Angela was behind the desk when he strode through the door carrying his helmet. Her blond hair was pinned up in a high ponytail. She smiled, curiosity rising in her eyes. “Hi. Quincy, the world’s best first and second date, right?”

He loved knowing Roni had told her about their time together. “The one and only. And you’re Angela?”

“Sure am. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too. Thanks for winning me for Roni, by the way. Is she still around?”

“Yeah, she’s here. She’s in room three, down that hall on the right. But before you go see her, I just want you to know that she’s been through a lot. I know you two have been friends for a while now, and you don’t seem to be a jerk, but be kind to her, okay? She deserves the best things in life.”

“I only know one way to be these days, Angela, and that’s what you see is what you get.” He realized that wasn’t quite true, because his demons weren’t visible, but he was about to fix that.

“Okay, good. Would you tell Roni I’m heading out? I’ll lock the door behind me.”

“Sure.”

He followed the sounds of music down the hall, and there in the middle of the third room was Roni, wearing black leggings and a pink wrap top like she’d worn the other night, gliding elegantly across the floor. Her arms moved gracefully up and down, but when the tempo changed, she crumpled to the floor, head and shoulders bent forward, rolling her body upward and shifting into the splits. With pointed toes, she walked her hands forward in time to the beat, and one leg swept around her and then up, toes pointed to the ceiling. Then she was on her feet again, sinking, rising, sashaying, in a series of graceful, and then more abrupt, movements. Quincy was spellbound. She was so focused, it seemed like she was one with the music. The song started again without a pause, and her arms moved above her head in a new and different dance. Then she dropped to the floor, dragging her body along it with her hands and forearms. She turned onto her back, rising slowly, as if there were a cable in the center of her body, lifting it, her chest arching.

The lyrics came into focus as he watched her dance. It was a song about needing to lose someone in order to love herself. That could be his theme song. Not about a relationship with a person, but his relationship with drugs. He’d needed to lose them in order to love himself. The sentiment and the intensity of Roni’s dancing coalesced, swamping him. It felt like a sign, and he knew he’d made the right decision not to let any more time go by before sharing his past with her.

When the song came to an end, Roni stood with her head bowed, her chest rising with her heavy breaths. She rubbed her hip, as if it hurt. He wanted to rub it for her.