Page 101 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

Definitely didn’t know if we’d hit a million views.

But Colton was right, I thought as I gazed at him across the dance floor. He’d been talking to Big Tim, but as if he could feel my eyes on him, Colton looked up, caught my gaze and gave me a slow smile.

I’d already won.

“What’s it at now?” Kyle called from the living room.

“999,824 views,” my mom said back, “and I’m not answering that question again until at least five minutes have passed.”

“That’s cool, Mrs. Day. Just checking.”

It had been three days since the video posted, and we were already at almost a million views. And it was all because of Colton.

Thinking back, I remembered him talking to people at the video shoot, but I hadn’t realized why until later. Betty was the first to break. When I started getting a ton of new followers, many over the age of 50, I’d asked if she knew anything about it, and she sang like a canary.

“It was Colton,” she said. “He asked me to use my connections, and I was more than happy to follow through. I got the word out to all my friends and told them how talented you are. Plus, he came to Shady Grove and gave everyone a crash course in social media.”

“He did?” I asked.

Betty nodded. “I knew you’d never ask me yourself, dear, but what good is having connections if you can’t use them now and again?”

She told me she’d shared my video with everyone she knew in Hollywood. Once they realized she’d done the makeup, it made the views soar.

But Colton had also gotten to my parents.

“When he told us about your goal,” Mom said, “your father and I were more than happy to spread the word.”

Though my parents owned a studio now, back in the day, they’d been close to ballroom royalty. I knew they’d held world titles for several years in the Latin division, but I didn’t want to use that, had never wanted to bring them down if I failed. Ballroom was notoriously attached to the status quo. Sometimes being different or outside the box could get you ostracized.

Mom had scoffed at this.

“Sadie,” she said, “your dances are amazing, creative and everything ballroom needs right now. I’ve always wanted to share your pieces but wasn’t sure you’d let me. I was glad Colton asked for my help. I couldn’t wait to show everyone and tell them that’s my daughter.”

It was everything I should’ve already known but needed to hear.

From what she told me, all she and my dad had done was share the video to their contacts, letting them know I was their kid. That had led to more sharing and more sharing until the video made the rounds of the ballroom world.

And Colton had gone one step further, asking for Big Tim and Little Tim’s help in tagging the video, making it searchable and SEO-optimized (whatever that meant). All I knew was the dance showed up on the first few pages of every search with a term or phrase possibly related to the video—which, thanks to Big Tim had one of the best titles ever.

“Taylor Swift Look-Alike dances Tango with Hot Twins?” I’d asked him over the phone. “Really, Tim?”

“Yeah,” Big Tim said. “You like? I thought it had a certain flare.”

“Oh, it’s definitely inspired,” I laughed. “Not sure how accurate it is, but I’d totally click on that video.”

“Exactly, Sadie. Colton told me to pull out all the stops, so I did. Plus, I want thoseDancers Edgepeople to regret ever turning you down,” he said. “They’ll be begging you to be on their site in no time.”

Thanks to Tim’s mad computer skills and his wide-reaching network in gaming circles, the video ended up not only being searchable but somehow landed on the front page of a popular gaming site. He’d gotten it there by telling them I was the creative mind behind “Her Majesty’s Revenge,” the game we’d created together over a year ago that was currently at the top of the charts.

We were firing on all cylinders, and with all of those shares, my family and friends had helped our dance video go viral. It seemed impossible, but the view counter didn’t lie.

“What’s it at now, Mrs. Day?” Kyle asked again.

As my mother sighed and said, “999,902 views,” I couldn’t hold back a smile.

My list was this close to being complete. And none of it would’ve been possible without Colton. Pulling out the much-used paper, I unfolded my list, holding a pen in my other hand. All of the items were crossed off except the first three.

CARPE DIEM LIST

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