He shifted, opening the corsage container. My mom's huge grin came into view. She was mesmerized by this guy. He slid the corsage onto my wrist.
“Well, there's another couple waiting in the car, so maybe we should get some pictures.”
“Oh, yeah,” my mom said in a vague-sounding voice, like she'd just woken up. She hurried up the stairs and grabbed the camera and the boutonniere. She snapped pictures while I pinned the rose to his lapel. My fingers fumbled as they shook.
“Now stand over by the fireplace,” she instructed. He held me close, but not in a gross, grabby way. It was more like a let-me-protect-you way. She moved us around the room and then said, “Well, I've kept you long enough. Go have a great time.”
He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to my mom. “I guess you know what that is by now.”
“I certainly do.” She took the paper from him and smiled. “Thank you.”
“You can count on me to keep her safe, Mrs. Hamlin.” He took my hand in his and opened the door.
My mom nodded, and we headed out. I'm sure if our walls had been sound proof that she would have yelled out, “Hallelujah!”
Instead of a Suburban, this time I was met by a sleek, black sedan. It was so nice, I felt like I was getting into a limo. I said hi to Max and his date Haley, and then it was off to Salt Lake City for dinner at the Garden, a restaurant ten stories high with spectacular views of the city. We parked beneath the building and hurried to the elevator. Our reservation was in two minutes, and a fancy place like the Garden didn't like you to be tardy. Luckily, the elevator was fast, and we got there just as the rest of our group was walking inside.
We sat at a long table in the center of the room.
“Did you guys see the eel in the cold pool?” Cal asked the couples sitting next to us.
“No. We only lasted about two minutes in there. It seemed like you two were in there forever,” Jim said.
“Yeah, a bit too long.” Cal looked pointedly at me. “But the fish in there were so brilliant.”
“I liked that yellow and pink polka-dotted one,” Melissa said. “In the warm pool. It liked to swim around our legs.”
“Oh, I hated those turquoise ones,” Liz said. “They kept biting at my legs. Disgusting.”
“It's because you taste so good,” her date said, giving her a peck on the lips.
She smiled and blushed.
“I totally want to go back there during the summer-the end of summer, when the water's warmer.” Cal buttered a piece of bread and ate it.
“Yeah. We've got to do that, Cal,” Max said. “I wonder if it's like the zoo, though. Do you think the fish go and hide in hot weather?”
“No idea. We'll have to check on that.”
The conversation moved to the prom royalty. They all tried to get who won out of Cal, but he refused to tell. Once the food came, the conversations died down a bit. The food was fantastic.
“The Union Building, where the dance is, isn't far from here, and it's on the Trax line,” Cal said as we walked toward the elevator. “I thought it might be fun to ride it. I've never been on light-rail before.”
“It sounds like fun.”
All the other couples who drove in other cars drove to Union Station. We walked half a block and boarded the train. It let us off right in front of the Union Building. As chance would have it, we walked in at the same time the others in our group did. They'd had to park pretty far away and walk to the building.
The Grand Hall at Union Station was definitely grand. At one time a fancy railroad station, it had been restored to its lustrous beauty of long ago to be used for special events. The wood was intricately carved and accentuated with gold leafing. The rounded, lighted ceiling gave a feeling of calm beauty. Everything twinkled with elegance. The band played from a stage in the middle of the hall. I felt like I'd entered an olden day ball. All the gorgeous dresses and tuxes added to the antique feel of things. This was exactly what I'd thought prom would be like.
And I was at prom with the most awesome guy.
I smiled up at Cal, and he said, “Let's get this party started.” He pulled me out onto the dance floor. Our group bunched together and danced. I looked around for Ali, but I couldn't find her in the crush of people on the dance floor. After a few songs, the mood changed with a slow song. He put one hand on my waist. After I put my hand on his shoulder he took my other hand in his and held it at chest level between us. He started to sway and then promptly stepped on my foot. I tried not to cry out.
