“Ready to go?” he asked gruffly.
Callahan nodded and we were off. I leaned deeper into his shoulder and Georgia eventually stopped talking and turned on the radio.
“You look awesome,” he whispered again, tucking me under his arm.
I looked down at my corsage. Delicate flowers made of gems lay hidden in the greenery. “Thank you.”
“Geez, Ash—you seriously need a Facebook account. I can’t tag you on anything,” Georgia whined, her fingers moving over the touch screen.
“Yeah, well . . .” I sighed. She already knew my parents were techno-tards.
“Do you want to drive around for a little bit?” the driver asked through the window between the front seat and us. “Or go straight to the country club?”
We glanced around at one another, no one voicing an opinion.
I shrugged and finally said, “Sure, why not?”
Kylie cleared her throat. “If we’re late, the line for pictures will be out the door. We should go now. I am on the committee after all.” She batted her eyelashes at Evan for support.
Georgia chimed in. “Do we really need to go to the country club now? Can’t we at least drive around for thirty minutes and get our money’s worth? We’ve only got the limo until eleven—pictures can wait.”
“That sounds good to me,” Shannon said.
Callahan and Dustin agreed. Evan remained silent, which angered Kylie further.
“Fine. Whatever.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, side swiping Evan in the face. “I was just thinking of everyone else since I do have privileges, so you’ll just have to enjoy the line.”
Privileges?
She began texting, I’m sure to tattle to someone that we were holding her hostage. When her phone buzzed with a return exchange, she cackled and looked straight at me. The others might have finally noticed her visual assault, but another limo zipped by, its occupants hanging out of the sunroof, causing a major ruckus.
Georgia laughed and began to open our own sunroof. I grabbed her knee. “You’ll mess up your hair.”
Kylie snorted and looked at her phone. We both glared at her. “I’m laughing at my text message.”
Sure you are. I was glad her acidity finally crossed into someone else’s territory.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding for what lay ahead. Deep down, though incredibly sweet, I wished Callahan hadn’t nominated me, especially now with Kylie in our limo. Who in their right mind would agree to this arrangement? Evan was clearly not thinking. He should have never made his date share a limo with Callahan, her best friend’s ex, and me, her best friend’s competition for Senior Ball queen. Ridiculous.
Instead, I ignored her and focused my gaze out the window at the lake, breathing in Callahan’s glorious scent. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know she bothered me. Callahan responded the way I needed, unaware of my internal battle, and wrapped his arms around me, causing my heart to beat faster for good reasons.
22
ASH
When we arrived, Kylie jumped from the limo with Evan in tow, and proceeded past the swarm of people—never to return. I guessed that’s what “privileges” meant. More like a line-cutting pass.
Shifting my weight again to ease the ache in my arches, I looked down the never-ending line of overly-dressed students that snaked around the building. In the short fifteen minutes, we’d only moved a couple of feet.
“Cassie just texted and said we are in the right spot for pictures and once we get through the doors, it’s only twenty minutes more,” Georgia said, craning her neck.
I looked for this mysterious door as well, hoping to get off my feet soon. “Are you sure you want to wait?”
Georgia hit me on the arm. “Of course, silly.”
I sighed as my tummy rumbled, noticing some of the girls’ dates had come back with hors d'oeuvres. With the swim meet and the nervous rush to get ready in time, I’d completely forgotten to have lunch. My mouth watered.
“You hungry?” Callahan asked, noticing my eyes glass over at the sight of crackers and cheese.
I nodded, feeling a little weak in the knees. I’d even eat a green olive if offered at this point.
“Come on,” he gestured toward Dustin and Jeremy. “Let’s go.”
The guys left in search of food, conveniently leaving us alone.
“So why do you think Kylie laughed when I called you Senior Ball queen in the limo earlier?” Georgia asked softly, pulling Shannon and me into a tight circle.
