It takes two to tango #3
For a brief moment, Shona felt transported back to the cèilidh with Kendrick.
Those dances had been even better, but that wasn’t the point right now.
Then something else occurred to her: she and Kendrick had matched on Tinder that night, which meant he was looking for someone!
Maybe just for some casual fun, maybe for something more serious.
She hadn’t been on any of the apps since that night.
Which was in itself a bit of a sensation, she realised, and as if that weren’t enough, she hadn’t even thought of it for weeks.
Shona swallowed hard. What if it was the exact opposite for him?
Maybe he was hyperactive on the apps and ...
the women surrounding him right now weren’t just fans of his dancing, but had found him on Tinder too and were pining for a date?
“You’re acting weird tonight.” Her sister’s voice brought her back to reality. Had Isla said anything else?
“I think I’m just dehydrated,” she dismissed the comment. “And I haven’t eaten yet. This bodice is so tight, I didn’t want to risk it. Jon, could I have a large glass of cider, please?” she turned to her future brother-in-law.
“Next up is Kristy,” Isla pointed out as the young bagpipers left the stage to polite applause. “And the last one is that Phyllis, then we can finally all dance I hope.”
“‘That Phyllis’ is a superstar, you twat,” Shona scolded and took a big sip of the cider Jon handed her.
“If you say so,” Isla shrugged and clinked glasses with her. “And if you want to grab some food, better hurry. My Highland tapas are almost out, and there’ll only be sausages and pizza later.”
Shona nodded but didn’t move because Kristy had just begun her solo.
Within a moment, she was so captivated that she forgot everything around her.
Had her cousin rehearsed all that yesterday?
It was unbelievable! Compared to Kristy and Kendrick, she felt like a total amateur.
The two of them would look fantastic together.
Kristy, so tall and slim and her shiny hair the exact same warm brown as Kendrick’s.
Shona scanned the room and saw him staring at the stage mesmerised.
Maybe he was also realising what a good-looking couple he and Kristy would make.
And they were similar in character too: both reserved, serious and a little shy. The polar opposite of Shona.
“Spit it out! What’s wrong?” Hailey had tracked Shona down in the dimly lit stairwell where she had taken refuge a while ago.
“Why are you all asking me that?” she replied in a slightly raspy voice.
“Maybe because you’re acting strangely?” Hailey sat down next to her on a step. “First you run away from Kendrick like the devil is after you, then you disappear from the hall altogether and don’t even come back in to dance. Kendrick is looking for you too, by the way.”
“I doubt it. Our vet has enough groupies, and more importantly, he has a crush on Kristy.”
“He has what? How did you come up with that rubbish?”
“Didn’t you notice how he was staring at her during her solo? I can’t blame him, she’s amazing! And they would look perfect together, don’t you think? Both tall and with brown hair. And they’d be the perfect couple in other ways too.”
“What the …?! Are we breathing the same air? Or is your dress so tight that it’s cut off the oxygen supply to your brain?” Hailey shook her head.
“Why? It’s perfectly obvious.”
“Apart from the fact that Kendrick only has eyes for you, Kristy, well ... she’s definitely not interested in him.”
“How can you be so sure? She’s probably too shy to go for it, but you have to admit they’d make a beautiful couple.”
“Sure, they’d look good together, and they’d be hard to beat if they decided to team up for dance competitions.
But that’s it. I don’t need to tell you that it’s not people’s looks but their chemistry that sparks attraction.
And that you two are super attracted to each other is clear as day to everyone,” Hailey stated.
“I have no idea why you’re wasting your time brooding out here on the stairs.
What’s really going on? Are you afraid to hook up with him?
That would be a first for you! Or do you perhaps have deeper feelings for him and are afraid he won’t reciprocate?
” Hailey’s eyes lit up as she realised that she had struck gold.
“That’s it, isn’t it? Kendrick McIntosh is the first man you are seriously interested in, not just for a quick fling.
And you don’t know the first thing about relationships, so you’re going into full-on self-sabotage mode. ”
Shona stared at her cousin, speechless for a moment.
Was that really true? “I didn’t know you had a degree in armchair psychology,” she shot back.
Her response was unfair, she knew, but the idea that these confusing feelings meant she was falling in love with Kendrick was just too shocking.
That wasn’t possible! It really wasn’t. Falling in love was not a thing she did.
Full stop. And certainly not with someone this serious, no matter how well he danced and ...
“There’s my answer,” Hailey simply stated and got up. “Are you coming back in? Shon, you’ve got nothing to lose! Just dance with him and see what happens.”
“You’ve said that before,” Shona grumbled.
“Right? And yesterday’s advice still stands today.”