“Sorry,” he said, grimacing. We tried again, with him being further away. He stepped on my toes again and stopped. “This is not good.” He leaned down to me and whispered in my ear. “Uh, I can't dance. To remedy this situation I propose that you stand on my feet while we dance.”
It was funny that Cal was such a perfect gentleman, but couldn't dance.
“I'm not standing on your feet. I'll hurt you.”
“You barely weigh an ounce. You're standing on my feet. End of conversation.” Even though he had a playful look on his face, I could tell he hated that he couldn't dance, and I didn't want to exacerbate his feelings of inadequacy.
“I guess I can't turn down an offer to appear taller than I really am,” I said. I stepped up on his feet, and we dance in an awkward zigzag across the floor.
“Usually, people dance in some type of a circle,” I whispered, laughing softly.
“Really? That's no fun. I thought you might like a change of scenery.” He stifled a chuckle and kept zigzagging us through the crowds.
Once the song ended, he pulled me off the dance floor to get a drink.
“Who's this, Cal?” An adult asked him.
“Ah, Mrs. Flint, this is Brooklyn.”
“I'm the Student Council advisor, Brooklyn. Nice to meet you.” She shook my hand.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“You interested in running for officer next year?”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “No one would vote for me.”
“Don't say that,” they said in unison. They smiled at each other. Mrs. Flint continued. “With the right campaign, anyone can win. Never sell yourself short.”
There was no way I'd ever run for office. I wouldn't be able to take the rejection. Put a Ring on it blared through the speakers and Cal said, “Excuse us, Mrs. Flint.” He led me out to dance. We joined a big circle and watched as dancers entered the middle and showed their moves. I could tell Cal was nervous about going inside. Dancing wasn't his forte. I pulled him back and taught him the Pizza and the Robot. We joined the ever-widening circle again as the second song started. We entered at the same time Melissa and Malcom entered. They looked cool. Untouchable. We gave them a show, first doing the Pizza as we moved in and the Robot as we exited the other side.
Cal did surprisingly well. I figured no one had ever taught him to dance, and he only needed a bit of encouragement.
Finally I caught a glimpse of Ali across the room, dancing energetically with Zack and their group. I shouted out “Ali!!” over the music and waved like a crazy person. Finally she saw me and gestured toward the bathroom. I excused myself and skipped over to meet her.
The bathroom was surprisingly empty, and we had plenty of room to give each other a big hug and exclaim over each other's hair and dresses.
“You look amazing! And there's not even a speck of paint in your hair!” I admired her perfectly curled updo as she did a twirl.
“Thanks! It was a pain to get out, but so worth it. We had such a fun time. What was your big surprise, then?”
I filled her on the adventure at the Seabase, and we laughed about the wetsuit fiasco.
“Man, Brooklyn. Cal is something else. I mean, don't get me wrong, Zack is great-but Cal is the real deal. Are you going to let him kiss you?”
I blinked in shock. “What?!”
“You know, at the end of the night? It's prom after all. It wouldn't be perfect if it didn't end with a perfect kiss. And
after all the effort Cal put into this date, don't you think he deserves a little appreciation?”
The thought had not even occurred to me. Now, it made my pulse race and my head dizzy. Would Cal expect a kiss? Did I want to kiss him? I really liked Cal-I felt really good around him-but I didn't think there was anything romantic between us. We were just becoming really good friends. But was that how he was feeling, too?
“You're not a VL, anymore, anyway,” Ali added. “So, why not take this opportunity to kiss the cutest guy in the school? You know I would.” She grinned at me.
I smiled weakly back, but Ali didn't notice. She was pulling her lipstick out of her tiny purse. My head buzzed with confusion. Would it be rude of me not to kiss him at the end of the night? I'd already kissed three guys-what difference would one more make?
Ali finished reapplying her makeup then gave me a quick once-over.
“You look great! Let's get back to our dates.”