“Who knows,” I mumbled, feeling the title a bit presumptuous and inappropriate. “Maybe she already knows I lost.”
“She can’t,” Shannon said with wide green eyes fringed with glitter eyeliner. “Only the teachers on the committee know. They count the votes, right?”
I shrugged. This was all new to me. “Who cares. I’m not going to win anyway.”
“Oh yes you are,” Georgia said with a stamp of her foot. “Everyone I know said they voted for you and I know everyone.”
But would they tell her the truth? “Still, Brooke is so popular—”
Georgia put her hands on her hips. “—and treats everyone like crap. I think the student body is sick of her superiority complex and wants someone who deserves to be queen. Like you.” She straightened up and cupped her hands over her mouth. “How many of you think Ashlyn would make the best Senior Ball queen ever?”
The line turned at her voice and, to my surprise, erupted in a cheer.
I ducked down and brought my hand to my forehead. “Shut-up, Georgia. Please.”
Callahan came up behind me and put his arm around my waist. “What’s going on?”
“Food!” I exclaimed quickly before anyone else could fill him in. “Thank you.” I force fed a mini croissant slathered in some white creamy sauce into Georgia’s mouth to silence her. She smirked knowingly as I winked.
After thirty minutes more, we finally made it to the red carpet for The Night at the Oscars, complete with a life-sized golden replica of Oscar himself. The paparazzi photographer and posing with the golden statue made for a fun photo shoot. And to no one’s dismay, Kylie missed out on the group shot.
Afterward, the six of us proceeded to the dining area and looked for our table number amidst the swarm of people. Callahan noticed his table number on his ticket said twenty-one and mine, twenty-three. Twenty-one happened to be Kylie’s table.
“Oh.” He licked his lips. “I had to buy an extra ticket for you and I must have gotten the table wrong. Kylie is on the committee. Let’s ask her to straighten this out,” he said, glancing in her direction.
“Oh, this is awkward,” Kylie said after looking at our differing tickets. “But there’s nothing I can do now. We’ve only got enough room for one at our table. Callahan, you could sit here next to Evan and rejoin Ashlyn once the dancing starts after dinner.”
A pit formed in my stomach at her suggestion. How could he not check the tickets? I noted the jackets resting on the backs of most of the chairs, unsure of the owners. Next to the empty seat was a silver beaded bag I could only assume belonged to Brooke.
“I’ll find Ashlyn a chair and squeeze her in,” Georgia exclaimed and began to scan nearby tables for one to steal.
“No!” Kylie called out with a panic stricken face. “We can only have eight people at a table. Country club rules.”
I looked around and noticed others had successfully added additional chairs, all the way up to ten in some cases.
“That’s okay,” Callahan said, gripping my hand tighter. “I’ll find a seat where I can be with Ashlyn.”
“Well, okay.” Kylie put on her fake smile. “Good luck.”
We turned away and looked for a number twenty-three in the centerpieces of popcorn boxes, fake movie reels, and glittery stars.
“Don’t worry. There’s always an overflow table,” Callahan said just to me.
I finally relaxed my shoulders. Ho
w convenient for the mix-up to put Callahan in with Brooke and her hornets nest of friends. My heart warmed that he’d rejected the idea and insisted we be together, even if he didn’t have a seat.
“Oh, cool!” Georgia exclaimed after looking at her phone. She waved at Cassie standing on the other side of the room. “Cassie just texted me. There is an extra seat at table twenty-three after all.”
Callahan and I exchanged relieved glances. “See? It all worked out,” he said.
The group assembled around the table.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here,” Cassie said, looking a bit distressed. “People were trying to steal our chairs.”
“Thanks,” I said as Callahan pulled out my chair for me to sit.
As we settled in, I noticed more students filtered into the room and floundered to find their seats like we did. Across one wall, a replica of the HOLLYWOOD sign stood and on the other were famous black and white pictures of actors and actresses. But my attention was at the center of the room where the buffet tables sat with covered chaffing dishes.
