18 Things (31 page)

“Through love to light! Oh wonderful is the way,
that leads from darkness to the perfect day!”
―Richard Watson Gidler

stepped into elegance as I slipped on my prom dress. The ivory gown featured a swooping neckline, the top half-embellished with fancy beadwork tight on my tone figure, and a flowing hemline ending just above my ankles. I accentuated the dress with the diamond necklace Nate gave me for my birthday. My hands shook way too much, so Nicole applied my makeup and fixed my curls and even tied in some blue strands of hair bling.

“Okay, you look hot.” She grabbed my hand and twirled me around. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make sure it’s perfect before you guys get there.”

I nodded, hugging her before I perched myself on the bed to slip on my strappy high heels. Then, I headed down the hallway to sit in the living room by myself and wait for Nate’s arrival. Mom and Dad already left. I’d have to lie and tell Nate they got called into work for a boat emergency, because he’d think it was suspicious they weren’t here to take pictures.

He was already confused when our Jedi Order told him we didn’t want to get together for a pre-prom dinner. We told him a lame excuse. We’d be at a restaurant afterwards until five in the morning anyway.

These past few months, Tammy helped organize some post-prom activities with the local hot spots. Grand Haven Trolley agreed to connect all of the festivities for free, running from midnight to five. Students could bowl at Starlite Lanes, where they were turning down the lights and turning up the music for Midnight bowling. Meijer’s provided free prom photo sessions at their store. DeeLite Restaurant offered free pancake and sausage breakfasts and their mic for karaoke. Diary Treat served free ice cream cones and hosted a Banana Split Eating Contest. Nate would love to get in on that action, but he was already scheduled to play with Cantankerous Monkey Squad at Jumpin’ Java Coffee Shop. With their free hot coffees, hot chocolates, and sodas, I thought they got the best spot for a gig.

A tap on our front door pulled me out of my reverie. I rushed to the doorway, taking a step back to drink in Nate. In an effort to match me tonight, he dressed in a white jacket with navy colored pinstripes, a white vest, and a blue tie. His pants were solid white, and when my gaze met the floor, I laughed. He sported orange Skywalker Pilot shoes.

“You know me, I had to be a little rock n’ roll.” He shrugged.

I wanted to kiss him so badly, but I bit my lip, forcing myself to wait. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“What do you think of my suit?”

Okay, I wasn’t a vain person, but Nic put a lot of effort into making me look good. The fact that Nate didn’t comment on my appearance took my self-esteem down a few notches and caused me to rethink my plan for tonight.

Tugging at my dress, I said, “Um, it’s cool. You look great.”

He pointed at his watch. “Thanks. You got your Mom’s car all ready to go? We should hurry before we’re stuck here taking pictures.”

Opening my mouth to set him straight, I stopped short when Nate snorted with laughter.

“You should’ve seen your face! I got you good, girl!”

I shoved him playfully, knocking him into the door. A witty comeback on my part would’ve been nice, but all I could do was join him in his outburst of laughter.

“Seriously, it should be against the law to look this good,” he said, flashing me a wide-eyed look that made me giggle again. “If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man.”

Grabbing his vest, I pulled him inside. “Your compliments are a bit cliché, but I’ll take them.”

He scanned our tiny apartment. “Where are your folks?”

I explained quickly about the emergency at the marina and he seemed convinced, slipping the blue corsage on my wrist and snapping some photos with his camera. “If I would’ve known your parents weren’t home, I would’ve invited Mom and Dad in to take some pictures for us.”

They’d dropped him off since he still had his license revoked. I, on the other hand, finally obtained my driver’s license this past week and planned on driving him to the convention center in Mom’s Camaro.

“It’s okay; we’ll get plenty of pics at the dance tonight.” I pinned a rose to his tuxedo jacket, then shut the front door on our way out, knowing as I did, the chapter in my life as Nate’s good friend was closing, too.

We pulled into the packed parking lot of the Harborside Convention Center.

“Wow. And it’s only 8:00. Is it normal for everyone to be so on time for prom?” Nate asked as I killed the engine.

Of course, this was a valid question since he’d never been to prom, but then again, neither had I.

“Yep,” I lied again as my heart hammered against my chest. In hindsight, I wished I hadn’t brewed so many cups of coffee. This morning I thought I needed all that energy to organize what we were about to walk into, something I’d planned all week with the help of our friends and family. But now I paid a price more jacked up than the ones at Starbucks, my insides a nervous wreck.

He opened my door for me and said, “Oh, well, hope we didn’t miss anything. Ready?”

