When we got to my house, she, my mother and I all went into my mother’s room where Snowy pulled out her frothy pink gown and my mother and I ooohed and aahed over it appropriately. She pulled it on with her most effective push up bra, and I had to admit she looked as pretty as a doll ever could. She twisted this way and that way in my mother’s full-length mirror while I stared worriedly at the box on my lap. It was ridiculous that I hadn’t even checked if it fit. I didn’t really care about matching dresses. I just wanted it to be over. I reluctantly pulled one end of the string and took off the lid. I reached in, pulling out the tissue paper, and then wrapped my hand around silky fabric that clung to my arm. I pulled the dress half out of the box then stared at it in horror mixed with admiration. The bodice was completely strapless more of a bustier-type undergarment than my idea of an actual dress. The filmy layers were the color of autumn leaves, gold with flecks of burnt orange and dark purple. I held it up wordlessly for my mother and Snowy to see.
“You picked this out?” Snowy asked sounding impressed.
“No, I was too sick to go in the shop. Satan got it for me. I think this would look better on him than on me. He’s got more in his chest to hold it up.” It was so soft and beautiful, but on me it probably wouldn’t even stay on.
“Nonsense. I’m sure we can make it work,” my mother said sounding amused.
“Snowy, maybe I can wear something of yours, something your Aunt sent you or something…” I trailed off as I got a look at her face. She looked almost envious.
“That dress is going to be perfect for you,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Perfect. Hmm, well a show dance should have an exciting, dangerous element to it, but I was thinking along the lines of a daring lift, not my dress falling off, but whatever.”
They looked at me, then at each other, and my mother said, “Well, I agree with Snowy. You can always wear a wrap over it. Let’s try it out with hair and makeup so you can judge it on you instead of in a box. You have to admit the color is just right.”
I rolled my eyes and let them fuss over me for way too long. After I was fixed to my mother’s exacting standard, Snowy held up the dress gleefully and helped me pull it over my head without spoiling my hair. The layers settled around me silkily, and the sensation was marvelous. My mother tightened the bodice top with the strings from behind until I was almost convinced it wasn’t going anywhere without me.
She turned me towards the mirror saying, “So what do you think?” Snowy stood on my other side and I stared at the girl in the mirror. She was absolutely beautiful. My mother had outdone herself with the makeup, my hair curled around my shoulders where it wasn’t twisted up on my head, and the dress fit me perfectly. It didn’t show off curves I didn’t have, instead it seemed to proclaim that the body in this dress was the ideal.
I scowled, shaking my head. “Unbelievable. You guys did a great job. It doesn’t really look like me does it?” I put a hand on my shoulder, feeling the skin—there was too much skin.
“You’re gorgeous,” Snowy acknowledged. “You’re every bit as gorgeous as I am. We are completely different, but no one in their right mind would say you weren’t as gorgeous as I am, aren’t I right, Mrs. Sanders?”
My mother just smiled. The doorbell rang and my mother gave me a delicate hug, careful not to spoil the perfect gown then went downstairs.
“I have to put something on over this,” I said as soon as my mother left.
“Why?” Snowy demanded.
“Because…” I couldn’t explain it to her. I was too beautiful, too delicate and feminine, to be going on a group date with some friends. I looked like a romance heroine waiting for someone dashing to sweep her off into the darkness, like the Nether. I swallowed when I thought of him. “It’s too much skin. You go downstairs; I’ll be there in a minute.”
She gave me an exasperated sigh and left me alone with the gorgeous girl in the mirror. I went to my room to grab the black Edwardian jacket I’d gotten from Mr. Slider. I checked it out in the mirror, the dress wasn’t quite as attention grabbing, but the look was still pretty nice. It looked like the jacket was an intentional statement, not a cover up for someone who was too scared to bare that much skin. I walked down the stairs not meeting anyone’s eyes, but someone started whistling and hooting. I looked up to see Satan really overdoing it.
“Are you okay?” I asked him but Lewis stepped forward and for a second everything else in the room faded away. Snowy’s laugh brought everything else into focus and I got my strangely erratic breathing under control as Lewis handed me a clear box. I took it slowly, feeling less and less comfortable as I tried to figure out what the dark russet bouquet meant. “Thank you,” I mumbled staring at it.