Shortly thereafter, but not soon enough, Mrs. Kiefer finally dismissed our table to the buffet. The choices were palatable: grilled chicken, tortellini salad, green salad, diced red potatoes and wheat rolls. With a snug dress that left little to no room for stomach expansion, I stuck with the tortellini.
When the music started, my heart sped up, but not for obvious reasons. The last dance I’d attended had been freshman year and ended horribly when Ricky Anderson, my date, tripped me on the dance floor and I ended up in the ER. I vowed then to never return to a dance floor from sheer embarrassment, until Callahan asked me to be his date.
Callahan turned to me with a knee-melting smile. “Would you like to dance?”
His gentle brown eyes made saying “no” impossible and I nodded, completely captured by his enticing lips. He pulled me to the middle of the floor for a slow dance, drawing me into his arms. I leaned into his chest as we swayed in a small circle. My heart fluttered when he pulled me closer, his hands holding the small of my back. Everything was finally perfect, the way I’d pictured this night since he’d asked me a week ago.
“This is magical,” I whispered in his ear.
He hummed back in agreement. My throat hitched remembering Georgia’s suggestion. This was the moment she talked about, but on the inside, I was a bundle of nerves, out of my element. Last thing I wanted to do was kiss Callahan right here in front of everyone. We circled around again and I felt him shift, as if to coax me to look up. I didn’t dare move, keeping my cheek glued to his shoulder.
“Are you having fun?” he asked, his warm breath tickling my ear.
“Yes.” No. Maybe. I felt too light-headed to be sure.
He brushed his hand over my hair and wrapped his fingers under my chin. My pulse hammered through my body as he guided my face upwards. Behind his blazing brown eyes, I saw his desire shimmer. He glanced at my lips and back again. With a smile, he leaned in toward me.
I trembled, closing my eyes as he tipped my chin upward. This is it.
Expecting warm lips to touch mine, a bright light flashed over my eyelids instead. I popped them open and turned, Callahan’s lips making contact with my cheek. With lipstick smeared faces, Jeremy and Georgia froze, wide-eyed and embarrassed, caught in the direct line of a chaperon’s flashlight. Then, the unforgiving light illuminated yet another couple whose display apparently was objectionable. I put my head back on his shoulder to avoid the probing beacon, my mind racing, embarrassed I’d messed up the kiss.
The next song speeded things up and resulted in people bumping into us, followed up with snide remarks to take our slow dance somewhere else. We broke apart and danced more appropriately for the music selection, but when Callahan moved behind me and took ahold of my hips, I wasn’t about to rub my butt up against him.
“I need a rest,” I said, pointing to my feet once the third song started.
Callahan nodded and we headed to sit at our table alone.
“Sorry about the ticket mix up,” he said after a few minutes.
I bit my lip as he took my hand, and brushed his lips over my fingers. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
My breath increased anticipating what he was going to ask. “What?”
“I—” his eyes darted away for a moment as if he were gathering his courage. “Would you be my girlfriend?”
Callahan’s girlfriend? Me?
I smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
He leaned forward, about to kiss me again, when Georgia ran up to the table with Jeremy behind her, oblivious to the situation. My shoulders went slack. Would the moment ever be right?
“Come on,” she said breathlessly, grabbing both my hands. “I love this song.”
Knowing the moment with Callahan was over, I let her pull me to the dance floor, shooting him a sad look. He shrugged and motioned for me to go on ahead anyway. Once on the dance floor, I let loose a little and closed my eyes to avoid watching the couples booty grind next to us, but the DJ stopped the song early.
“What?” Georgia exclaimed, as the lights in the room grew brighter.
The tawdry couples moaned at the interruption and finally broke apart. I exhaled and rolled my eyes.
“Attention everyone,” Principle Tanner said into the microphone after she tapped the top, making the lame thumping noise. “It’s time to announce our royal court.”
