I was stuffed.
A few teachers made some speeches and announcements, but I tuned them out. I was lost in the beauty of the boy beside me.
The DJ starts the night with a slow song and all the couples begin taking the floor. Dean and Carla make their way over and are soon lost in each other's arms. A few boys approach Steph, but she waves them off, claiming she is still too full from dinner.
Something is up with her.
I don't have much time to ponder it, as Cruz stands from his seat and offers me his hand. "Care to dance, my princess?"
I hear a gagging sound beside me from Steph, but ignore it and smile up at Cruz, while accepting his hand and offer. He leads me onto the floor, and as soon as his arms are around me, nothing else matters as we are the only two people who exist. I lay my head against his chest and let his scent soothe and comfort me as nothing else can.
He leans down and whispers in my ear, "You are the most beautiful girl here tonight. You took my breath away when I saw you standing there. That dress was worth every dollar I have. You deserve every happiness, Jo, and I want to be the one to give them to you."
This boy. He has my heart and doesn't even know it. He's always had it, and when he says things like that, my heart beats for him alone.
I move my head and place my lips against his cheek and tell him, "You are my happiness. You always have been."
Squeezing me closer as we sway together, he replies, "I can't wait to make you mine in every way. You're all I've ever wanted, and we will finally be everything to each other. I have a special song requested, then we can leave and be together in the way I've dreamed about."
My heart skips a beat at his words. Tonight, Cruz and I will belong to each other in a way we never have before. We will become lovers. Just thinking about that word causes a thrill to race through me. If there was anyone in this world I wanted in that way, it would always be him.
The song ends, and we drift apart, but he claps my hand and smiles as we exit the floor and go back to our table. I notice Steph is missing, but I don't spot her on the floor or mingling at any tables. I glance over to my brother's table, but he's missing too.
Hmm…
Dean and Carla tell us they are going to go outside for some air. Cruz asks if it's okay for him to talk to the DJ and find out when his song will be played. I tell him to go ahead and assure him I'll be fine here alone.
I'm not alone for long, though.
The guy who was shooting daggers at me approaches and glares down at me. "Is it true?"
I have no idea what he's talking about. "Is what true?" My tone is an icy warning.
His face distorts into an ugly scowl. "That you're sleeping with your brother and stole Cameron away from Tisha to make him jealous?"
What? WHAT? That's what she told this guy? I feel my temperature rising with my anger and stand to tell this guy just what I think of his insinuation. "How dare you say that to me! If Tisha couldn't hold Cruz's interest, that's on her. As for the other thing, Byron is going to rearrange your face when he hears what you just accused him of."
He pales and backs up a step. "Wait, a minute. I'm just repeating what I heard. I never accused Mason of anything."
I see red. "No? So what? Was he asleep while I molested him? Is that what you're saying? Was he an innocent victim? Why would I need to make him jealous, then? You better go hide behind Tisha's skirts where you belong if you think that."
"My bad. She must be sleeping with her daddy instead. Or maybe she's doing both of them at once. We all know what a dirty girl she is, considering where she comes from," Tisha purrs from the other side of me.
"I guess that makes me dirt too then, right? Am I sleeping with my family members as well? How about you get off your dad's dick long enough to see that you're the only one here who's being passed around their family like a mattress," Cruz's deep voice growls from behind me.
Tisha glances over my shoulder and flinches at whatever she sees on Cruz's face, but squares her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. She's dirt and we all know it. You had your chance with me, but I'd never take you back after being with her. She's a whore, just like her mommy."
I launch myself at her but never make contact because Cruz grabs my arms and hauls me back. The idiot who started this has the smarts to grab Tisha and keep her from me. Cruz leans down and I feel his breath against my ear as I struggle to get free. "She's not worth it. Don't let her ruin your night. Can't you see she's just jealous? You're better than her. Let her see it."
Something about the way he says that seems to register past my rage-filled senses. I take a deep breath, then another. When I feel like I'm in control of myself again, I take a really hard look at the pathetic girl in front of me. A flashy red dress that shows more than it conceals, more makeup than a drag queen on her face, and fake hair that doesn't even flatter her.
I see a girl who is desperate for attention and has no self-respect, and with that, my anger completely deflates.
I give her a pitying look. "Your words are as pathetic as your attempts for attention. I don't have to lower myself to your level to feel good about myself. I can accomplish that on my own, unlike you who can only feel it by putting others down."
Her face twists and she spits out, "I'm not the pathetic one, you are"
I shake my head at her lack of wit for a comeback. Cruz tells the other guy to get her out of his sight and that Byron is the least of his worries if Cruz gets his hands on him. The guy pales further, then hauls an angry Tisha away and heads for the doors.
Good riddance. I know she won't be gone for long, but I'm grateful for the small reprieve.
