The PTT Dance-off

“Psst! Hey you, psst!”

Spencer turned to find a slim, athletic teenager waving him over. One of his friends joked about the sudden jailbait interest in Spencer. Prepared to wave off the young brunette, Spencer stopped when his other friend mentioned the girl was part of the crop that had taken care of Sean Tarver earlier in the night.

“Psst!” the girl repeated with a more insistent sound.

Once Spencer realized she wouldn't take no for an answer, he walked over, only to find her darting another five feet while waving at him to follow. The girl repeated the move twice more before stopping a few feet onto the dance floor. She pointed to the floor.

“Stay here,” Beatrice directed.

“I don’t understand. What’s going on, and who are you?” Spencer questioned.

“You’ve been requested,” the JV co-captain said. “Keep looking forward, and don’t turn around.”

With that order given, Beatrice darted past Spencer. Once out of his sight, she raised her hands in frustration at the sight of Zoey and YoYo struggling to pull Peyton over toward her dance partner. The older, leggy blonde couldn't stop the two cheerleaders but could keep her momentum at a snail's pace.

“Twenty seconds!” Zara called out, staring down at her phone’s screen.

“Pull harder!” Kizzy ordered her friends from the side of Yolanda.

“Dammit,” Brandy swore under her breath before raising it. “Peyton Tinsley Tarver, get your ass out there and start shaking it.”

“Ten seconds!” Zara warned.

“Fuck!” Brandy cursed. Then, she turned her attention to the younger Beal sister. “Boss girl, shove her ass!”

“Right!”

With the extra push, Peyton’s momentum sent her flying into Spencer as Zara counted down the final few seconds. Zoey and YoYo shouted, “Dance!” as Spencer turned around to find his sister’s old friend against him.

“Hey, Peyton. Uh, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Dance!” Kizzy added her shout before rushing off the dance floor. She joined Harley, who didn’t look thrilled to be capturing video evidence of this moment.

“I guess I need to dance before my aunt and those brats tie me up,” Peyton grumbled before catching herself. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not all,” Spencer replied, meeting her awkward smile with his own.

A relieved group sigh occurred when Spencer placed his hands on the blonde's waist as hers went around his neck. Brandy jerked her thumb to indicate that the teens should wait off her side.

“Children, behave,” she ordered simultaneously as the lyrics did.

“How long have you been planning that?” Fawn chuckled.

Once Cadence had convinced the DJ to follow her request, Ariel had managed to get a glance at the upcoming playlist, which she relayed to the rest.

“Of course Rachel would go with the Tiffany version,” Brandy remarked, rolling her eyes.

“I liked her talent show performance,” Fawn replied.

“You and every horny man in the school auditorium because of the schoolgirl outfit that Gabby **** her to wear.”

Running just as fast as we can
Holding on to one another's hand
Trying to get away into the night
And then you put your arms around me
And we tumble to the ground and then you say

“Whoa, nice ass,” Wrenn praised, coming up behind her two co-best friends. She squinted at the pair through blurry eyes.

Brandy and Fawn glanced at each other. Clearly, their uptight, brainy friend was three sheets to the wind. Wrenn’s tolerance level had never matched theirs, but it lowered over the years without their peer pressure.

“Thank you. Peyton takes after me. It’s called genetics,” Brandy explained in an overly serious voice.

“I meant the guy’s ass,” Wrenn laughed drunkenly.

Fawn burst into a round of giggles as she realized that Brandy had actually been serious.

The trio watched Peyton and Spencer slowly move in a circle as they danced. Despite the chatter about it from the younger teens, it didn't appear as if young love flourished yet.

“I think we’re alone now!” Darla shrieked, skidding to a halt to join Wrenn. “There doesn’t seem to be anybody around!”

“Just our suddenly obnoxious ex-friend. I don’t like how we’re not drunk, and they are,” Brandy said, turning around to glare at their so-called Fourth Musketeer. She ignored Fawn’s gasp. “Your parents almost ruined this moment, Dawkins.”

