by Amber Garza
“I was so pissed off, I guess I haven’t been making a lot of sense.” He smiled. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I think it’s amazing how much you care about your sister,” I said. “And I don’t blame you for being upset.”
Nick sighed. “I wish Dad would’ve been cool about it.”
“I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“You think?” He raised a brow, his face open and hopeful.
My heart lurched. “Yeah.” I wasn’t one hundred percent certain, but I hoped I was right.
“Stacey and I never really got along. She was always annoyed with me when she lived at home.” His lips curled upward. “Probably because I was always messin’ with her; pulling pranks and stuff.”
“I know how that is,” I muttered under my breath, thinking of Preston.
“But I was actually pretty jealous of her. Mostly because her and Dad were so tight.” He sighed. “Guess they’re not now.”
My insides knotted. I didn’t know how to make Nick feel better. The last thing I wanted to do was keep offering him lame statements that were probably false. So instead, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured into his chest.
His arms came around me, his chin resting on the top of my head again. After a few silent moments, he drew back and smiled. “Hey, thanks for everything. But I know you need to get to Brooke’s.”
Oh, shit. Brooke’s.
My panic must have registered on my face, because Nick laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you didn’t miss much. Buffy is a girl who slays vampires. The title pretty much gives the story away.”
Brooke was probably going to slay me for flaking on her like this. But I hated leaving Nick when he was upset.
Hesitating, I bit my lip. “You sure you’re good?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” Reaching down, I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He stepped toward me wearing a grin. When he reached me, he gently touched my face. “Thanks again for tonight. It meant a lot.”
I swallowed hard. “Of course.” The words came out in a squeak. My pulse quickened.
Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. His lips were soft and warm.
“Have fun tonight.” He backed away from me.
I blew out a breath. As I walked toward Kelly’s car, I could feel his gaze on me. By the time I slipped inside, my entire body was on fire.
***
“Where have you been?” Brooke asked angrily the minute I arrived at her house. The movie was paused and the three of them were sprawled out on the couch in her living room. “I called your house like five times.”
“Yeah, we were worried you got in a car accident or something,” Melody offered.
I would’ve felt bad if I thought they’d actually been worried about me, but I doubted it.
“Sorry.” I set my bag down and walked into the room. “I was on my way, but then I ran into Nick and-”
“Why am I not surprised that this is about Nick?” Brooke said sharply.
“It wasn’t planned. I was about to leave when I heard Nick fighting with his dad. And he was really upset. It’s not like I could leave without making sure he was okay.”
“He was fighting with his dad?” Brooke’s eyebrows knit together. “What about?”
I wouldn’t betray Nick’s trust. “Um…nothing.”
“Oh, it’s okay.” Brooke’s eyes softened and she offered me a sympathetic smile. “Nick’s a pretty private person. He doesn’t share a lot, so don’t feel like it has anything to do with you.”
“No, he told me,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Why did I care so much about proving her wrong? Why did it matter to me that she knew he shared things with me? “But it was in confidence.”
“Oookay.” Brooke’s eyes flashed. “Well, whatever.” She waved away the conversation like the entire thing was insignificant. But it was obvious that it wasn’t. “You missed like over half the movie, but I’ll catch you up.” She grabbed my arm, steering me toward the couch.
Nick was right. The movie was pretty self-explanatory. Still, I could tell why Brooke liked it so much. Buffy was bad ass.
“Derek asked me to homecoming,” Brooke said after the movie finished. She was lounged out on the couch like she thought she was the center spread on a magazine.
“Ooh, was this before or after you slept with him?” Melody asked, her eyes sparkling.
Whaaa?
I shot straight up. “You’re sleeping with Derek?”
“Duh.” Brooke rolled her eyes. “He’s hot. He’s single. And he’s pretty much the only guy I haven’t been with in our group.”
My stomach tightened. Wait. Had she been with Nick?
“It was after.” Brooke’s eyes glazed over as if she was a million miles away. “We were laying in his bed, curled up against each other when he asked me. It was really romantic.”
“Sounds like it.” Melody pressed her hand to her chest.
Oh, puhlease. It didn’t sound romantic. It sounded like the plot of an afterschool special.
“Did you say yes?” Katie asked.
“Of course.” Brooke smiled.
There’s no way 2018 Brooke would’ve been okay with that homecoming proposal. Last year, she went to homecoming with Mason Pepper. And he’d asked her in front of the entire school with a box of donuts and a huge sign that said. “Donut say no to going to homecoming with me.”
“Yay!” Melody squealed. “Now we all have dates!”
“I know.” Brooke grinned, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “And my dad said he’d rent us a limo.”
“A limo?” Now Katie was squealing.
“You’re going, right?” Brooke pinned me with a stare. “You and Nick?”
“Um…” I squirmed uncomfortably on the couch, picking at the blanket that sat near my leg. All three girls were gaping at me, expectantly. “I don’t know, actually.”
“He hasn’t asked you?” Melody’s eyes bugged out.
My insides twisted. “I have time, don’t I?”
