by Celeste Buie
Maybe he’s an executive and came straight from work to watch his son play, I thought.
He seemed to scan the crowd, looking for someone. He appeared to look directly into our group, but it was hard to pinpoint his focus from this distance.
I positioned my body to give the illusion of watching the game when in reality I couldn’t look away from him. We both stayed that way—unmoving—for what seemed like minutes, until he pulled out his cell, and typed a message. He slid his phone into a pocket and nonchalantly walked out of view.
I didn’t notice that Landon had stood and was in the process of taking food and drink orders until Elyse nudged me. He called my name with a troubled look, so I gave him my order, then offered to go with him and help carry the items back.
“I can handle it,” he quipped. He answered too quickly for me not to notice, and it must have showed on my face. “It’s fine, really. I’ll be able to carry it all,” he said, trying to smooth it over.
“Sure, okay,” I managed. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, I smiled to show that it didn’t bother me.
He hesitated, probably trying to determine if I planned on following him anyway.
I turned my attention to the field just in time to see our team complete a pass and take it in for a touchdown. The stands erupted, and Landon took advantage of the commotion to slip away. A few plays later, he returned. We passed the candy and popcorn around to share. I nonchalantly looked around for the trench coat guy and wondered how important his job was that he couldn’t stay to watch his son’s game.
Our team won in a nail-biting last quarter. We went to a local diner after to celebrate.
CHAPTER 28
The next morning, I went to Elyse’s to get ready for the dance. Everyone decided to meet there for pictures. We chose to do our hair ourselves. I curled mine into ringlets and pulled half of my hair back. My dress was a black, sleeveless design with an asymmetrical layered chiffon skirt. It had a three-inch silver ribbon around the waist that tied into a large bow in back. The ribbon was my favorite part of the dress, because it was made of sparkly metallic thread that shimmered with movement. I paired it with a fabulous pair of electric blue heels and a plaid black, silver, and blue clutch. Elyse’s dress was red, strapless, and fit her personality perfectly. A small black ribbon gave it a baby-doll look, and the bottom had three rows of ruffles. She had curled her hair into loose waves and wore it down. I loved the three-dimensional rose purse she found at a boutique store.
Jared was the first to arrive, and soon after, everyone else did. Several sets of parents arranged us into groups for pictures. When it came time for a group picture with couples, the single guys surrounded me without anyone telling them to. I felt extreme gratitude to have such great friends.
“It’s too bad you have all these boys around you, but don’t have anyone to dance with,” Elyse taunted. I knew what she was aiming for.
Zach interjected before I could. “What are you talking about? She has all of us.”
“It wasn’t like she didn’t have an official offer. She turned Trevor down,” she teased.
I shot her a warning look. My parents were there, and I hadn’t told them about his offer.
“I’m glad,” Zach said.
“Me too,” Logan agreed.
“You can all stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
“I was under the impression she wasn’t sure she wanted a date,” Landon said.
“Yes, I figured I’d try something new. And you’re all in trouble, because I’m saving a dance for each of you.” They all looked pleased, and I was grateful the topic changed to driving arrangements.
• • •
We entered the gym and found the dance floor nearly empty. Considering we were an hour late and only had two hours to go, our small group took over the floor. Slowly, more and more joined us and pushed us closer together.
I was dancing to my favorite song when I felt someone approach. Before I turned around, he asked, “May I cut in?”
I knew that voice. The look on the faces around me did, too. Lauren and Samantha pulled their dates from another school into the thick of the crowd. I didn’t hold it against them to remove themselves from this potential disaster.
I wheeled around, stunned. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you. Will you dance with me?”
The only thing stopping me was all the inquisitive eyes. I wouldn’t enjoy it with them gawking at us, and I had some questions of my own. “Let’s go out into the hallway first.”
I grabbed Trevor’s hand and led him away from the booming music and pulsing lights, to a place where I could hear not only my own thoughts but also carry on a conversation.
“What made you show up here?” I asked.
“I couldn’t miss tonight. You look beautiful, as usual.”
“No, really, what are you doing here? I don’t believe you’re here.”
“We always said we would go to our homecomings and proms together. I’m sticking to that.”
“Yeah, but we made that plan when we were together. The fact that we’re no longer together voids it.”
“That’s just temporary.”
“What is?”
“Our separation.”
“If you’re so sure about that, you shouldn’t have broken up with me,” I said.
“You really should move on from that one detail.”
“You can’t just pause life. You can’t expect to pick up our relationship in the same place after however long you think it’s going to take. People change with new experiences, and if we’re not together during those experiences, we’re not going to stay connected. We’ve talked about this.”
He let out a calming breath. “I’m here now. Let’s not focus on the negative stuff.”
“How did you get in? Did you come with someone?”
“So many questions! Forget about everything and have fun. Just for one night,” he emphasized. “We’ve had such a good time at every other dance we’ve been to together, why stop it short?”