“I have Peyton’s bags! I went so that she wouldn’t. I did like your little helpers asked,” Darla whined, pointing at Zoey and Winnie.

“I forgive you,” Brandy stated, playfully punching Darla’s shoulder with a smile. “Now, we just need Spencer’s room number. If Peyton’s things are in there, she has to fall into his bed.”

“Huh? You’re not setting your niece up with Tinsley’s son?” Wrenn asked, scrunching her face up in rare confusion.

“Never! That’s Fawnie’s perfect ring-giver for Pey. This guy has more potential,” Brandy motioned over at the pair.

Fawn scowled at her co-BFF’s statement. Taking a long look at where Peyton and Spencer still danced with arms almost straight out, she bit her tongue rather than remark about how they looked like a pair of junior high school teens at a Friday night dance. Instead, the librarian began to scan the ballroom.

Running just as fast as we can
Holding on to one another's hand
Trying to get away into the night
And then you put your arms around me
And we tumble to the ground and then you say

I think we're alone now
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we're alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound

“You’re missing it!” Maura shouted, spotting Shayla and Lauren rushing into the ballroom as fast they could while wearing high heels.

Having finished their interview with Cleo about Cassie, the two former cheerleaders had raced back upon hearing the plan for Bridget's daughter. It still seemed odd that their friend would have such shy offspring around the opposite sex. But Bee wasn't the only one of them to have children that turned out radically different from themselves. Shayla and Lauren joined a group that consisted of all ex-cheerleaders outside of Addison. Besides Maura, Miranda, Lemon, Shelly, and Cookie stood around cheering on Peyton with Bridget's little cheersister, Sabrina.

Camera phones were deployed to provide Bridget, Tinny, Rachel, and Gabby with ample footage of the plan. Whether good or bad, Brandy’s scheme would be recorded in full…at least the public portion.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Spencer stated with a slightly lopsided grin.

“It is,” Peyton rescinded with her own dopey grin. “Thanks for helping with my brother.”

“Consider it payback for putting up with Sloane. I know she can be…intense.”

“Oh, I blame Lana for driving her co-captain mad,” Peyton tittered.

As the song came toward its end, a few of the younger girls grew impatient at the slow pace of romance blossoming. They didn’t like that Peyton and Spencer’s arms or bodies hadn’t shifted position since the start.

“Lower your hands, buster,” Zoey urged, almost willing Spencer to lower his hands from her neighbor’s waist to her buttcheeks.

“Grab that ass! Grab it!” YoYo implored.

“No, shake YOUR ass, Peyton,” Beatrice countered.

“Pull his head down and kiss him, Miss Tarver!” Kizzy demanded. She immediately stared off to her side innocently as Peyton’s head turned to scowl at the girls.

As Peyton muttered in her mind about how wrong the song was, she hoped the next track would allow her to keep some of her dignity. However, fate–or Rachel’s playlist–wasn’t about to shine down on her.

A roar sounded from her mother's old cheer clique as synthesized music played in the following song's introduction. A smaller, scattered cry emitted from various other cliques from that generation. Knowing how the older women reacted to this particular song, Peyton granted Zoey and the Babybees their wishes by pulling Spencer closer to her. With her head on his shoulder, he couldn't spot her embarrassed expression.

“Is something wrong?” Spencer inquired, having caught a brief glimpse of her expression.

“Just my mom’s choice of friends.”

Halfway across the ballroom, Yumi perked up as she recognized the music. “I love this song!”

“Of course you do,” Cat muttered, earning a dirty look from Kaitlin.

“Is this for Rory?” Yumi asked, noticing how excited Mrs. Rusk looked.

“I don’t think so,” Roxanne said, gesturing to the other women with Rory’s mother. The current varsity cheer squad stopped their dancing to watch the past generation.

“Try to make it last,” Maura sang the first line.

“Nothing you can do,” Lemon took over, waving a finger no

“In a photograph. The innocence you thought you lost. Is staring back at you,” Shayla took over, playing her old captain role. She’d grabbed an empty wine glass off a table as a microphone.