I rejoined my group, little flutters of nervousness dancing in my belly. When the next slow song started, Cal picked me up without, it seemed, any effort at all and set me on his feet. He put one hand on my waist and the other held my hand at chest level. The dance was so perfect, I soon forgot Ali's words and just got lost in the song. Cal sang along with the music, and his voice lulled me into a happy, exhausted trance. I didn't want the night to end.
This was how dating should be.
When the dance was over, we walked to the Trax stop and waited. Cars with danced-out kids passed us by. The three other cars in our group stopped and asked if we wanted a ride. Why would we want a ride when we could ride Trax?
“That's okay, you guys. We'll see ya on the field at the park on 200 North. Get ready to be stomped on.”
We waited and waited and both Haley and I were starting to shiver. No more cars passed.
“Maybe we should have checked the schedule,” Max said.
“I'll go look.” Cal said. A few seconds later, he came back, head hanging. “The last train was at 10:45 at this stop. Sorry, guys.”
“Looks like we're walking,” Max said, leaning his head back and grabbing his date's hand.
I tried to hide the growing horror I felt by smiling and saying, “Now, that will be an adventure.” I bumped my body into Cal's, trying to make him feel better. He immediately stood up straighter and his frown turned into a smile.
We had a good mile to walk-in the freezing cold. After taking only a few steps in that direction, Cal held out his tux jacket for me to wear. I happily slid it on. Then he pulled me close and we walked, keeping each other warm. Haley had a hard time in her heels. It was way too cold for her to take them off, so her date carried her most of the way.
Once at the garage, we hit another little snag-actually, a huge one. The parking garage was closed with no one in sight.
“Oh, no,” Cal said, putting his hands on his head. “This can't be happening.” He spun around and looked at the sky. He moved his gaze to me and said, “I'll find someone to get us in there.” He went around the building. A few minutes later, he returned, talking to a guy in a dark blue security uniform.
“Please. Like I said,” he motioned toward us, “you've just got to let us in to get our car. You'd be saving my life. I promised her mom I'd keep her safe.”
“I told you, I can't let you in there.”
“Oh, please, sir. Please.”
We all joined him begging, “Please!”
The security guard looked at us and then back at Cal.
“Sorry. It's just not possible. I could get fired.”
“We didn't see a sign anywhere that said the garage closed at a specific time. If we had, we'd have made sure to get the car before then. This has to have happened before.”
“Not that I know of, and the hours are printed on your ticket.”
Cal pulled the ticket out of his pocket. His eyes widened in surprise. “Touché. But who looks closely at this little stub? Don't you think it would be better if they posted a sign at the entrance?” Cal moved toward the entrance. “Somewhere around here. Then stupid kids like us wouldn't get caught in here.”
Max added, “You remember prom, don't you, sir? Help us save face, please.”
Both Haley and I sang out, “Please,” dragging out the vowel sounds.
He looked at each of us in turn, sighed, and then grudgingly let us in to get the car. Thank heaven for small miracles.
“Thank you, sir,” I said to the guard, shivering as I passed him and entered the dark depths of the parking garage. Who knew they actually closed? That seemed crazy to me. We didn't even have to pay the ticket. The guard lifted the gate for us to exit.
“This is between the five of us. Promise me that. My job is on the line here.”
“Our lips are sealed, sir. Thank you again.”
Instead of trying to keep it from my mom, Cal asked me to tell her how sorry he was for goofing up so badly. And he apologized to me yet again.
When he took me home, at one o'clock sharp after a very quick game of glow-in-the dark Frisbee golf, I felt totally satisfied. I had had such a fun night. I thought back to just a few weeks ago when I'd been desperately searching for a date-any date-to save me from humiliation. Cal had been like a knight in shining armor. He'd swooped in at just the right moment and then had given me the ball of my dreams, complete with a great story to tell at the end. I couldn't have imagined things working out any better. I'd have to find some way to thank him.
