Gaining his breath, DeAndre nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m good.” He cleared his throat again. “You took me by surprise… again.”
Avery smiled. “This time, I wasn’t joking.” She went back to her seat and sat down. “What I mean is, I want to learn how to pole dance. I’ve always wanted to try but never had the guts to do it. I think it’ll be fun.”
DeAndre stared at Avery for a minute.
“What?” Her excitement waned.
“Is there something else you may want to try? Anything at all?”
Avery’s brows dipped. “Not really. This has been on my mind for a while.”
“What’s a while?”
Avery puckered her lips, tilting her head in thought. “A few months, maybe.”
“I see.”
“You don’t sound excited. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Frowning, Avery blinked then sucked her teeth. “Why not?”
“You could hurt yourself.”
Her eyes widened. “How?”
“You could fall and possibly bang yourself up.”
Avery laughed. “It’s not like I’m falling from Mount Everest.”
DeAndre grimaced. “It’s not a good idea.”
“I promise everything will be okay.”
“How can you promise that?”
“Because I’ll be careful.”
“Have you ever pole danced before?”
“Well…. No.”
“So then you don’t know the type of endurance you’ll need to master those dancing techniques?”
Avery sighed. “I’ve got to say, babe, you’re really busting my chops right now.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bust your chops; I want you to consider finding a different hobby. One that’s not as dangerous.”
Avery’s eyes widened. “Dangerous? Really?”
They stared at each other for a long time.
Avery folded her arms. “So what happens when I do this anyway? Are we going to have a problem?”