“Wo-ooh!” the trio crooned.

“Young hearts beat fast. Driving down the road. Rubber, plastic, metal, glass.” Shelly sang, coping Shayla’s move and grabbing a surrogate microphone glass. She handed a second one off to her BFF.

“Why did you have to go?” Cookie broke in before Shelly finished the hook.

“Young hearts die young. When they're all alone. And there's no turning back now.”

Miranda, Lauren, and Addison waited for the pause before more quietly singing, “There’s no turning back.”

While they waited again, the trio waved their fingers at Peyton and Spencer.

“There’s no turning back.”

“Ugh, I never really liked this song,” Brandy proclaimed, watching her sister’s friends.

"Stop rewriting your history," Wrenn responded. Even drunk, she knew Brandy once loved this song when thinking of a particular boy.

“I am not!”

"You wore those little karate outfits! You made me, too!" Darla reminded. "And you chipped my teeth with that super kick."

“I think it’s called a crane kick,” Wrenn remarked, rolling her eyes.

“Nope. Wasn’t me. That was all Teddy and Dean. Back me up—Hey, where did Fawn go?” Brandy questioned.

None of them witnessed Fawn off issuing orders to a young man, who eagerly nodded.

Knowing where you're bound
It's coming into view
Then you turn around
The innocence you thought you lost
Is coming back to now

“Let’s just take a moment and be thankful that Mom’s friends never lived in Regal Crest,” Lex Rogers said to his two sisters. They watched as not only Lauren and her friends clapped to the beat but also other women their age. “Imagine the nightmare scenario of them doing this at a Thornapple dance.”

“Yeah, we only have a few of her dancer classmates in town,” Loren agreed. “Mrs. Stavros would die from embarrassment.”

“I don’t know. I can see Ms. Breese letting loose,” Rowan speculated about their Etiquette teacher at Thornapple Academy. “And you never watched Mom and Dad’s wedding videos. The cheer squad sure shocked Dad’s family and friends during the reception.”

Not too far away, Cat and Yumi had different reactions as they watched the ex-Sugarbees join in with their past cheer rivals in dancing and clapping to their beloved song. Unlike The Sweetheart, The Harlot didn’t join in finding her mother’s actions to be fun and amusing.

“Can we play this again for Rory? We should ask. I’m going to ask,” Yumi announced, turning to rush over to the DJ. None of her cheermates reacted quickly enough to stop her, so it fell on Delilah to press pause on the idea by blocking the excited cheerleader.

“No need, Yums. Look over there,” the one nice dancer directed.

Aurora and Kieran danced with their foreheads touching. The intimate contact increased as Kieran moved in to lightly capture Rory’s lips in a sweet kiss.

“Aww!”

Young hearts beat fast
Driving down the road
Rubber, plastic, metal, glass
Why did you have to go?
Young hearts die young
When they're all alone
And there's no turning back now

“Um, we seem to have a lot of eyes on us,” Spencer pointed out.

“Just my mom’s friends again,” Peyton replied with a weary sigh. Then, her eyes narrowed as a familiar face slowly walked over while joining in with the clapping to the beat as it died down.

“Pardon me, good man. I would like to have this next dance with the lady, if you don’t mind?”

“Oh, he minds,” Peyton growled.

“Uh, sure. I shouldn’t monopolize you,” Spencer agreed out of politeness. “We can have another round in a bit.”

Not wanting to come across as a bitch in front of her old crush, Peyton reluctantly gave in. Nodding to his replacement, Spencer returned to his friends by the bar. Once he was out of sight, Peyton gave a half-hearted shove to her next partner.

“You better not make a scene again,” the leggy blonde warned.

“Moi?” Nate Toone questioned in mock horror. Then, before Peyton could respond, Nate looked over her shoulder and held up a thumb.

Peyton followed suit to find a grinning Fawn holding up a matching thumb.

