She grinned, facing the football field, surprised at her sudden urge to lean against his shoulder. Will really was an enigma, unlike anyone she had ever met before. The more time they spent together, the more time she wanted to spend with him.
She was lucky he had come into her life.
When the game was over, she was disappointed. A part of her almost wanted to ask Will for a ride home, just so she could spend some more time with him. But she shook that thought quickly from her head and cautiously followed him down from the tree, suppressing her fear of falling so they could get down before the crowd came out and saw them.
Down on the ground, she grinned up at him. “Thank you,” she said. “I had fun.”
He flashed a charming grin. “Anytime. See you later.”
“See you,” she echoed, somewhat sadly. She watched his back until she couldn’t see it anymore, and then turned and headed back to go rejoin her friends.
Chapter Twelve
“You look beautiful, sweetie.”
Annabelle smiled happily at her mother’s compliment, twirling around on the stairs to show off her dress. The strapless satin gown was black on top, tight and formfitting until it hit her waist, where it joined seamlessly with white satin fabric and flooded down to her ankles. She balanced carefully on the strappy stiletto heels her mother had loaned her as she fixed the diamond drop earrings and necklace—another loan from her mother. She had never felt so pretty before, and as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she was astonished at her reflection. She really did look lovely, like she was glowing inside.
She consented to a hundred pictures before the doorbell rang. She rushed to answer it, pulling open the door to reveal Trevor on her front porch. He looked stunningly handsome in a black and white tuxedo, and she found herself smiling just at the sight of him.
“Wow,” Trevor breathed, staring at her. “You look... beautiful.”
She blushed. “Thank you. You look great.”
He quickly held up a clear box, a white corsage clearly visible inside. “Here,” he said, flashing an embarrassed grin as he handed it to her. “Before I forget it.”
She smiled and took the box, opening it and sliding the corsage of white roses onto her left wrist. “How’s your arm?” she asked, noting how close he held his right arm to his body.
He smiled weakly. “It’s okay. I’m sorry we can’t dance, though.”
She shook her head immediately. “It’s okay. Don’t even think about it. What did the doctor say?”
“To keep it as still as possible. It’s just a sprain, so it should be fine soon.” He held out his left arm and she looped hers through it, allowing him to lead her out of the house. A sudden outcry of catcalls made her stop short and she looked up, bursting into laughter at the sight before her. Claire and Claudia stood in the moon roof of the black limo parked in front of her house, and all of the limo’s windows were rolled down, revealing her friend’s staring, cheering faces.
“You look gorgeous, dahling!” Claire called at her. “Simply gorgeous!” She pounded the top of the limo. “Now get in this thing and let’s get going! I wanna party!”
She laughed and nodded, climbing in as Trevor held the door open for her. The limo was crammed with their friends and acquaintances, all jostling each other as glasses of champagne were passed around. Annabelle continued passing glasses until Zach opened a fresh bottle, and even then she checked her glass as discreetly as she could. She might have been naïve, but she wasn’t stupid. She had already learned her lesson.
“To the most beautiful people in the school,” Claire declared, raising her glass. Loud catcalls and cheers filled the limo. Annabelle laughed weakly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. There were a lot of beautiful people in their school—more than just the few that could squeeze into the limo. “And to our amazing football team for pounding Lincoln into the ground!”
The cheers grew thunderous, and then everyone downed their champagne. As they drove to the marina there was loud chatter and even louder music. Annabelle lost herself in the frenzy, singing hysterically with her friends and yelling to be heard over the noise.
As they pulled up to the twinkling lights of the marina, the music from the country club’s ballroom audible even as they climbed out of the limo, Annabelle felt a sense of giddiness overtake her. Students stepped aside as the group made their way down the gold-flecked stone path, and for a moment it was like she was seeing everything from the outside—the mass of beautiful students making their entrance into the crystal-decorated venue.
They headed straight for the picture line so they could have their pictures taken before they started dancing and ruined their hair and makeup. She and Trevor took a couple together, but then they took pictures as a group, first all of the girls followed by one of all of the guys, then one as a whole group. As she squeezed in-between Claire and Mary, Trevor behind her, she realized the whole event felt strangely surreal. She knew when the pictures came back the girls would all crowd around them and gush about how gorgeous each other looked, but in reality they would all just be staring at themselves. And somehow, when the flash went off, her smile felt plastic and fake.
When they were done taking pictures they crowded around a table near the dance floor, half of the group getting up to go dance while the others remained seated. Annabelle mentally shook herself, trying to get rid of the thoughts in her head. This was Homecoming, and she was supposed to be having the time of her life.
So what was wrong with her?
Why did she feel almost like she was someone else?
“You should go dance,” Trevor shouted in her ear, to be heard over the music.
Annabelle smiled and started to shake her head, but Claire suddenly jumped up and grabbed her hand. “Let’s dance!” Claire begged. “You can be my dance partner.”
Annabelle shot an apologetic look at Trevor, but he laughed and nodded, waving her away with his left hand. She allowed Claire to lead her to the dance floor, where they were promptly surrounded by the other girls. Annabelle tried to push everything else out of her mind, forcing herself to concentrate on having fun as she and Claire spun each other around, laughing and singing along with the music.