“It’s a corsage and it matches your dress,” he said cheerfully.
“I can see that. The thing is, you didn’t have to get me a corsage. This isn’t a date.”
He smiled at me and shook his head. “It’s a group date. At the flower shop Osmond and I picked out two corsages with the idea that whoever’s flowers match will escort that girl. Otherwise we’ll all be tripping over each other. Let me put it on,” he said taking the box back, holding onto my hand while he attached the bouquet to my wrist. “Perfect,” he said and left a quick kiss beneath the bouquet before he straightened up. It left me feeling slightly sick with a tightness in my chest that had very little to do with my mother’s lacing.
“Pictures,” my mother called and we gathered together so she could flash the camera a dozen times.
I wasn’t sure if I remembered to smile, I was too disoriented. Everyone else seemed so happy and cheerful, like we were all normal people and we did this kind of thing all the time. Osmond nudged me and I frowned at him.
“Come on, Dari, lighten up a little. Either you’re getting sick again, or you aren’t overjoyed to be dating the two most attractive guys in Sanders at the same time.”
I looked at Osmond and couldn’t help smiling. “I’m overwhelmed with my luck. You owe me some dancing.”
“Oh yeah?” He raised his eyebrows. “I thought Smoke was going to wear you out.”
“Naw, I’ll save some energy to groove with you. I remember how well you danced with Snowy in days past. Dancing is what one must do at a dance, with as many handsome men as possible.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lewis said. I grinned at him, feeling more relaxed every minute.
“You can dance with Osmond too if you’d like,” I offered generously.
“Thanks for volunteering me,” Osmond said nudging me again.
“Well from my gym class it is apparent that the handsome gentleman doesn’t dance, and my shoes, I am sad to say, are not for the uninitiated. I wouldn’t want to spoil my hose with boot prints.”
“Lewis can dance,” Snowy said. “I’m sure no one who fights as well as he does can’t pull off something on the dance floor.”
“Yes, I’m sure he can do that jumping around thing, but this is Sanders,” I said and felt almost proud of my backwards town. “Here we dance the hard way.”
Lewis started laughing, and I smiled at him, liking the way he sounded, the way he looked. I blinked as a flash burst in my eyes. I looked at my mother who gave me a tense smile and turned to snap a picture of Snowy with Satan lurking in the background. It made everything fake suddenly, like we were all paper cut outs that could be blown over in a moment. I blinked again and everything was normal. I kept a smile on my face and let Lewis tuck my arm in his as we walked outside. He opened the door of his car, and I climbed in while Osmond helped Snowy into his truck.
I shifted, feeling nervous, trying to think of something to talk about besides how much I wished I were Osmond’s date. “Without a four seat car it’s a good thing you eliminated the confusion with the corsages. Where are we going?” I asked smoothing down my skirt while Lewis buckled his seatbelt. There were only a few places in town to eat, none of them very fancy.
“It’s a surprise,” Lewis said s
miling mysteriously.
“I don’t think I like surprises.”
He gave me a curious look. “Most girls seem to. Maybe it’s my soul that dislikes the unexpected.”
I didn’t know what to do with his easy acknowledgement of my having his soul. Shouldn’t it bother him just a little? He drove towards the river and pulled off the road by the woods. It was in the same area I’d gotten a ride home from in Grim’s hearse. I forced a smile at him that he returned easily. He came around and opened the door for me, looking excited as he gave Osmond a grin that showed they shared a secret.
I managed to make it on my heels through the roadside weeds to the woods where a narrow path was lit every few feet by white candles in mason jars. It was simple but magical enough that I thought the girl in the mirror would not be out of place in this world. I heard Snowy whisper and giggle behind me, but that was all the sounds she made. In a wide spot beneath the trees, glass globes hung from branches around bright rugs and pillows on the ground. I stared and felt frozen as I watched Snowy pass me and join Lewis where he sat on a rug. There was something so tantalizing about the scene.