“What the…Fawn!” Brandy bellowed, following Nate and Peyton’s gazes to see her traitorous best friend.

“Ohh, plot twist,” Wrenn cackled.

“Watch it, worrywart,” Brandy warned.

“I didn’t say anything!” Darla protested, causing Brandy to take a deep breath to control her emotions.

When Peyton turned back to Nate, she found him holding up a closed fist to his mouth as if it were a microphone. With that, she moved to march off until his other arm wrapped around her waist to stop her.

“I don't know what it is that you've done to me,” her childhood patient and tormentor began to sing. “But it's caused me to act in such a crazy way. Whatever it is that you do when you do what you're doing. It's a feeling that I want to stay.”

Off to the side, two members of Peyton’s high school clique noticed the abrupt change of partners.

“He’s so dead,” Poppy declared, sounding as if it made her day. “Pey’s going to **** the bastard after this.”

"But Nate really likes Peyton. Even if he always tries to sleep with me when he visits," Stephanie remarked, earning a stern glare. "What? I said, tried. I don't always let him get his way."

“'Cause my heart starts beating triple time. With thoughts of loving you on my mind,” Nate continued as Peyton finally recognized the song with widening eyes and a sinking stomach. “I can't figure out just what to do. When the cause and cure is you.”

Despite Nate’s promise not to make a scene, Peyton knew better, so she watched his actions like a hawk.

“I get so weak in the knees. I can hardly speak. I lose all control,” Nate crooned, his knees threatening to buckle.

Back over by Steph, Poppy snapped her fingers to break up one of Barney's **** dances with his friends. He and Harper Hemming had been so focused on not tripping due to Barney's clumsy feet that they hadn't noticed the new charity ball attraction. While most of the dance floor still held pairs moving in their own worlds, a small, growing circle formed around Peyton and Nate.

“Barn, get pictures before Peyton beats him,” Poppy ordered.

“Whoa!” Harper gasped, noticing the duo. The shopaholic moved to join the growing assembly of Zurbrugg College students.

“Lana and Finn are going to die that this missed this,” Kiki stated, knowing this moment would be heavily discussed back at their house in Arbor Corners.

“Sadie and Neve have missed so much tonight. I bet they regret going to the ski lodge now,” AJ Stoke speculated about her and Harper’s other close college friends.

“Where’s Priscilla?” Jamie-Lynn inquired after taking note of who was and wasn’t with them.

“Ugh, what do you think? We’re in for another few months of Prissy and RJ’s long-distance drama,” Merritt replied about her best friend.

“Feeling jealous, Zay?” Harper teased as Peyton removed Nate’s hand from her ass.

“Pey can have Nate all day and all night for all I care,” Zaylie Dunday said about her high school boyfriend. “And his mom is going to love this.”

Time after time after time I tried to fight it
But your love is strong it keeps on holding on
Resistance is down when you're around cries fading
In my condition, I don't want to be alone

“I don’t know if this is sweet, hilarious, or mortifying,” Lauren commented. “Peyton is so not Bridget. She doesn’t crave the attention like her mom did.”

“Nate does, so he’s just like his mom,” Shayla noted. That earned a somewhat muffled complaint. The dance and yoga instructor turned her head slightly in her BFF’s direction—more precisely, Maura’s phone— and issued a half-apology. “Sorry, but you know it’s true, Tin.”

“The dynamic between them is eerie. It’s as if Bee was a boy and chased after Cassie,” Sabrina mused. That led to a round of boisterous laughter.

“I wonder what Bridget would’ve been like as a guy back in the day,” Addison said through her laughter.

“Have you met Harvey Diamond?” Shelly shot back.

On the phone, Tinny laughed the loudest at the comparison. She had to wipe the tears from her eyes before demanding that Maura hold the phone better. In their Breezy Bay home, Ned heard his wife yelling once again to hurry. He couldn’t imagine what else could be happening at the ball at this point in the night.

