In the picturesque town of Winter Grove, broken-hearted college student Celeste has to team up with lone wolf Sterling for a fake relationship in hopes of making her ex-boyfriend jealous and saving her Christmas.
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Overachieving college student Ce...
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Celeste
A new lively song began, andCeleste began to sway to the music in Sterling's capable hands. To her surprise, he was an excellent dancer, confidently leading her around the room and even spinning her out into a twirl.
"You're good at this," Celeste said breathlessly after he returned her from the spin.
"You can thank Alicia," he explained with a low chuckle. He was so close Celeste could feel his laughter rumble through his chest. "She made us—me, Olly and Will—learn. If you think she's bad now, you should've seen her when we were younger. She was a tiny tyrant."
"I can see it," Celeste said and snickered at the image of it in her mind. She could absolutely see Alicia roping the boys into that. "Well, it's a skill that can come in handy."
"Sometimes," he said and spun Celeste out in another twirl.
She giggled as she swung her back into his arms. It had all—the lights, the music, and Sterling's warmth so close—made her a bit dizzy.
Just then, Olly and Alicia whirled by. Olly dipped Alicia back with a great flourish before pulling her back to her feet. Alicia took the lead, then, and spun Olly out in a twirl of his own. The people nearby oohed and aahed, clapping politely as they pivoted off again.
Celeste and Sterling just looked at each other. "Showoffs," they said in unison and then laughed.
The song changed to something slower. Celeste began to pull away, sure that Sterling would want to stop. But to her surprise, he pulled her close and began to sway, nice and slow, with her.
Celeste smiled and let herself feel the music moving perfectly in time with Sterling. It was nice to have someone to dance with. She loved dancing, but Jared had always hated it.
Whatever girl Sterling ends up with, Celeste thought, she's going to be very lucky.
"I wanted to say, I really appreciate all you did for my silly little plan," she said.
"It was my pleasure," Sterling said. "Though I'm sorry it didn't end up working out." He looked out into the crowd, beyond the dancers, like he was looking for someone, but then quickly gave up.
"That's alright," Celeste said with a wistful sigh.
"It's his loss," Sterling said, suddenly serious.
"Maybe it is," Celeste said. "But I haven't given up hope just yet."
She laughed. Sterling didn't. No, instead, he frowned...
Did I say something wrong? Celeste wondered. She cleared her throat and tried to recover. "E-Either way, thank you for helping."
"I was happy to," he said, though his gaze back at her was distant now.