Ready to stop pretending something more doesn’t exist between us? Absolutely. “Ready.”

I took one deep breath to calm myself and stepped out of the car. Nate slipped his arm around my waist, which was a very good thing since I felt dizzy. I just prayed all that caffeine I drank earlier contained a swig of courage.

He opened the door into an empty foyer, and I listened carefully, basking in the quiet. Nate’s wristwatch beeped steadily, and it comforted me, Time an old friend I welcomed back as I finally prepared to move on. My pulse slowed. I
was
ready for this. Nate anchored me to this world, helping me navigate the choppy waves of life this past year.

He looked extremely confused though, running a hand over his face. “This is eerie. It doesn’t even sound like anyone’s here, but the lot is packed.”

A flutter ran through my stomach, and my eyes widened in anticipation as he opened the next door.

Time
of Your Life
by Green Day began playing, cueing the start of our four minute world record breaking Flash-Freeze.

Thousands froze into position: sipping drinks, embracing, sharing a secret, bending down to tie a shoelace, fixing a friend’s hairdo, stabbing a piece of gum into their mouth, poised with a camera or video recorder, in the midst of a high five or fist bump. People came up with so many different creative ways to freeze. Tammy and Kyle locked lips at the front of the crowd. They stood next to my parents, who held a sign that read: “Don’t just stand there. Walk to the center of the room for a special message.”

My eyes burned, and I tried not to cry. I didn’t want to mess up Nicole’s makeup job. Conner’s parents were next to mine, pointing the way.

“What is this?” Nate asked, his voice light and totally surprised.

We navigated through the crowd.

“Did you do this? Is this for your life list, break a world record? Are we breaking the record for world’s largest Flash-Freeze Mob right now?”

My fingers hovered over his for a second before fully taking hold of his hand.

“Yep,” I replied, stone faced, forcing myself not to smile and give something away. “Only one more to cross off.” Okay, I couldn’t help but smile now. “Come on. Let’s go see about the mysterious message.”

Time in slow motion, tile seemed to stretch on forever as my heels clicked against the surface of the dance floor, leading Nate to our fate. My breathing echoed loud in my ears, overpowering the words of the song singing about the end of a relationship, a turning point, something unpredictable but in the end right, reminding me whatever happened was meant to be.

We reached the center of the room, and I stepped backwards, letting Nate read the sign I painted for him two days ago. Nicole and Sean stretched the banner in front of them, faces frozen with a smile. The song faded, and amidst the silence of over three thousand people standing still, Nate read my words aloud to himself.

“Nate, I’m in love with you. You’ve been one of my best friends through the last grueling year of high school. I was kinda hoping you’d be my boyfriend for, I don’t know, forever maybe. Yours Truly, Olga.”

I forgot to breathe as he repeated the words I’ve wanted to tell him for months, but then he turned slightly and took my other hand in his, and the warmth of his skin calmed me again. On the verge of tears, I tried hard not to shed them out of habit, but at least these were happy tears.

He reached up and brushed them away with the back of his hand, then leaned in, his breath against my breath. The kiss was tentative at first, then grew bolder, the confidence of our love taking over. I couldn’t believe how good it felt, my heart crashing into my sides, my breathing fast.

Cheers and applause reminded us we were not alone and we opened our eyes, smiling widely at each other.

He rested his head on my shoulder, curling his arms around my back, and whispered. “I love you, Olga.”

They were the words I’d longed to hear, completing my list ahead of schedule.

“I’ve always been in love with you, from the first time I saw you. I love every little thing about you. That was my number one,” he confessed, not remembering his drunken tell-all, and I knew I’d need to come clean later. “I can’t believe you beat me to the punch! I was gonna see how tonight went and then maybe ask you to be my girl.”

I nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me before if you’ve been in love with me this whole time?”

He let out a long breath. “Well, for one thing, I didn’t know if you loved me back. You’ve been on the rebound from Conner and vulnerable. I wanted to wait until you were over the guilt of Conner’s death because I thought it’d be incredibly selfish to throw one more ball at you to juggle. Then, there was also the issue of waiting for the perfect time and place. I didn’t want to just blurt it out in conversation. That’s why tonight seemed like maybe it would work, but I was also scared if I told you I love you on our first date that you might run away.”

I thought of the night of the meteorite shower and shuddered. “I think I’ve been in love with you for a while now too, but I didn’t want to admit my feelings. I was all too content to hide behind them, or rather from them, but then I realized it was more important to reveal my feelings instead of living a lie.”