When he arrived, Ned didn’t need a detailed explanation. Viewing Peyton slapping his son’s hands away from her private parts while Nate serenaded her was enough of a recap. How did all three of my kids turn out to have **** wishes? Why couldn’t one have taken after me? Well, it could be worse. At least the twins aren’t there to create more chaos. They already did enough.

Nate and Peyton fell into a stalemate, with his hands holding her arms while they turned at a rapid pace. All the while, he continued to use the song to pour out a version of his heart. To Peyton, it was a contrived version intended to mock her while getting in her pants.

I get so weak in the knees
I can hardly speak (I do)
I lose all control (control)
And something takes over me (takes over me)
In a daze, and it's so amazing (amaze)
It's not a phase I want you to stay with me (stay with me)
By my side, I swallow my pride (my pride)
Your love is so sweet
It knocks me right off of my feet

Can't explain why your love, it makes me weak

I try hard to fight it
No way can I deny it
Your love's so sweet
Knocks me off my feet

Despite being prepared for this moment, Peyton nearly missed the signs as Nate had lulled her into thinking she'd already nixed his serious attempts. So when he dropped to his knees, she barely had time to react. Not fucking again. No way! Peyton screamed in her mind about Nate’s earlier humiliation of lying on the floor while singing about wanting to sex her up.

Shaking off his grip on her arms, Peyton's hands shot down to grip Nate's collar. Then, showing her deceptive strength, she yanked hard, forcing the short yet powerful guy back to his feet. Of course, Nate used the opportunity to finally wrap his arms around his partner's waist despite her semi-strangulation of him.

"Yay!" Zoey, Winnie, Ariel, and the Babybees roared as Nate's hands moved down to grip Peyton's toned asscheeks.

“I swear, I’m going to kill you someday,” Peyton growled.

“**** by sexual exertion, no doubt,” Nate cracked. “Wanna find a room and give me one of those heart stress tests?”

Peyton’s attempt to knee Nate in the groin got blocked. Unfortunately, Peyton used her left knee in the effort. Her dress’s slit lay on that side. Immediately, she realized her mistake as Nate’s hand ran up the soft, exposed skin. An animalistic growl sounded from her throat before Nate pulled away at the top of her upper thigh.

“Don’t worry, Pey. I won’t touch your treasure trove until you beg me to.”

“That’s never happening.”

“Now, let’s not be hasty. Aunt Bridget needs a fun, heartwarming video to wake up to in the morning. I don’t think one of you bludgeoning me is gonna help raise her spirits,” Nate pointed out.

“Are you using my parents’ divorce—”

Nate’s finger to her lips shushed Peyton as the song ended. Having gotten the lowdown from Fawn, Nate also silently thanked Rachel for selecting songs that his mom played in the car or house repeatedly over the years. That gave him a surprising advantage in knowing almost all the lyrics.

An advantage that shocked everyone when he jumped away from Peyton.

Raising his arms out, Nate began to swing them while dancing, with his legs crossing at times. Then, he reached down to pull his shirt loose from his pants. Next, Nate raised a single arm as he pointed straight at Peyton.

“You…are…on my mind,” the eldest Toone sibling said. “You…are…on my mind.”

“Ha! He knows this one. My son is going to sweep Pey off her feet,” Tinny cheered all the way in Hawaii.

“Oh, now he’s your son again?” Ned questioned, wondering how many times Nate had been his son tonight when he screwed up.

“Shush!”

Ev'ry little thing I do you're on my mind.
The way I feel lately, it's driving me crazy.
Ev'ry little thing I do you're on my mind.
I can't get over you.
I think about you all the time.

"Can't you see what you do to me? I think about you all the time," Nate belted out. He began by continuing to point at Peyton before pulling his arms in and clutching his raised fists. Then, he dropped them down to his waist before kicking his legs out and dipping low in the appearance of a choreographed dance. "My mind is hazy and I'm mixed up, feeling crazy over you; let's not waste any time."

“What the hell? This is such bullshit,” Brandy yelled at Fawn as she rejoined them. “You had to go and ruin my plan.”

