"At least the pizza is good."

He is very sure that nothing should ever make Chris make that face. He has no idea what to say to fix it. "At least." 

Time to eat in silence!

Time to eat in silence. 

"I'm glad you've had such a great time with your soulmate!" the waitress chirps. "Now to help you work up an appetite for dessert, we're going to dance!"

....great. That sounds like a good idea. He glances at Chris's face, gauges Chris's expression. 

Chris stands and offers Marlo a hand. "Shall we?"

He takes it, stands up. 

The ballroom is playing music Marlo probably doesn't recognize: it sounds like it's from the 1940s. 

Some people already out on the floor are tossing their partners around in an acrobatic fashion. 

"Ah, swing!" 

He looks happy.

It's nice when Chris is happy. 

"I don't know how to do this at all, you'll have to teach me." 

"I assume there'll be a beginner lesson."

There is! The cheery waitress and a man are standing at one edge of the room with microphones. 

"Alright, men in a column to the right, and wo-- uh, follows in a column to the left," the waitress says. "Now, men, take your la-follow's left hand in your left hand, giving them space like a cup... Follows, hold your man's hand gently yet firmly. Now men, put your right hand at your follow's shoulderblade. Follows, rest your right arm against your man's arm."

"Your hand goes here," Chris says.

Wow, that's obnoxious. Marlo puts his hand where Chris says to. 

"Now, men, copy me," the man says, "and follows, copy Kimberly."

Chris whispers a string of instructions into Marlo's ear. "Shift left, shift right, step back."

He's nudging Marlo a bit with his hands and the way he shifts his weight, so that it's most natural for Marlo to dance the way he's supposed to.

They are awfully close together.

Chris is very good at this — it feels so natural to follow where Chris leads. He still isn't great at it but he doesn't mess up much, with Chris guiding. 

"Curtseying at the end of the dance is optional but can be fun! Part of what I like about swing dancing is the chance to feel like a 20s flapper," the waitress chirps. 

Chris does not curtsey. 

"You did well."

"Thank you, you were great." 

During the second song Chris starts doing more complicated things: hip swivels, kicks, different steps, once even a jump. He doesn't miss the beat and he keeps talking Marlo through what he's doing.

Marlo almost looks like he knows what he's doing.

Chris is really, really good at this — technically Marlo is leading but he isn't, really, and it's good, to know that the person in control knows what they're doing; he's always liked that trust. 

The beginner's lesson stops, along with the misgendering. Free dancing starts.

By the time they're done, Chris has talked Marlo through a dip.

He's having way more fun than he'd expected.