Cruz takes me in his arms and hugs me to his chest. "Don't let her get to you. She's nothing."
I sigh and let the last of my tension drain away while he hugs me and strokes my back.
"Get a room. Oh wait, you do have a room. Okay, go to your room and spare us the mushy stuff."
I turn and look over my shoulder at Steph. It's not my imagination that she appears a little ruffled around the edges. At first glance, she seems just as flawless as when we first arrived, but I see the slight sheen of sweat at the edges of her hair and the few wrinkles around the waist of her dress.
I turn but keep Cruz's arms around me. "Maybe I'm not the only one who needs a room? Scratching an itch, were we?"
She fluffs her hair and says, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Just then Byron strolls past and I notice the easy smile on his face and the healthy glow to his cheeks. I whip my eyes back to Steph in time to see her give him a sly glance out the corner of her eye.
"Oh my god, you scratched that itch with Byron?" I say in a startled voice.
Steph moves with lightning speed and places her hand over my lips. "Jesus, Jo, the whole school doesn't need to hear that." She purses her lips at me, then a slight twitch of them shows she's fighting a smile. "It's not what you think, but not totally innocent either. Let's just say that I've cemented his help in my grand plan for tonight."
I scowl behind her hand and Cruz quickly fills her in on what she missed.
Her hand drops from my mouth and her angry eyes scan the room for Tisha. When she doesn't find her, she turns back to us. "That bitch just asked for some extra pain. Her name is going to be remembered in these halls for a long time, and not in a way she will ever be able to escape from."
The first few chords of Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" begins playing on the speakers and Cruz's arms tighten around me. "If you'll excuse us, Steph, I need to dance with my girl to a song."
She rolls her eyes at us but winks at me when we move away toward the dance floor.
Cruz takes me in his arms, but instead of pulling me close, he keeps us apart enough that he can look down into my eyes. "I want you to listen to the words. This song makes me think of you. Of us. If I could write you a song, this would be pretty close to how I feel. This is our song."
As he slowly moves us in a gentle circle, I really listen to the wo
rds for the first time.
And I start to cry.
Cruz very softly sings the lyrics to me, gazing down at me with all his emotions on full display, and tells me exactly what's in his heart.
It's the most perfect and beautiful moment of my life.
I'm so ready to finally confess to him what I've been nurturing in mine.
But later, when we're alone, and loving each other with our bodies as well as our hearts.
My Cruz, My Heart
We left after our dance together. Steph was not happy about us missing her takedown of Tisha, but she knew we needed to make the most of our time tonight since we both still have a curfew.
The ride to the hotel went by in weighted silence - both of us lost in thoughts of what happens when we are finally alone. For me, it was a case of nerves and doubts. I was nervous for obvious reasons, but I still doubted my ability to please Cruz like the more experienced girls he's been with.
By the time we arrive, I'm a wreck inside.
Cruz takes my hand and smiles gently down at me as we approach the front desk of the hotel. It's not the swankiest one in town, but it's not a dive either. It's small compared to some on and off the main strip. The lobby is clean and decorated with vases of fresh flowers and we are the only ones here besides the man behind the front counter.
It's perfect.
Cruz tells me he stopped on his way to the Formal and got the key already, so we bypass the concierge, and I don't miss the slight smirk he aims in my direction. My cheeks heat in embarrassment at his obvious guess at why we need a room. Key in hand, Cruz leads me in the direction of the elevators.
He pushes the button and says, "We're on the second floor." His eyes are patient and kind as he regards me. "We can still forget about this and head back to school. I don't want you to feel pressured. This is all about you, Jo. Nothing happens that you don't want, okay?"
If I was even considering the thought of leaving now, his words and the way he's looking at me would convince me that this is the boy, and this is the night.
I shake my head and smile with false confidence. He sees right through me - he always has - and squeezes my hand. "It's just us. Jo and Cruz. Nothing will change that, okay?"
I smile in relief this time, just as the elevator doors open and he tugs me inside. We ride in silence again and exit on the second floor just as quietly.
Cruz stops before the door and says one last time, "Are you still sure?"
Feeling a pang of something that feels like a cross between frustration and embarrassment, I decide to show him rather than tell him. Grabbing his face, I pull him down to me and place my lips against his, kissing him with everything I feel. He makes a sound deep in his throat and deepens the kiss, bringing one hand up to slide his hand at the back of my head and guides the kiss into something filled with longing and desire.
Breaking away and breathing heavily, he slides the key in. "I'll take that as a yes, then," he says as he opens the door wide and ushers me in with a warm hand against my back.
There is nothing special about the room, but what Cruz has done is.
There are flower petals covering the bed and candles placed on the tables beside it. One soft lamp is lit and casts the room in a halo of muted light. I slide my shoes off and walk in further. That's when I see a small box sitting in the center of the bed. Not knowing what it could be, I approach cautiously and look over my shoulder at Cruz as he removes his tuxedo jacket and lays it in the chair beside the bed, kicking his shoes off as well.