It seemed the farther I was from Lewis, the more I wanted to be near him. I watched the lines of his face lit by flickering candlelight and felt a wave of relief that he was there, safe, waiting for me.
“Dari, are you coming?” Osmond asked. I shook myself and smiled at him and let him give me an arm as we walked to the group. I sat beside Snowy and started on the cheese and crackers, fruit, and a bottle of something that Lewis assured everyone was not alcoholic.
“I’m impressed,” Snowy said, dipping a cracker in a gooey cheese. “So, which one of you is the closet romantic?”
Osmond grinned at Lewis. “It’s football practice. After all that smashing and bashing I want to relax by hanging candles and creating atmosphere.”
Snowy pushed him over and he fell on top of me knocking my cracker to the ground. “Don’t dis atmosphere,” Snowy said trying to sound stern.
“Oh I don’t know,” Osmond said looking up at me with his head on my knees. “The consequences don’t seem to be all that bad.”
“You owe me a cracker,” I said pushing him off of me and laughing at him.
“A cracker it is,” he said cheerfully arranging a variety on a fancy plastic plate that looked like glass.
“If you serve Dari, then who is going to take care of me?” Snowy asked with her totally fake pout.
“Allow me,” I said reaching forward and brushing Lewis’ hand where it hovered over the cheese. I felt a shock that made me gasp and pull back instinctively. I stared at Lewis and for a moment it felt like we were alone in the woods together, something familiar and important about to happen.
“You’re so warm,” I said, then blushed, feeling like an idiot as I realized how breathless I sounded while he quirked an eyebrow at me as though he were puzzled by my reaction.
I drew back and turned to Snowy. I followed their conversation carefully and laughed in all the right places but there had been something for a moment about Lewis that was unforgettable.
After we were done eating, Lewis escorted us back to the vehicles, extinguishing candles as we went. I looked in the darkness and saw a set of ruby red eyes glowing at me. It settled me slightly to know that my demon killer was watching out for me, and I breathed a little bit easier as I smiled at Lewis.
“You look different tonight and it’s not just the dress,” he said as we walked, letting Snowy and Osmond get ahead of us.
“It’s probably the makeup,” I said and wrapped my arms around myself, glad for the jacket.
“The makeup? No, I don’t think so. That makes you look untouchable, but I think you’re on edge.” I felt a dip in my stomach. “Even if it’s natural to be nervous about your exhibition with Smoke, you shouldn’t be.”
“He’s right, Dari,” Snowy said from in front of me. “In that dress, no one’s going to care how you dance.”
I sighed, exasperated that she would pick the worst thing in the world to say, but at the same time, it helped me shake off the weirdness I’d felt creeping up all evening.
We drove to the high school, Osmond always one car length behind us. Lewis parked in the dark, crowded parking lot on the southwest side of the school, then opened my door for me. I looked up at him, unable to see his eyes in the shadows and felt shivery in spite of my jacket.
“Come on, you guys. You’re not going to believe the decorations,” Snowy said grabbing my wrist and pulling me along with her.
We walked across the blacktop towards the arched gymnasium doors. I gazed admiringly at Snowy’s handiwork. The steps up to the door were garlanded in leaves while she’d managed to get an arbor over the top of it that was twined with vines, flowers, and flickering white lights. It was a little over the top, but that was Snowy. Inside, every wall was decorated so thoroughly it gave one the impression of being in an oversize leafy bower. I smiled at her, nodding my approval. It was splendid and lovely, but not as otherworldly as the clearing in the woods. I was grateful for that.
We stood in line to get our pictures taken, and then Snowy and Osmond moved out to the dance floor. I watched them, impressed with how well they moved together. A couple bumped them and I saw Valerie in a dress that made mine look like I should be heading for a monastery. She gave Snowy the kind of smile that meant war. I could tell Snowy’s teeth were clenched as she executed a challenging move that Valerie, for all of her impressive abilities to keep on her dress, couldn’t compete with. I was satisfied that Snowy could hold her own and turned to Lewis, wondering what he thought about the scene. I caught him staring at me with so much intensity in his eyes that while he quickly regained his easy smile, it took me a minute to remember what I was going to say.
“Osmond is a great dancer. Everyone here dances really well,” he said sounding impressed.