Georgia grabbed my hand and squealed. “This is it. This is your big moment!”
The tortellini rolled over in my stomach and I gulped down the bile. No matter what the results, I didn’t feel prepared. I clutched her hand for dear life, hoping I’d be happy with whatever happened.
23
FIN
After dinner, I contemplated going out for a swim to ease my frustration. After Tatch and Mom started giggling in the back room over some vampire book mom had smuggled into Natatoria, I bolted.
“I’m going over to Badger’s,” I called out before disappearing into the inky black waters.
The crystal ball bounced cerulean shards of light, signaling the land above was experiencing a full moon. The buildings looked like upside down candles, red lava glowing from the gel-covered domes from below. Speckled circles of light came from the windows of the homes, littering the coral canyon around the palace, mer families settling in for the night. The peacefulness of the scene should have been breathtaking, but Natatoria was the last place I wanted to be.
Within a few short minutes, I arrived at the cave leading to the Tahoe gate instead of Badger’s. Saying goodbye to Dad on this spot just a week ago, it felt like ages had passed. My heart pounded as I scanned the surroundings before ducking inside. My eyes adjusted to the dark of the room.
I hesitated before pressing the button to open the gate into Tahoe. Underage Mer needed permission to leave Natatoria and had to be supervised by an adult male. Grounding or community chores would be the consequences of the offense. Of course, that was already my lot in life. But I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to take the chance. I needed to breathe fresh air and bask in the light of the moon if only for a few minutes.
The icy water sent a chill up my spine as I swam through Tessie’s mouth into the frigid current. I laughed that my heart hammered even though I knew the waters would be empty. The fact Uncle Alaster or Colin left the gate entrance unguarded didn’t surprise me. And I’m sure Dad didn’t tell his brother about the movement meter he’d installed that would register higher readings if someone had opened the mouth of the cave. In the old days, Dad and I used to put soft rocks under the doorway so if someone did sneak into Tahoe unnoticed, we’d know and watch for them.
Gate guarding should have been more about keeping humans from finding the entrance and not keeping mers out—most of them deathly afraid of getting caught to even try. But everyone knew we took our job seriously and didn’t test the boundaries.
Alaster or Colin could have been somewhere else in the lake, monitoring wa
ter vibrations with their tails. But my guess was they were living it up in the basement, eating and drinking everything they could find, and enjoying the oversized TV—the lazy bums. Any mer could come and go right under their noses, and they’d never know—something I planned to capitalize on until Dad returned.
I swam the 1,600 feet with ease and carefully surfaced to make sure no one saw me before taking in a deep breath of crisp air. A fresh blanket of snow glimmered on the bank from the moonlight, illuminating the entire cascade of mountains like a silver crown. Lily’s face came to mind as I imagined her reaction to such an amazing spectacle.
Everything inside me wanted to swim to shore and roll around in the powder, making merfish angels or something so I could cup the earth in my hands. But my visit had to be inconspicuous. Getting caught by my lame relatives, or worse, humans, would ruin this opportunity.
I floated on my back and admired the night’s sky. Stars pebbled the heavens and I vowed to never take the beauty for granted once we were back home, guarding the gate like it should be.
Light shone from every window in our house, though I knew they wouldn’t be scooting around on their fins upstairs. If mers didn’t keep their tails wet, their scales would dry out. Any sort of dehydration interfered with our natural ability to regulate our internal temperature, thus putting us at risk of a coma or even death. So much for them being incognito.
Headlights shot out over the lake and I ducked down. The vehicle—a stretch limo—pulled down our street and headed toward our house. I squinted in concern. Who would be visiting at this time of night? Then the car turned and parked in front of Ashlyn’s house instead. I swam to a nearby rock to investigate.
A guy my age, dressed in a suit, assisted a female out of the vehicle. She looked regal with a long green dress and red curls trailing down her back.
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