
“Are we still dancing?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I put my hand back at her waist. We resumed. The difficult conversation did not end the moment. That was new. Amy rested her head lightly against my shoulder. In the mirror, we remained together. For years, I had believed honesty was the moment before someone stepped away. With Amy, honesty was becoming the thing that let her step closer. The song ended. We did not move immediately. Then Blake’s voice sounded from the hallway.
“Is that my playlist?”
Amy jumped back. I laughed. Blake entered, saw us, and brightened.
“This is excellent content.”
“No,” we said together.
They lifted the phone. Amy pointed toward the door.
“Private affection. Rule five.”
Blake stopped.
“What rule five?”
“Not for you,” I said.
They looked disappointed. Amy took my hand.
“We are leaving.”
Blake watched us cross the studio.
“Are you two actually dating now?”
We stopped. The question had been coming. Amy answered before I could. “Yes.”
The word filled the room. Blake’s mouth opened.
“No content,” I added.
Their mouth closed. Amy squeezed my hand. We left together. Outside the gym, the night air felt lighter.
“Blake knows,” Amy said.
“Terrifying.”
“Do we need to update the challenge disclosure?”
“The application began fake.”