“I enlarged your plan. It’s going to be epic,” Fawn replied.

“Epic? How is adding Tinny’s kid making this epic? Pey’s going to storm off soon,” Brandy complained.

“Not bad, Graff. Not bad,” Wrenn remarked, enjoying the tables getting turned on Brandy.

“He’s good!” Darla praised as Nate’s dancing moved on to the second level.

Round and round I go,
where I'll stop only you'll know.
I guess it's all in my mind.
Take your time, think it over.
Let me know what you wanna do
Baby, it's all good.

“Oh. My. Gawd,” Merritt moaned in horror.

“I should get him an amateur night tryout when he comes to visit next time,” Kiki joked about Seventh Heaven, the strip club where she worked.

“This is getting good,” Kizzy announced, beaming at Harley.

“No, it’s getting awesome!” YoYo corrected.

All the onlookers watched as Nate took the lyrics quite literally. He’d moved from dancing in front of the paralyzed Peyton to dancing around her in a wide circle. His exaggerated dance moves continued to attract more people.

“Why isn’t she doing anything?” Jamie-Lynn asked Merritt.

“I know. I’m getting worried. The explosion is going to be earth-shattering,” Merry agreed, watching Peyton in concern.

Every little thing I do, you're on my mind
You're on my mind, hey
Every little thing I do, you're on my mind
You're on my mind, hey
Every little thing I do, you're on my mind
You're on my mind, hey
Every little thing I do, you're on my mind
You're on my mind, hey

Nate didn't stop with one rotation around Peyton. No, he went for a second. And Nate became more emboldened with his childhood nemesis of love not doing anything to stop him. Fawn gave the first high-five that continued with a tipsy and super-excited Darla. Maura got a close-up shot of Shelly and Cookie slapping hands with the star of the moment. Despite Tinny's encouraging screams to go get her, Shayla and Lauren held back as they'd also grown wary of Peyton's out-of-character response. Feeling partially responsible for this show, the Babybees all high-fived Nate or shoved him back toward Miss Tarver. Zoey held back as she feared Peyton's ****. Nate continued his dance circle until he finished with Kiki and AJ. Zaylie shook a stern no at her ex-boyfriend.

Stopping in front of the future doctor, Nate held out his hand.

Suddenly, Peyton began laughing…and laughing.

“Oh, fuck. She’s snapped,” Merry moaned.

“We…we should…we need to do something,” Jamie-Lynn stammered.

“And now you know why I can’t stand the little fucker,” Poppy said in an I-told-you-so voice.

“Is she okay?” Zara asked the person who knew Peyton the best around them.

“I don’t know,” Zoey admitted.

Peyton hadn’t gone insane. After all the events that night, she finally had one thought that fit her spiraling life. Fuck my life.

And if her laughter had been a bit creepy, it turned into a round of roaring good fun that bent her over with her hands on her knees as the song ended with Nate getting hip-checked hard to the side.

“Now it’s epic,” Fawn declared.

“Ooh, double plot twist,” Wrenn gasped.

“Holy–You did–-Wrennie, you’ve been replaced. Fawn’s our new genius,” Brandy announced as Darla clapped excitedly at the sight of Eoin O’Hara taking his place in front of Peyton.

“Oh, I just died in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said,” Eoin bellowed along with the song toward his longtime classmate and friend. “I just died in your arms tonight.”

Peyton’s hand came up to cover her mouth as Eoin strummed his air guitar. The effect sent waves of cheers while Nate waved off his replacement as he walked off the dance floor.

“Ohmaigawd! We’re missing something!” Sanna screeched, rushing over to see the source of the commotion. Spotting Nate getting consoling pats on the back while Eoin began to sing, she shouted, “Nooooooo!!!”

“We’ve missed something fucking huge!” Serinda screamed in dismay.

Fortunately, Sanna spotted Harley amongst all the people recording the dance-off. Whipping out her own phone, she told her sister in a relieved voice, “No, no, we’re okay. We can get copies of their footage.”