He was right. All I wanted was to have a drama-free night. Part of me secretly loved that he was here. The other part knew that getting upset wouldn’t be worth it. I did know him…all too well. Sometimes I wish I could hate him. It would make life easier. “Answer one question, and I’ll go back in there with you and pretend that everything’s normal. Just for one night.”
“Shoot.”
I knew he wouldn’t answer the question I really wanted to know, so I had to take a safer route. I expanded the pulsing energy inside before I asked, “How much do you miss me?”
His eyes sparkled. “So much.” Whatever was going on with him hadn’t changed how he felt about me.
I smiled. “Same here.”
He held his arm out, and I linked mine with his. We walked into the gym together.
My friends stared at us, and I felt their apprehension. The dynamic had changed while we were in the hall. It wasn’t until we rejoined the group that I noticed some were missing.
Jared acknowledged Trevor while the other guys mumbled under their breaths and turned to talk with each other.
Elyse took the opportunity to pull me away, concern crossing her face.
“Are you okay with him here?” she asked.
“I guess so. I mean, I didn’t plan on him coming, but it’s nice to know that he cares about me enough to make the effort. Everyone seems kind of weird, though.”
“I’m trying to figure out how he got in here. He needed a ticket.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t answer me about that.”
“And I’m guessing that’s why some of the guys took off.”
I scanned the room for them. “I just want to have a good time. I don’t want any drama,” I whimpered.
“You may not get that wish tonight.”
Over her shoulder, I spotted Landon and Logan heading toward us.
“Hey, where did you guys take off to?” I asked.
&
nbsp; “Just to do a little investigative work,” Logan answered.
“Okay, well, let’s get back to the rest of the group,” Elyse said, falling in beside Logan. Landon walked next to me.
Leaning in, he asked, “Are you alright with him here?” His voice was strained.
“What’s done is done. He asked me if I wanted him to go with me a few weeks ago, but I didn’t know how I’d handle him in this type of setting. It’s just a surprise is all.”
“It’s quite a surprise.”
“I’m not going to make a big deal about it now. It’s too late. I hope everyone can adjust and get along,” I said, hoping he’d catch that not-so-subtle hint.
“It’s not too late. If it’s something that you don’t want, it can be dealt with,” he said coldly.
We were too close to the rest of the group for me to ask him to expand on what his idea of dealing with it was, but it made me feel like spiders were crawling up my back, “I’m asking you not to do anything. Please.”
We reached Elyse, Jared, Zach, and Trevor before he could respond. “Ah, there’s my girl.” Trevor’s eyes sliced to Landon and looked him up and down. “Landon.”
“Trevor.”
“Not letting an opportunity to get close to her pass, are you?” Trevor scoffed.
“At least I go where I’m invited,” Landon teased.
“Glad you popped over to the concert in time. I would have killed that guy.”
“Wasn’t worth killing. He won’t ever touch her again.”
“You sound as if you know that for a fact.”
“He’s taken care of.”
“It wouldn’t have even happened if I was with her.” There was an edge to Trevor’s voice, a challenge. “I certainly wouldn’t have bruised her.”
“He didn’t go with us, and I struggled against him,” I interjected, but Trevor was beyond hearing me.
“I guess you can’t be everywhere at once,” Trevor mocked.
“No, but I could be like you and just show up whenever it’s convenient,” Landon shot back.
Trevor took a step forward. I recognized the look in his eyes. Before Landon could respond, I stepped between them. I couldn’t have them fight at homecoming. Remembering that guy writhing around on the ground with a broken nose and leg, I couldn’t have them fight at all.
“How did you know about the concert?” I asked Trevor.
“Jared. Who else?”
Zach’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t we hear about this?” he asked.
“Because I didn’t want a big deal made about it.”
“It sounds like it was a big deal.”
“Not anymore. It’s old news. New topic, anyone?” Neither Trevor nor Landon backed down. I understood the phrase “tension so thick you could cut it with a knife” in that moment. Allowing Elyse to tell Jared was a bad idea. “Who wants to dance?”
No one budged except Elyse, which made me more determined to get one of them out of there.
Trevor looked the least composed, so I grabbed his arm. “I want to dance,” I said sternly and led him to the dance floor. The song ended, and the DJ announced he was slowing it down for a few songs.
“Perfect,” he said and pulled me close.
I had a list of things I wanted to discuss with him, but I had to prioritize. “I don’t mind that you’re here, but you have to at least pretend to behave.”
“Oh, come on. I’m just egging him on a little.”
“Don’t. The last thing I want is for you to get into a fight over something stupid.”
“You’re not something stupid. And I wouldn’t fight him here. Although it is tempting since he would get suspended and I wouldn’t.”
I chose to ignore him instead of responding to prevent the conversation going down a dark road. It definitely wouldn’t help if I told him he didn’t stand a chance against Landon. “What are you going to be for Halloween?” I asked. I was getting better at thinking on my feet, and that made me a little sad.