“Four years of practice will do it to you,” I said lightly, my stomach still unsettled from the look in his eyes. “It’s too bad you don’t dance. Maybe you should ask Valerie for a spin. She can’t dance either.”
He frowned and sighed. “And here I thought I smelled like a tree. Honestly, Dari, don’t you know that trees can dance as well as any bush swaying and spinning in the wind? Truly, I’m hurt.”
I patted his arm and forced my fingers to relax and not tighten around his wrist. “All right then. You can dance with me after I smash the crowd with Smoke. The first tango is yours. Don’t worry, the tango is easy; it’s just walking.” I was proud of how normal my voice sounded.
“Just walking? All right.” He looked nervous. “I don’t suppose there’s a dance that’s just running. I’ve always been a good runner, particularly when I’m only going in one direction.”
“But that’s the whole trouble with dancing, all that changing direction.” I grinned at him. Osmond and Snowy came back and Snowy immediately began her tirade about Valerie. That lasted a song, and then she dragged me to the edge of the floor where people had cleared an area as the announcer requested.
“All right, Smoke’s over there,” Snowy said as she pointed across the room. “This is going to be great when you meet in the middle of the floor. You don’t need this,” she said and pulled off my jacket, barely hesitating over my corsage. She gave me a push through the fringe of the crowd until I stood alone on the floor without my armor. I fought down the fury I felt at Snowy’s typical lack of respect before I smiled as a spotlight landed on me and I forced myself to move towards Smoke.
He looked fantastic emerging towards me out of a thick fog and I wondered how he’d rigged it. It was the perfect effect for his long, lean body and flying hair as he came towards me. I went to him in time to the music. I forgot about my dress showing off too much of me, and started dancing. Smoke had great energy and we’d practiced enough that I knew what he was going to do before he did it. Sometimes he tended to forget choreography and wing it, but I didn’t mind, I could stop thinking and move with him. I felt the con
nection between us while the music filled me, consumed me until I forgot about Lewis, Snowy, and the audience watching me. We danced a medley integrating a foxtrot, tango, and a rumba. I loved the way Smoke changed through the dance with his posture and expression. I grinned at him while I moved as slinky as I could to the tango parts. We made it through the routine to its brilliant finish with me swung up on his shoulder in a lift that had taken us a week to get right. From my perch up there as Smoke spun, I felt for a second like I was the only one in the world, as free as a bird soaring through the sky. I blinked and the spell of the music and lights was broken. I barely managed to land on my feet as Smoke put me down and the waves of applause crashed over us.
“Easy, hot stuff,” he said in my ear as he held me on my feet. I didn’t understand how my ankles had gotten so weak all of a sudden. I forced a smile at the crowds that were cheering wildly for us. Smoke bowed then led us dramatically off the floor, back into the smoke that was emitting from a machine manned by Ash. The spotlights didn’t follow us past the smoke and I was left in semi-darkness as the crowd returned to general dancing.
I fought down the strange panic that rose in my chest as I stood in the darkness when Smoke took his arm off my shoulder and turned to do high fives with Ash.
“Dari, you okay?” Ash asked me, and Smoke grabbed my shoulders again tightly.
“She’s a freaking monster! Have you ever seen dancing like that? Snowy can’t say anything about that besides, ‘Smoke, you’re the best lead I’ve ever seen.’ Dari, you make me look so good!”
I stared at him, the way his eyes were so wild and shiny, and thought about Snowy, how she’d always been so pushy about me being with Lewis when she thought I was interested in Smoke and realized something I should have noticed before. He squeezed my shoulders and kissed my forehead then let me go to make his way whooping and leaping to the punch tables.
“Do you want to dance?” Ash asked still looking concerned. I smiled at him.
“Oh that’s really sweet but I need to take a break. If anyone asks, you know, Snowy, tell her I’m mingling or something.” I needed to be alone. I turned and made my way through the crowds to the double doors that led to the main school, pushing through them. I was glad to leave the crowds and noise behind. I sat down on the marble steps leading upstairs then leaned back and looked at the skylight which glimmered slightly from the light of the moon.
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