She looked up and caught his smoky eyes again, then darted away. It was too painful to look at him head-on. The light was so bright now and his true self was so obvious to her, and all it did was make her feel like even more of a fool. Her heart hammered in her chest. She was not about to cry real tears in front of these people. Remember the time I defended a lying asshole when you told me you loved me? How about when I believed an Instagram post instead of just talking to you? Ugh, the guilt. It churned her stomach. Liza separated herself after a quick nod and tried to beeline for the exit. It was too uncomfortable to be here.

But Dorsey was faster, and he reached out and caught her wrist at the last moment.

“Don’t . . .” he whispered, then shook his head. “Liza, they’re starting a Sakuting dance. I would like to show you.”

Just keep your hand there.

Just stay holding me, and I’ll say yes to anything.

“What do I have to do?” she said.

“According to this program, this dance used to be only for boys, and it portrays a mock fight using sticks.”

“Wait, you’re reading the program? Why don’t you know?”

“Unfortunately, I know just as much as you do, Liza.” Dorsey pulled her near the dance floor, where a crowd of people were laughing and shaking bamboo sticks about one and a half feet long and tapered at the end, like a candle. Two people, one representing each side, circled each other and clashed bamboo sticks in a kind of imitation of martial arts sparring. It looked like a European quadrille gone off the rails.

“Is Dorsey Fitzgerald doing a communal dance?” Liza asked in mock horror. “This looks way too complicated. I couldn’t even begin . . .”

“The way I see it, there are two types of people in the world,” Dorsey teased.

Liza’s eyes widened, and Dorsey handed her a stick. “I’m not sure I want to give you a weapon after—”

But Liza did not let him finish and whacked his stick instead, like she had seen the others doing. Dorsey laughed and tapped the floor with his sticks. “Quick study, I see.”

Following his lead, she shuffled toward him while circling and interchanging positions with other dancers. She bumped into everyone and clashed the stick when she should have tapped and generally made a complete fool of herself. Eventually they were pushed to the kiddie practice play section.

They were that bad.