I keep lookin' for somethin' I can't get
Broken hearts lie all around me
And I don't see an easy way to get out of this
Her diary, it sits by the bedside table
The curtains are closed, the cats in the cradle
Who would've thought that a boy like me could come to this

Eoin had a flare of showmanship as he acted out scenes to accompany the lyrics by picking up an imaginary diary, flipping the pages, and pulling open curtains. Unlike Nate's knowledge of his accidental music selections, Eoin reacted late to the song's lyrics, but that added to the fun for the onlookers.

“About time,” Iona remarked. She'd wondered if her older brother would step up after Nate slid into Spencer’s dance. Taking a picture, she sent it to Sean with a note about the kiss they’d almost witnessed earlier in the night.

Noticing who Iona sent the picture to, Kiki wrapped her arm around the younger girl’s shoulder. Although she occasionally hooked up with Eoin, there wasn’t anything more than a friends-with-benefits thing between the two. Eoin had several of those relationships, with none causing any issues in their expanded group. Still, she liked the idea of Peyton getting with Eoin, along with Sean dating Iona. It would create entertainment next year if it came to bear.

“Well, it’s not like he doesn’t practically live in your house already,” Harper joked.

“Sugar, I think Eoin splits his time between both of our houses for food and booty,” Zaylie clarified.

“Look, even if this leads nowhere. Lana is gonna have a field day with all the pictures and videos,” Auggie pointed out.

“Ooh! Movie night at your house is gonna be something,” AJ laughed. “I bet Lana will tease this footage several times before it’s big debut.”

“You know it. I guess I’ll need to come up for that,” Poppy noted.

It was a long hot night
She made it easy, she made it feel right
But now it's over, the moment has gone
I followed my hands not my head, I know I was wrong

Lana’s reaction also happened to be on Peyton’s mind as she couldn’t stop giggling. I’m never going to live this down. If it’s not Lan, then it will be Brandy. Crap! Mom’s going to probably make me sit down and watch all this with her. And…fuck! Aunt Tinny and all of Mom’s other friends will be coming here for Sean’s graduation. This won’t die down for years. I’m so screwed.

And as with Nate, Peyton also knew precisely how Eoin would end his performance. But unlike Nate, she just didn’t care anymore. How much else could she be embarrassed tonight?

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must've been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight
I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must've been some kind of kiss
I should've walked away
I should've walked away

Eoin fell into Peyton’s arms.

“This is unbelievable!” YoYo exclaimed as her friends cheered the dramatic end of the song.

“We made this happen,” Kizzy pointed out with pride.

“We? You barely helped,” Zara countered.

“Because nobody told me!” Kizzy argued.

“We all did this as a team, as a squad,” Beatrice declared, earning nods from the JV team and eye rolls from the non-cheerleaders.

“Iona’s going to be a handful at our house with this,” Zoey foresaw. “Too bad JoJo had to ‘use the bathroom’ with Jared.”

“Wait…it’s not over!” Kizzy gasped, nearly knocking over Harley in her excitement.

Their group watched as Eoin raised himself in time with the latest song. This time, he seemed to have a better feel for the lyrics based on his actions.

“Her hair is Harlow gold.” Eoin ran a hand through the long, wavy caramel locks. “Her lips a sweet surprise,” he sang while bringing his fingers temporarily to Peyton's lips before dropping them further to clasp her hands as he brought them up midway. “Her hands are never cold. She's got Bette Davis eyes.”

Lauren brought her hand to her heart as Eoin gazed deeply into Peyton’s blue orbs. Shayla motioned at Maura to mute Tinny’s belligerent complaints. Addison asked Shelly why she never set her son, Penn, up with Peyton.

“She tried that the summer after they graduated high school. I think even Bee got frightened by Pey’s demands that Shelly stop,” Cookie recounted for her BFF.

“That girl can be stubborn. She’d make one hell of a lawyer. I’d hire her in a heartbeat,” Shelly admitted.

