Promposal (22 page)

Finally, the limo pulled into the parking lot. I squirmed in excitement in my seat.

“We're here, bitches!” Joshua proclaimed. “Time to party!” He pushed the door open and let all of us out.

Zach pulled me over to the side, and we separated from Joshua and Ethan. “I just wanted to tell you, before we head in, that I've had a great time so far.”

“Me too.” I squeezed his upper arm. “I mean, I know we got off to a rocky start, but I'm glad I'm here with you.”

His cheeks burned. “Really?”

“Absolutely. And I hope that after graduation we keep in touch. You're a nice guy, Zach.”

He gave me a big hug. “I know I keep telling you this, but you look beautiful,” he whispered in my ear.

His praise filled me with warmth. I'd had my hair styled at the salon, including freshening up my colored streak with a bold flash of red, and I was decked out in my strapless red dress with the inappropriately high slit up the right thigh. I felt sexy and pretty and daring today. “You're a knockout too.”

As we headed toward the hotel entrance, I saw a group of fellow seniors standing to the side. A slender brunette named Brianna was eyeing Zach so hard, I was pretty sure her eyes were going to fall out.

“Hey,” I whispered. “I sense some vibes coming your way from Brianna. No, don't look,” I rushed to say. “Play it cool.”

Fortunately, Zach took my advice and didn't gawk at her. Maybe he was learning after all. “No way. I know who she is—she's that gorgeous girl in my art class. Way out of my league. What should I do?”

“When we get inside, offer to get her a drink and tell her how gorgeous she looks.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It is.” I rolled my eyes. “Just be a gentleman and don't come on too fast. From the look she was giving you, I think she'd be interested in a dance or two.”

The lobby was filled with dolled-up seniors strolling around in their finest formal wear, talking loudly and laughing. Music thumped from the large ballroom off to the left. I sighed as a little flash of sadness swept over me.

Zach stopped me in the middle of the lobby. “I have a confession to make.”

“What's that?”

He peered over my shoulder and gave a nod. “I asked someone
to come. I'm going inside, so meet me in there soon, okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

His smile was bittersweet as he hugged me again, then thrust my prom ticket into my hand. “See you inside.” Then he walked off toward the ballroom.

Okay. Did he just ditch me before we even got inside? What was going on here?

A low whistle came from just a few inches behind me, and an achingly familiar voice said, “Wow.”

My heart was threatening to slam its way out of my chest as I turned around and faced Benjamin. “But . . . What . . . ? I thought . . .”

“Surprise.” His smile was wide and lit me up from the inside out. He reached for my hand and kissed the top. “You look stunning. I've never seen anyone so beautiful.”

I flushed from head to toe. Benjamin looked like he'd been poured into his tux. It fit him like a second skin. “I don't understand. I thought you weren't coming.”

His fingers wrapped around my bare upper arm and seared me with the heat coming off him. I'd never seen his eyes so intense, so fixed on me before. “I borrowed the tux from my brother. Zach told me when you guys would be here. He heavily recommended I come. So I bought my ticket last-minute.”

Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I blinked rapidly. I owed Zach another big hug. “That was really generous of him.”

Benjamin stepped to me so our chests touched. His scent wrapped around me, filled me. I closed my eyes and just breathed. Just lived. He took me in his arms and pressed a soft kiss to my jaw, and little shivers danced across my skin there. “For so long I fought
my feelings because I knew Zach had it bad for you. But he and I talked, and I think he's cool with us dating.”

“I'm so glad.”

The rest of the world faded away as his eyes grew hooded and he leaned down to take my lips in a kiss. God, I'd been waiting ages to feel it again, and it was just as breathtaking as I remembered. His mouth moved expertly over mine, teasing and nipping. I heard a couple of whistles around us but chose to ignore them. Wrapped my arms around him and hung on to his shoulders for dear life.

When we finally pulled away, his eyes were a bit hazy—no doubt they matched mine. “Be my girlfriend,” he asked me.

I nodded, smiled. Gave him another soul-searing kiss, although this one was quicker.