When her feet were ready to start bleeding, she laughingly excused herself despite the protests that she stay. She made her way to the refreshment table, carefully selecting two empty cups before ladling some punch into them. She turned to make her way back to their table, the cups in her hands, and stopped short at the sight before her.
Standing there, looking impossibly gorgeous in a black and white tuxedo with a dark red vest, was Will.
For several seconds Annabelle couldn’t actually make herself believe that it was really Will. And then she recognized Ebony standing beside him, looking elegant and gothic in a dark crimson dress with crushed black velvet pieces. A squeal of disbelief and delight escaped her lips and she all-but dropped the drinks onto the table, rushing over to the couple.
“You look beautiful!” Annabelle cried, flinging her arms around Ebony’s neck in a tight hug.
Ebony laughed out loud. “Thanks,” she said, grinning as Annabelle stepped back. “I had to bribe Will to bring me. Some guy, huh?”
Annabelle looked up at him. He really was stunning in his tuxedo, his silky dark hair falling around his face, and couldn’t help grinning back. “Some guy,” she agreed happily. “You look amazing.”
He offered a cocky smile. “Of course I do. I told you I could pull off a tux, didn’t I?”
She laughed. “You did. You were absolutely right.” Suddenly realizing that she was staring, she tore her eyes away from him to look down at Ebony, who was smiling at her. “Did you guys come alone? Or were you able to bribe the rest of your friends into coming, too?”
“They’re here,” Ebony assured her, then frowned as she looked around. “I just don’t know where exactly…”
“Well hell-o gorgeous.”
Annabelle felt her heart plummet into he
r stomach at the flirtatious, seductive tone. Stricken, she turned slowly to look back at Claire, who had suddenly materialized on her right side with Claudia, her eyes hungrily taking in Will.
“Now I get what you see in him, Annabelle,” Claire teased, elbowing her lightly in the side. Annabelle gaped at her in horror as Claire looked back up at Will. “You pull off sexy effortlessly,” Claire told him, running a perfectly manicured French nail along his lapel.
Annabelle wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry or throw up. What did Claire mean that now she got it? Annabelle had never talked about Will with any of her friends. She didn’t even talk about Will to Trevor. How could Claire know that she and Will were friends? And besides that, Claire wouldn’t go after Will, would she? She wasn’t good enough for him. Ebony was the only one who deserved wonderful, kind, exciting, sweet Will. A montage of memories flooded her mind: Will smiling and laughing down at her, looking at her with his gentle, calm expression, and before knew what she was doing, her hand shot out and snatched Claire’s wrist, pulling her hand off of Will.
“Come on, sweetheart!” Annabelle insisted, in the sweetest voice she had ever mustered. “I want to dance! Let’s leave these two love birds alone!”
Claire’s eyes flashed with anger, but she couldn’t argue with the tone in Annabelle’s voice without causing a scene and they both knew it. “Of course!” she agreed, then shot a flirtatious look back at Will. “Save me a dance!” she called back at him.
Annabelle could have broken her wrist.
When they finally rejoined the others at the table, it took almost all of her effort to keep Claire from running off to go find Will. And when she wasn’t trying to stop Claire, she was trying to shut up Claudia, who wouldn’t stop talking about how hot Will looked. Between all of that she tried to pay attention to Trevor, who just sat there with a large grin, laughing with the others.
She was pretty sure she had never been more exhausted in her life.
Finally, when Claire and Claudia went to use the bathroom, Annabelle allowed herself a moment to relax. She stood and hurried to the refreshment table to retrieve the drinks she had wanted over an hour earlier. As she cut her way through the crowd, she felt her shoulders start to slump but immediately straightened them, forcing herself to keep it together. She only had to endure it for a little longer. On Monday Will would go back to his normal way of dressing that her friends detested, and she wouldn’t have to worry about them trying to seduce him anymore.
As she reached for a cup of punch, a hand caught her wrist. Startled, she turned to her right, and despite everything felt a grin appear as she looked up into Will’s dancing dark eyes.
“You should thank me,” she told him. “I’ve spent almost all night trying to keep Claudia and Claire away from you and Ebony so you two could have a good time.”
“Will a dance serve as enough gratitude?” he asked, even as his fingers slid in-between hers and tugged lightly. She didn’t answer as she allowed him to lead her out onto the dance floor, a slow song drifting through the speakers as they found a spot buried in the middle of a group of students. Her body tingled weightlessly as he gently pulled her toward him, sliding his arms around her as she almost instinctually wrapped her arms around him.
She smiled nervously up at him through the thick, heavy air between them. “Are you having a good time?”
“Mmm hmm.”
She felt herself grin, her grip on him tightening. “So… it’s not as bad as you thought?” she teased.
“Oh, it’s plenty bad. But mostly because girls I don’t know keep coming up to me and asking if I’m new, then freaking out when they recognize me.” He rolled his eyes to show his irritation, and she laughed.
“Well you do clean up surprisingly well,” she offered, giggling.
“Thanks!” he mock-protested, and she laughed again.