Walking toward me, he takes my hand and leads me the rest of the way, stopping right beside the petal-covered bed. Looking into my eyes with a hopeful and tender expression, he says, "That is something I have guarded and protected, waiting for the day I would find my way back to you. I've wanted to give it to you so many times now, but I knew the perfect opportunity would come. Go ahead, Jo. Open the box."
With a trembling hand, I reach to the center of the bed and grasp the small, velvet box. He releases my hand so I can open it.
Nothing could have surprised and shocked me more than what is laying inside.
With a gasp and a choked sob, I reach in and pluck the delicate sapphire ring from the box and clutch it to my chest as tears rain down my cheeks.
It's my grammy’s ring; the one I always admired and asked her if I could have one day. She never took it off - that I knew of. A vague memory of looking at her hand in the casket and noticing it missing, surfaces. I had assumed my mom took, and then I forgot all about it. Until now.
I raise my wet eyes to Cruz and ask in a broken whisper, "How?"
He swallows heavily and blinks his own damp eyes before answering. "It was only about a week before she passed away when she gave it to me. She must have had some sense about her health. She gave me the ring and asked that I keep it safe for her Jo." He takes a shaky breath and continues. "She said she was giving it to the boy whose kisses you would need to breathe."
He takes my shaking hand clutching the ring, and gently pries it away, sliding it on my middle finger, where it rests perfectly.
A high keening sound escapes my lips and I launch myself into Cruz's arms, too overwhelmed and emotional to even try to speak right now. The fact that my grammy saw what my heart always knew, squeezes my lungs in an almost painful way. Add in the fact that Cruz kept this ring, always hopeful that he would be able to give it to me one day, squeezes my heart even harder. Another sob shakes my frame as I clutch desperately at Cruz to keep me grounded in a sea of turbulent emotions.
His arms hold me with just as much desperation, yet all his focus is on soothing and comforting me. He's the most selfless person I know, and it's time I gave him something pure and honest.
Tipping my head back, I look into the eyes of the boy who has always been my world, and tell him, "I love you, Cruz. I always have."
He closes his eyes and I watch a tear roll down his chiseled cheek. When his eyes open again, I see the same love shining back at me. "I think I've been in love with you since we were kids but was too young to recognize it. As I got older, it was painfully obvious how I felt, and I knew you carried the other half of my heart. I love you, Jo. So much I can't breathe for how much I love you."
The kiss is sloppy and wet, with gasping breaths and whispered words of love. It is the most perfect kiss I've ever had. My heart expands and feels complete in a way I never knew it could. Our hands are frantically touching each other, removing clothes with the urgent desire burning through us. We both need to feel our love in a physical and permanent way, one where our bodies are sharing more than words, kisses, and breath.
The material of Cruz's dress shirt parts beneath my hungry hands and I map the contours of his body as I slide it from his shoulders. Standing before me in just his tuxedo pants, he takes my breath away with how gorgeous he is. His blue eyes are slumberous and lazy with desire and his hair is mussed from my fingers. He's beautiful. My boy has always been beautiful, but the body of the man he's becoming leaves my mouth dry.
With a slight tremble to his hands, he reaches behind me and slides the zipper of my dress slowly down my back. Once it's down all the way, he brings his hands back up and pushes the material from my shoulders, allowing it room to slide down my body in a whisper of sound.
His eyes widen, then darken with heat as he takes his first look at my nearly naked body standing before him.
Steph was adamant in choosing something provocative for my night, but I chose the color. A matching lace bra and panties set, in soft blue, barely conceal my large breasts and the area between my legs.
He stares with a slackened jaw for so long that I become self-conscious and move to cover myself. This snaps him out of the trance, and he gently grasps my hands in his and places them on his chest.
Staring down into my eyes with a look of wonder, he whispers, "Have you any idea how beautiful you are? You're almost too perfect to be real."
I duck my head, but his words have warmed me and bolstered my confi
dence. I slide my hands down his abs and feel the tremble of his muscles beneath the warm skin that I trace with my fingers. When I reach the button of his pants, I take a small breath for courage, then slide the button through the hole and pull the zipper down. Cruz is hard and thick behind the material of his black jockey shorts as I pull the material apart, then urge it down his hips and thighs, where they drop to the floor at his feet. He steps back and bends to remove his socks, then kicks the pants aside. When he stands back up in nothing but his athletic underwear, I almost swallow my tongue.
Over six feet of glorious male flesh and muscle is displayed before me, and I feel like a kid at Christmas admiring the pretty package but anxious to open my gift. Only a thin barrier of material shields our most private parts from each other. It's erotic and sexy as hell.
Echoes of Us Page 25