We pulled apart and held hands, just standing in the lobby for a moment. Enjoying the fuss and craziness around us. My smile was so wide I knew I looked ridiculous, but I didn't care at all.

Through the hotel's double doors I saw Karen come in, wearing a slim black dress and black heels. To her left was her friend Monica. The two girls chatted as they made their way in. I was glad to see her come to prom, even if it hadn't worked out the way she'd hoped.

She stumbled a moment when her eyes locked on David and Ashley, who stood off to the side, holding hands and talking rapid-fire with another couple. I saw Karen straighten her back and lift her chin. She whispered something to her friend, then walked over in a confident stroll to David and Ashley.

David tensed immediately. Uh-oh.

“Hey, one of my friends is waving me over,” Benjamin told me as he squeezed my fingers. “I hadn't told anyone I was coming, so he's probably surprised. I'm gonna ask where he's planning to sit.
You wanna come with me or hang here? I'll just be a minute.”

“I'll stay here, if you don't mind.” To be honest, I wanted to see what was going to happen with Karen. Had she taken my advice and was she going to make amends? I hoped so. Senior year was almost over.

Benjamin left to talk to his friend, and I tried to absorb myself into the wall and pretend like I wasn't being nosy. I saw Karen and David lean toward each other. Ashley stood there in silence, her face showing an array of emotions.

Then Karen reached over and gave David a quick hug, and he smiled at her. My heart melted at the sight.
Yay!
I cheered on the inside. When I saw Karen and Ashley hug too, then wipe at their mascara, I did a little quiet clap. Monica joined their group, and all of them walked into the ballroom together.

Benjamin came back and took my hand again. The heat from his palm seeped into mine. “I peeked into the ballroom. It looks super crowded. Almost elbow to elbow.”

Part of me was excited to enter and start dancing, but the other part wanted to linger for another moment alone with Benjamin. Well, relatively alone. I kept stealing glances at him as we stood side by side.

Boyfriend. He was my boyfriend. I couldn't believe it.

“I'm really glad you finally read
Cyrano
,” he said, and I saw a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. “I was going to feel really dumb if you didn't. Or if you did but had decided you didn't like me anymore. Or didn't understand the message I was trying to send you.”

I squeezed his hand and rubbed my thumb along his skin. “I can't believe it took me that long to remember the play title. I feel like an ass.”

“I didn't exactly make it easy on you. I was torn because I liked you, but I couldn't do anything about it.” His eyes met mine, and we both smiled.

Then I heard a slurping sound behind us, and we both looked at the source. Against the corner of the wall was Niecey, pinned by Dwayne, practically making a baby.

I gave an awkward laugh. “We should get out of here.”

“Yeah. There's no way a teacher isn't going to bust them.”

We moved toward the ballroom, and my heart rate picked up in excitement. I squeezed his hand.

“I hope you save me a dance,” he said in a light tone as we crossed the threshold.

I shot him a sly smile. “If you're nice enough tonight, I'll save you two.”

I
watched Camilla enter the ballroom with Benjamin. The two of them made such a striking couple. She'd outdone herself tonight and was more beautiful than I'd ever seen her, and Benjamin looked seriously hot in his formfitting tux. And I wasn't the only one who had noticed. I didn't think Camilla had stopped smiling since she'd seen him in here—well, except for a small break for that PDA kissing display. Downright scandalous.

Ethan nudged me on the upper arm. “How do you feel about that?” he asked, nodding in her direction.

“Glad, actually. Though it took me a while to get on board with it. I admit, that hot-and-cold thing he was doing made me mad because I saw how crushed she was. And when they started talking again, I was afraid at first that he'd hurt her by leading her on, but I really do think he cares about her.”

“I agree.” Then Ethan cleared his throat and his cheeks burned, and my heart flipped in response. God, he was so damn cute. “So . . . you don't think this”—he waved at the air between both of us—“is weird in any way, right?”

I paused and really made myself consider it. Dinner tonight had been fun and entertaining. We'd all talked like we used to, no stress, no pressure. Just hanging out and relaxing and cracking jokes and stuffing our faces with fine cuisine. On the limo ride over, yeah, I'd been super aware of Ethan's body beside mine. But that wasn't anything new. I'd carried those feelings for years.