“You’re welcome!” she declared. She hesitated, trying to see the tables outside the dance floor through the people surrounding them. “How is Ebony handling all of the attention you’re getting?”
Will laughed shortly. “She’s having a great time. Keeps trying to make me go.”
That caught her attention. “What?” she asked, bewildered. “Your girlfriend wants you to dance with other girls?”
“Ebony’s not my girlfriend,” he said, and suddenly she was dipped backwards.
Wait. What? He pulled her back up, but instead of dancing, they both just stood there, staring at each other, still posed as if they were going to dance. Annabelle’s mind raced as she tried to recall all of their conversations about Ebony and everything that Ebony had ever said to her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that neither of them had ever said they were dating. She had just assumed they were because of how they acted.
And they were unusually friendly with each other, weren’t they? Annabelle had seen Ebony kiss Will several times on the cheek, and she had even been sitting between his legs. They had to be more than friends.
“Friends with benefits?” she finally asked.
He arched an eyebrow in response. “Not my thing.”
The music had sped up, but she barely registered it. Finally, she heard herself ask, “Why?”
His eyes didn’t leave hers. And then Annabelle’s arm was being tugged off of Will’s shoulder, practically ripping her out of his arms. She gasped at the sudden loss of contact and forcefulness of the yank, stunned when she came face-to-face with Claire and Claudia.
“Don’t hog the sexy boy all to yourself, Annabelle,” Claire objected, her tone barely covering up her anger. “How selfish of you!” She slid in-between Annabelle and Will. “My turn!” she declared, throwing her arms around Will’s neck.
Annabelle stumbled away, making her way back to the table. At her face, Trevor straightened, his smile dying instantly. He stood. “What’s wrong?” he asked, leaning toward her.
She shook her head and forced a smile. “Nothing. I-I was dancing with Will and I think I overheated.”
He looked surprised. “Will? My brother? He’s here?”
She sucked in a breath. Hadn’t he been listening when Claudia had been talking about how sexy his brother was? Sure, the dance was loud, and he had been talking to the other football players about the game the night before, but how could he have missed Claudia ranting and raving about how Will had been hiding his gorgeous self all this time?
“Yeah,” she confirmed finally. “He came with his friends. He’s dancing with Claire right now.”
“My brother?” Trevor repeated incredulously.
Annabelle almost wanted to punch him. “Is it okay if we get some air?” she asked, nodding to the dock that stretched out along the water.
“Of course,” he agreed immediately, and she instantly felt bad for being angry with him. He led her around the dance floor and out the double doors, a blast of cool air washing over her as soon as they stepped outside. She walked straight to the railing, leaning against it as she tried to calm her whirling thoughts.
“I wonder why he’s here,” Trevor mussed quietly. Annabelle looked over at him, but he was staring with wonder into the ballroom. “I don’t even think my mom knew he was coming. He’s never gone to a dance before.”
“Ebony said she bribed him,” Annabelle offered.
Trevor still looked perplexed. “Ebony tries to bribe him every dance. Whenever she comes over she tells my mom about how he keeps turning her down.”
Annabelle stared at his profile, then back out to the dark surface of the water, her mind stunned into silence. Was it what she had said to him? Had he come because she had called him on his fears, and he came to prove he could conquer them?
She had to turn her back to Trevor to keep him from seeing the tears brewing in her eyes. Will—stunning, remarkable Will—had faced his demons head on, and now he was being begged by them to dance. It was almost comical.
And her? What had she done to fight dressing up to be someone else for a night? Nothing. Not a thing
. She had even felt like someone else while they had been taking pictures. She was always pretending to be someone else. That was her entire life. It was what she did to be accepted; to have friends. That was who she was.
Wasn’t it?
She suddenly thought of yelling at Will in his car, the two of them glaring furiously at each other. She thought of crumbling in his arms in the hallway at school. Of clinging to his waist and laughing hysterically as they drove around on the ATV, getting covered in dirt from head to toe. Of resting in his arms in her room after the carnival, feeling safe and peaceful for the first time in days.
Something inside of her snapped.
That was the real her. The one who thought it was fun to get dirty. The one who didn’t care about someone’s social circles. The one who wanted to laugh and have fun without worrying about saying or doing the right thing all the time.
And if Will was going to wear a tuxedo for a night and face his fears, she could take off her mask for a night and face hers.
She turned to Trevor abruptly, catching him off-guard. “Do you want to go say hi?” she asked, fully intending to go sit with Will and Ebony whether Trevor came or not.
He blinked, startled, but he nodded. She led the way back in and paused, scanning the room for either of her friends. She finally spotted Ebony at a table in the corner of the room, surrounded by friends. In the darkest corner of the room slouched Will, looking like he was trying not to jump out of his seat and make a run for it.
She strode straight for their table, feeling Trevor at her heels. As they walked up, everyone at the table shifted and straightened, their eyes darting between Trevor and Will. Will straightened as well, his dark eyes flashing at the sight of his brother.
Annabelle, working purely on adrenaline, pulled an empty chair over to Ebony’s side, reached down, slipped off her high heels, and dropped them onto the middle of the table.
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