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ACTUAL FUN
"I've never done anything like this before," Ariana told Hudson as they strolled down the center of the crowded street in one of Dallas's historic districts. The full-skirted seersucker Ralph Lauren dress Briana Leigh had chosen for her fluttered in the breeze, tickling her knees. Considering the other options in Briana Leigh's wardrobe, this dress wasn't half bad. It made Ariana feel like she was the central character in some 1950s, small-town romantic play, with Hudson as her farm boy suitor. She scooped a small bite of ice cream out of her paper cup with her pink spoon and let the sweet confection melt deliciously on her tongue. The sun was finishing its long, slow trip toward the horizon, and a cool breeze tugged Ariana's hair back from her face. The sensory experiences were all so pleasant, she hardly minded the unwashed children with their painted faces and the screaming parents all around her."Anything like what?" Hudson asked.
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"Like this." Ariana gestured with both arms to take in the whole scene. "This street fair thing."
Hudson paused, allowing a gap to open up between them and Briana Leigh and Teo, who were strolling up ahead, wearing the matching cowboy hats Teo had purchased for them from a guy at one of the many clothing stands. When Teo and Hudson had arrived at Briana Leigh's house midafternoon and announced that they were going to be attending the Taste of Dallas Festival, Ariana had balked. Her d
ates usually included five-star restaurants, classical concerts in the park, champagne, and respectful kisses at the door. A daytime street fair with arts and crafts vendors, restaurants hawking five-dollar tasting plates, and clowns on stilts generally didn't factor in. But now that she had spent a few hours there, Ariana realized that she was actually having fun. She wasn't sure if it was the weather or the food or the freedom or the fact that Hudson kept reaching for her hand--probably a combination of all four--but she was actually having fun.
"You've never been to a street fair? I'd think Chicago would have some good ones," Hudson said, incredulous. His ice cream cone dripped over his hand and Ariana automatically held out a napkin. Hudson thanked her and mopped up his hand, giving her an extra second to formulate a proper response.
"Oh, well, of course they do," Ariana said, figuring it was true. He launched the balled-up napkin toward a garbage can, missed, then rushed over to retrieve it and deposit it properly, all of which made Ariana smile. "It just wasn't something my family was into."
"Too upper crust for that, huh?" Hudson teased.
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Ariana smirked. "How did you guess?"
"Just something about you," Hudson replied. "You go to Easton, and I just had a feeling it wasn't on scholarship."
Ariana's pulse quickened at the mention of Easton. So he did remember that tidbit she'd fed him. No good. Plus the scholarship thing now had her thinking about Reed Brennan, which instantly dampened her mood. She felt her face start to redden and looked at the ground.
In, one... two... three...Out, one... two... three...
Okay. It's fine. You're fine.
"How's Harvard Prep?" Ariana asked, desperate to stop talking about herself. "Do you like it?"
"It's okay. It'll get the job done," he said, taking a bite from his cone.
"What job's that?" Ariana asked.
"Getting me into Boston Conservatory," Hudson said, running his free hand through his long blond hair. Most of it flopped right back into place. "They only accept three drummers each year, so it's not going to be easy."
"You play the drums?"
"And the guitar, the violin, the oboe, and a mean tambourine," Hudson joked. "But I want to focus on the drums in school. They're my passion."
"Wow. A five-instrument man," Ariana said with a smile, turning to face him.
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"Impressed?" Hudson asked, his eyes sparkling.
Ariana smiled flirtatiously. "Maybe."
"Emma! They're line dancing over here! Let's go!"
Briana Leigh's hand closed around Ariana's wrist, and once again her arm felt dislocated. Ariana dropped her ice cream into the garbage can as Briana Leigh practically flung her up a set of stairs and onto a makeshift wooden dance floor. A dozen men and women in jeans and cowboy hats were all moving in perfect sync to some annoying twangy music being played by a six-piece band on a platform. Briana Leigh jumped right in, moving her feet in unison with the others, which couldn't have been easy considering she was sporting a tight, distressed denim Chanel mini and Jimmy Choos with four-inch heels.
"I don't know how," Ariana feebly protested, trying to inch her way off the stage.
"Come on! I'll teach you!" Briana Leigh shouted.