No, the newness came with that heated look in his eyes I'd never seen before Tuesday night. The one that said Ethan finally noticed me as more than a friend, a look I never thought I'd see. He really was attracted to me. More than once tonight I'd caught him eyeing me when he thought I wasn't paying attention. Which meant I'd been walking around for the last couple of hours with a warm, glowing feeling inside me.

I wanted to burst with happiness.

“Weird? Not one bit,” I answered. I leaned close to him. Let him see the full intensity of my feelings. “Do you?”

He shook his head. His eyes grew darker, and he whispered, “I want to kiss you again.”

Since the promposal three nights ago, he and I had been spending a lot of time together—as friends, as more. Studying for finals, watching movies with Camilla, even hanging with my dad, who'd been happy to see us dating. My feelings for Ethan just continued to grow with every hand-holding, every kiss we shared. “I want to kiss you again too. But we don't want to be like
them
.
” I chuckled as I nodded in Niecey and Dwayne's direction.

Like she'd been beckoned, one of the history teachers came storming through the crowd and tapped Dwayne on the shoulder. His mouth released Niecey's with a pop, and several people around us giggled. The teacher wagged her fingers at them and told them
how inappropriate it was to basically dry-hump in the fancy hotel lobby, and they dutifully nodded at her chastising, then went into the ballroom. Where I figured they'd found a dark corner to continue.

Ethan's pinky finger slid along the outside of my hand. The feel of him reaching out to touch me would never get old.

“I can't believe we're here, together,” I whispered. My throat tightened with unexpected emotion. I loved this guy so much, and everything I'd hoped for was coming true. Finally.

Ethan glanced around, then brushed the softest of kisses across my lips. When he leaned away, his smile was intimate and made my stomach flutter. “I'm glad we are. This is exactly where I want to be.”

We walked to the ballroom and handed the lady manning the table our tickets. She eyed us oddly at first, probably since there was no girl with us. Ethan clutched my hand and stared her down. When she realized we were a couple, her eyes grew wide and filled with emotion.

“You two look awesome,” she said with a wink. “Have a blast in there. And don't spike the punch, boys. The administrators will be watching for that.”

I snorted, and Ethan pressed his hand to my lower back and led me into the room. His fingers seared me clear through my jacket and shirt, and I leaned back against the thrilling sensation. We found the table where Zach, Camilla, and Benjamin sat, sipping out of clear plastic goblets and talking among themselves.

“Hey,” Camilla said as she beamed at the two of us with pleasure. “About time you two lovebirds made it. We wondered if you were ever going to come inside.”

“We were too busy watching Dwayne and Niecey get busted in the lobby,” I told her with a laugh.

“Saw them earlier. I figured it would happen,” she replied, shaking her head.

Ethan helped me out of my jacket—yeah, I did swoon a little at that gentlemanly gesture—then slid his off and draped them across our chairs. “I'm going to get us something to drink. Wait right here.”

Like I would go anywhere.

Apparently, he read the smart-assed look on my face, because he chuckled. “Right. Okay, be back in a minute.”

I sat down and let the table conversation wash over me. The room was full to capacity. I was pretty sure almost every senior was in attendance. How cool. On the edge of the dance floor I saw Madison and Tyler suctioned together at the lips. I couldn't help but laugh—at least everything was going okay for them now. Seemed like she'd forgiven him for good.

A few minutes passed as I waited, then another few. What was taking Ethan so long? I stood and looked around the room . . . and saw him talking to Noah.

My heart lurched for a moment, and it was hard to remind myself that he was with me now, that he didn't like Noah anymore. Well, I hoped. I stood and watched them in what I prayed looked like a totally confident stance. Both guys were beautiful and lean and so, so very hot. The impulse to move to Ethan's side was too much to resist, so I made my way over.

When Ethan saw me approach, his smile grew wider and he waved at me. I stopped really close to his side and heard him give a low chuckle. Apparently, my tiny, little, insignificant bout of jealousy was more obvious than I wanted it to be.