“I think the O’Hara kid has potential for his courtroom performances,” Miranda commented.

Being able to scout Nate’s efforts, Eoin followed his lead by using the crowd as part of his courtship. He locked eyes with several male friends as he described the woman in the song along with the woman before him.

“And she'll tease you, she'll unease you. All the better just to please you.” Eoin mimed resting his head on a pillow to chuckles. He followed up with a wagging finger at Peyton. “She's precocious, and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush.”

The onlookers laughed louder as Eoin pointed at himself for the pro line.

“She got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs; she's got Bette Davis eyes.”

Brandy nodded back at Eoin as they both knew about her niece’s standoff sighs.

She'll let you take her home
It whets her appetite
She'll lay you on a throne
She got Bette Davis eyes

She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes

The humorous performance continued as the former ex-soccer star crossed his fingers for luck at the description of a seductive vixen. Peyton rolled her head back. Lana wasn’t in the house, but she found the next best person. While she shook her head no, the blonde pointed instead at Poppy, which set off their friends in a round of teasings. Steph got the biggest kick out of the deflection until Poppy yanked her in front and pointed at Steph as the true harlot.

Suddenly, at a drop of a dime. Eoin shifted the vibe of his dance by rushing in close to Peyton. Nearly chest to chest with the blinking blonde, the brown-haired man spun her body, twirling himself to face Peyton's back. And lip-synching or singing along with the song was abandoned.

She'll expose you, when she snows you
Offer feed with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just what it
Takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes

Instead, Eoin brought up slow, gentle hands to the back of his partner’s neck. Long, wavy strands of caramel blonde hair were brushed over one shoulder, exposing Peyton’s neck to his hot breath. The feel of his soft lips running over her blushing skin caused the uptight girl to shiver. Hands roamed down the dress until they stopped to grab the former volleyball player’s toned globes. The sensation, along with tiny pecks that went from her neck to her shoulder, caused Peyton to arch her back.

All around the pair in their own world, onlookers went silent. Someone suddenly felt uncomfortable for intruding on the intimate moment. Many of the younger watchers glanced over or nudged their friends at the developing situation.

Eoin’s short, gentle pecks turned more passionate as the thin dress strap got pushed closer and closer to the dangerous slope of its owner’s shoulder. A loud, raspy moan sounded over the music as Eoin’s hands went from one pair of globes to the other. The moan that stirred numerous groins came when Peyton’s phenomenal ass pushed into Eoin’s bulge.

YoYo started the handwaving in front of her face. Kizzy, Beatrice, and even Zoey followed the cooling down motion as the steamy scene raised the temperature in the room.

She'll tease you
She'll unease you
Just to please you
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you
When she snows you
'Cause she knows you, she's got Bette Davis Eyes
She'll tease you

Peyton’s turned head found the duo lost in each other’s eyes as the music came to an end. Still, Eoin’s flair as a ringmaster met Peyton’s desires. The crowd erupted into cheers when he turned the blonde to face him, dipped her low, and met her lips with a scorching kiss.

“Yessiree Bob, my plans always come to fruition,” Brandy proclaimed after whistling her approval.

“Your plans?” Fawn challenged.

“You’re my right-hand, Fawnie. You know what I want deep down. It’s like a form of telepathy,” Brandy declared.

“That’s one way to look at it,” Wrenn stated sarcastically.

“We did it!” Kizzy squealed, hugging Harley.

“Now that’s what I want,’ YoYo announced with jealousy.

“You better turn your phone off,” Shayla told Maura, fearing Tinny’s reaction.

“I already did.”

“Let’s just ignore any calls from her for a little bit. Agreed?” Lauren asked.

“Agreed!” Miranda, Lemon, and Sabrina said simultaneously.

Years later, the Banks sisters would amuse and entertain the guests at Peyton’s wedding with their video history of her courtship. The dance video would be a significant event in its proceedings. Yet, the sisters would still bicker to that day over who predicted the correct groom of the future. One sister would be lying.