YOU’RE WELCOME, I signed back.

I didn’t know what to do with the fact Beau thought I looked beautiful. He wasn’t paying much attention to what Nina was saying to him, his eyes still on me, and I was torn between feeling flattered and wanting to tell him to knock it off. I never got much notice from boys, Deaf or hearing. This was weird. Even weirder was this weightless sensation taking me over, making me curl my toes from the way Beau was looking at me.

HAPPY YOU HERE, Beau signed next.

From the genuinely pleased look on his face, I had to think he meant that.

Now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to giggle or hide my face in embarrassment. I knew my cheeks were hot already, but at least the lighting was poor and he couldn’t tell.

Rather than sign something I knew Beau wouldn’t understand, I said, “I’m not doing anything else tonight.”

SAME, he replied in sign. He tried signing something else, and it took me a moment to figure out he was trying to ask me if I liked dancing, but he floundered on the last word, his lips pursed again.

I was trying not to grin as I showed him how to properly sign the word for dance—the tips of the middle and index fingers moving back and forth across the palm a few times.

NO, I then signed in answer to his question, adding, I HATE DANCE.

SAME, Beau signed again with the same grin as before.

Nina had her hands on both our forearms, snagging our attention, and said, “Do . . . guys want . . . dance?”

Beau and I both started laughing.

Nina was determined to hit the dance floor, and that was my cue to excuse myself to go to the restroom. I hid in the bathroom playing Fruit Ninja on my cell phone. Not really what you were supposed to be doing at homecoming, but the more time I coattention, and said, I could kill, the less time I’d have for dancing.

I figured my time was up after fifteen minutes. I wouldn’t put it past Nina to come hunt me down and drag me back out there. And seeing as she was my ride, it wasn’t like I could make an early escape.

Eventually I began making my way back toward the dance, but I took my sweet time doing it. I was still some distance from the gym, but I could feel the bass vibrating the tiled floor—not enough to pick up any distinct rhythm, but it was enough to tell it was some upbeat, fast-paced song. I thought about finding a new hiding spot, but I stopped when I caught sight of Beau.