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"This is my dance space; this is your dance space."
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Harry decides after their trip to the meadow that it would be best for everyone if him and Baby stopped spending so much alone time with each other. It had only been two days of practice and he already knew getting close to Baby and letting her see him – the real him – was a bad idea. He immediately started beating himself up for even telling her about his mom; he's never told anyone about the cloud story. Not even Peggy.
Harry doesn't know what it is about Baby that makes him want to spill his deepest, darkest secrets, but he knows that it's not good for them to get any closer. He's always kept everyone, that way when they finally leave him, it won't hurt as badly. Baby is no different. Eventually, after she gets bored and her vacation is over, she will leave, and Harry will be left with nothing but memories that bring tears to his eyes. He can't bear the pain of caring about someone just for them to leave him again. It's happened too many times before.
That's why Harry waited until the next day, after his one o'clock lesson with Mrs. O'Connor, to go find Baby so they could start practice. He realized she had left too fast the day before for them to plan their rehearsal time, and after the afternoon they spent together, Harry didn't want to go find her the same night. He was too scared of what he'd do if he saw her again before he was able to sort out his feelings.
After searching the entire resort, including the barn, he finally finds Baby reading a book in a lounge chair by the lake. She's by herself, which Harry breathes a sigh of relief at. He definitely isn't going to steal Baby from her family for a dance practice that she isn't even supposed to be having in order to fill in for a girl whose abortion is getting paid for by Baby's father. Harry imagines that wouldn't go over very well with her parents.
Baby looks up once Harry is close enough for her to notice his presence. She was slightly shocked that he showed up. She thought after his radio silence in the car yesterday he would've just avoided her until she became persistent enough for him to practice with her again. Baby figured that she had overstepped yesterday, and Harry had immediately built his walls back up, leaving them back at square one.
"Are you ready for practice?" he asks, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels as he stands over Baby.
"Now?" Baby asks in return, dog-earing the page she's on in her book and closing it.
"Unless you have somewhere else to be." Harry really hopes she doesn't. He would never admit it, but he missed Baby after she left yesterday.
"Can I change first?" Baby asks, looking down at the pink, polka-dot two-piece set she had borrowed from Linda.
"No, you're fine, let's go," Harry insists impatiently, offering his hand for Baby to take. Baby sighs and grabs it, letting him pull her up off the chair.