With that thought, I recalled Ali's words at the dance. Don't you think he deserves a little appreciation? I glanced over at him. He was laughing and talking about what he would have tried if the security guard hadn't let us get the car, but I couldn't focus on his words. Would he expect a kiss at the door? When we pulled into the driveway, I started to bite my nails. I never did that. Dread slinked its way into my gut. He put the car in park and came around to my side.
He helped me out of the car, and I felt a twitch develop in my eye.
We reached the door, and I put my hand on the doorknob, unsure what to do next. Cal stood across from me on the doorstep, smiling down at me.
“I had such a fun time tonight,” he said softly, a sweet smile on his lips. He looked straight into my eyes. This was it. He was going to kiss me.
“So did I,” I said, trying not to sigh. “Thanks for inviting me.” I couldn't turn him down. He'd been so nice to me, there was no way I could reject him-not after I'd let Luke, Ryker, and Riley kiss me. If they could kiss me, why not Cal? I tilted my face up toward him. He just looked at me, still smiling.
Oh. He wants me to kiss him, I realized. I pushed up on to my tiptoes and closed my eyes. But instead of feeling his lips on mine, I felt only cold air. Then his hands took mine. I opened my eyes. Cal was leaning back a little, creating a space between us that my mother would definitely have appreciated. He wasn't going to kiss me for sure. I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks.
“Brooke,” he said, a kind tone in his voice. “I had the best time. And I want you to know that if I was the kissing type, I would have kissed you tonight, because I had the most spectacular time. I had a blast with you. And I know that guys and girls pretty much always kiss on the first date, it's standard, I know, but I don't.”
He looked down and now it was his turn to blush. “Actually, I'm a VL. I promised myself I wouldn't kiss anyone while I'm in high school. I really want that moment to be special-with someone that I share something deep and real with. I promise it's nothing against you. I really think you are amazing-and beautiful, too. I just-I want to save that moment for when I know I'm ready.”
I couldn't help it, I gasped. My heart lit on fire. He cherished kisses.
He rubbed his thumbs over the top of my hands. “However, I would love to kiss your hand in lieu of kissing your lips if you'll allow me.”
“Why, certainly, sir.” I treated him like a gentleman because he was, through and through. He bent toward my hand, and at the same time he raised my hand to his li
ps. It was a gentle, tender, kind type of kiss. He pulled me into a hug and held me there for a good thirty seconds.
As he held me, I let his words sink in to my heart. Instead of feeling embarrassed, I felt giddy, relieved. Cal was everything he seemed to be: a real gentleman who knew that waiting could be worth it. In that moment, I realized something I had never dared believe before-I didn't have to let Luke's kiss break my spirit. There was a spirit behind being a VL that I needed to recapture. A spirit of anticipation, of waiting to share intimate things with people you really cared about. I didn't have to kiss every guy I dated. I could make kissing special for me again. I didn't have to be like everyone else. It was my choice to be selective about who got to put their lips on mine. And I would. It was like a ray of sunshine filled my gut, and it was Cal who helped it get there.
“Thank you, Cal. It means a lot to me-the way you've treated me. You've really been amazing.” I smiled at him, the glow of happiness filling my chest.
He held onto my upper arms. “I'd love to go out with you again.”
“That would be great.”
He sighed. “Whew! So glad.” He looked at the door and said, “Go ahead. I'll make sure you get in all right.”
I opened the door and went inside. “Thanks for the best date I've ever had, Cal.”
Chapter 6
For the entire week after prom, it felt like I was floating through life. School was a fun place to be again. The loneliness had all but vanished thanks to Cal and all of his friends. I loved that we were just friends with no hint of things changing. He didn't make any moves on me, even when we were alone. The more we talked, I discovered that he was more paranoid about his first kiss than I had ever been. I didn't think that was possible. He was a virgin lips, and fear of not being able to stop once he started kept him from it. It made things so easy between us. And he dated other people, too.
He was totally safe.
Rejected Kiss (Sweet N' Sour Kisses Page 6