“I’m not sure yet. It’d be really cool if you stopped by. Jared’s going to be there for some of it, and he’ll bring Elyse.”
I remember Elyse briefly talking about what she was going to do on Halloween. She didn’t know if she wanted to go to Trevor’s or not because she was waiting for me to tell her how I felt about it. “I still don’t know for sure, but maybe.”
“You know my parent’s parties go into the early morning hours, so you wouldn’t miss it entirely if you came late. You can come with them, or have someone drop you off and then go home with your parents, or I’ll drive you home. But anyway, why don’t we go out after the dance tonight? It’s been so long. We can catch up.”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “We sort of planned on changing and going back to Elyse’s house to hang out.” I could tell he was waiting for me to invite him, and I was sure he would accept without hesitation. The issue was that I didn’t anticipate it going over so well with the others. The evening was turning out to be tense, even though I specifically asked for it not to be. I was pretty sure Landon could restrain himself, but maybe forcing them into the same room without the threat of consequences wasn’t the best idea.
He looked away. “I get it if you don’t want to hang out with me.”
“It’s just that you’re putting everyone on edge tonight.”
“I hate that he was there to protect you.”
“He wasn’t there with us, Trev. It was just supposed to be Elyse and me. We didn’t know anyone else was there.”
“He has no right to even be here. I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. You shouldn’t either.”
“You don’t know him.” I had to stop myself and take a breath. I didn’t want to get worked up again.
“And you think you do? You have no idea what he’s capable of,” he said.
“You’re right. I don’t know. Everyone is always so secretive and determined to keep me out. Well I have news for you: I have my own plan.”
“He’s ruthless. He’s not someone I want you messing with.”
“But you can?”
“I can handle myself.”
“You can make your opinion known all you want to. It’s my choice what I do, not yours.”
He opened his mouth to fire back a response, but hesitated. “I don’t want you upset, and that’s all you’ve been since I came. I just had to see you and have a dance or two. I won’t stay much longer.”
Now it was my turn to feel guilty. “Just don’t start trouble, and I’ll be perfectly happy.”
“You and I both know that’s not true.”
“I’ll be as happy as I can be, all things considered,” I said.
The song ended, and we stopped swaying. It was an unusually long pause before the next song started. We stood there, arms around each other, waiting.
“One more song,” he suggested.
We began to sway again, and the uneasiness dissipated. “You know, even though your arrival tonight didn’t go smoothly, I’m still glad to see you,” I said.
“Me too. Of all the things that have changed in my life, what I hate the most is that you’re not as big of a part of it as you used to be.”
I wanted to cry from sentimental joy; I wanted to laugh with bitterness. I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be all right if given enough time; I wanted to punch him for choosing to do this to us. I stayed silent because there wasn’t any response I could give that wouldn’t either start an argument or make him feel worse than he already sounded. Why was my life so complicated? It was supposed to be a great year. We both lapsed into silence for the remainder of the song.
When it ended, I tightly wrapped my arms around him, not wanting our time together to end. He tightened his arms around my waist. I closed my eyes and enjoyed our embrace, savoring the moment. It seemed like it had been forever since I’d last hugged him. As I reflected on that and compared it to the present, I noticed a difference.
This hug wasn’t like they used to be. He h
eld back emotionally. I felt it.
We never used to keep secrets from each other…until recently, that is. After all our years of knowing each other, he was an open book to me. Simple to read. Easy to predict. Straightforward. And being with each other was effortless. Some of that I could attribute to my emotional gift, some just because I knew him so well.
As we stood beneath the soft glow cast by the decorative lights, I felt anything but tranquil. There was an edginess to the air around him. It disrupted my normal sense of familiarity with him. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he felt altered.
I loosened my grip, and he responded by doing the same. I pulled away just far enough to read his face. I searched in his eyes for the answer. He was reserved, hesitant. I searched deeper, letting all thoughts fade away. I allowed myself to match what he felt. I became enveloped in his anger and turmoil hiding just under his calm façade. He was a swirling mass of dark emotions.
“What are you into?” I whispered, more to myself than to him.
He closed his eyes and gently shook his head, breaking my gaze. He gave me a half-hearted smile. “You always have to read me.” He reached up to unlock my hands from around his neck. After raising one arm and kissing the back of my hand, he said, “Until next time,” then walked away.
My heart pounded, and I turned to watch him walk through the open gym doors.
I did it again. I’d ruined it.
After he was out of sight, I became aware of the upbeat song and the dancing bodies around me while I stood on the dance floor.
Elyse and Jared made their way through the crowd to my motionless self. They both looked worried, although for different reasons. Elyse was concerned about me, while Jared was more concerned about Trevor. I didn’t hold it against him; I was too.
“Did he leave?” Elyse asked. I nodded. “I didn’t even see him go. One minute, I see you two dancing and talking, and the next time I look over, he’s gone.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t ask him to leave. He didn’t want to stay longer than a dance or two.” Jared studied me.