“It’s next weekend,” Katie said, incredulously, as if she worried I’d been hiding under a rock or something.
Homecoming was next weekend? Wow. Was it the same in 2018? Was time going on without me? My stomach churned. It was too weird to think about.
“I’m not surprised he hasn’t asked you,” Brooke said, and my head snapped in her direction. What did that mean? “Nick hates dances. Always has.”
“Oh, yeah.” Melody nodded. “She’s right. He never goes to them.”
Odd. The Nick from 2018 had been to every dance.
“But I can talk to him for you,” Brooke offered. “I mean, that is if you want to go with him.”
“Of course I do.” It was something I’d fantasized about for years. But I never believed it was a possibility.
“Cool. Then I’ll make it happen.” Smiling, Brooke snapped her fingers like she was my freakin’ fairy godmother.
I narrowed my eyes. Why would she offer this? Sometimes it seemed like she was against my relationship with Nick, and other times she went out of her way to encourage it. I didn’t like it. Something was up.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it,” I said.
“Really? You’ve got it?” Brooke raised her brows in a look of disbelief.
Why though? “Yeah.” I forced a brave smile.
“What are you gonna do?” Brooke pressed.
I hated how smug she looked, so I quickly answered, “Maybe I’ll ask him myself.”
“You’re gonna ask him out?” Katie’s eyes widened. “Wow. Look at you?”
“A woman of the future!” Melody chimed in.
Ha! She had no idea.
THIRTEEN
By the time I got home from Brooke’s on Saturday, Nick’s family was gone. He’d left a message with my mom early Saturday morning saying that his famil
y was leaving to go visit his sister. I was happy that his dad had come around. But I was bummed about not seeing him.
I spent most of Saturday laying around. Brooke had kept us up way too late, talking our ears off about the gross details of her love life. I could’ve gone my entire life without hearing any of it and be completely happy. It was kind of nice though. I hadn’t had a girl’s night since the last time I’d spent the night with Ava. And even though I didn’t fully trust Brooke and the girls yet, they were fun. And nicer than I thought they’d be.
On Sunday, Mom and I went grocery shopping for the week. She was still sticking to her dieting meals, so it looked like it was pasta and frozen lasagna for Pres and me. I never thought I’d miss quinoa and kale, but I did.
Finally, Sunday night I got a call from Nick.
The sound of his voice on the line caused a ripple of excitement to pulse through my body.
“How did it go at Stacey’s?” I asked, lying on my bed, the phone pressed to my ear.
“It was…well, awkward, actually.”
“Oh, really?” My heart lurched. “I’m sorry.”
“It was all right. I mean, I could tell my dad was trying,” he said. “I guess that’s all we can ask for.”
“True.” I thought about my own parents. Were they trying? It seemed like they were letting their marriage fall apart in this lifetime. I sort of envied Nick right now. At least his family was together, attempting to work through their issues.
“How was girl’s night? Are you a huge Buffy fan now?”
I laughed. “She was pretty bad ass.”
“Uh oh. Should I be scared?”
“That depends. Are you a vampire?”
“If I was, I would’ve sucked your blood by now.” He laughed.
I started to join him when I stopped abruptly. Wait. What did he mean by that? Was it a joke or was it something deeper?
It seemed that things were moving forward with us. It seemed like he liked me. But was I only seeing what I wanted to?
He hadn’t asked me to homecoming yet. He hadn’t even really made a move other than a couple kisses. According to Brooke, she’d slept with all the guys in our group and the way she acted about Nick made me think he might be one of them. If he was into me, wouldn’t he have tried something more? Wouldn’t he want to take me to the dance?
“Remy?” Nick’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“Thought I lost you.”
“Oh. No.” I forced a laugh, but it came out nervous and stilted. “I’m here.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not really a vampire. Your neck is safe.”
The words were supposed to be funny, but my chest tightened.
“What if I don’t want it to be safe?” I asked.
“Huh?”
Yeah, that was a little weird.
“When I was at Brooke’s, the girls were talking about homecoming…” I let the words linger, hoping he’d pick up on my unspoken question. When he didn’t respond for a few seconds, I took a deep breath. “Brooke is going with Derek, and Katie and Melody have dates too. They’re renting a limo.” I stopped talking, praying he took the hint.
Oh, please don’t make me say anymore.
“Remy, do you want to go to homecoming?” It didn’t sound like a proposal. It sounded like he was trying to gauge why I brought this up.
“Are you asking me?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“If you say yes or not.”
I laughed. “Brooke said you don’t like dances.”
“I don’t,” he said, and my heart dipped. “But I like you.”
My face warmed, my mouth drying out. “You do?”
“Is that a real question?”
I bit my lip.
“I like you a lot,” he reiterated. “And if going to homecoming means seeing you in a sexy dress and holding you while we dance, then I’m in.”
My insides trembled. “Me too.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” I smiled.
***
“Nick’s going to die when he sees you in this dress!” Brooke squealed, fluffing my hair, which was already fluffier than I liked. Brooke had sprayed so much hairspray in my hair I worried I’d never be able to brush through it again.
Glancing down, I cringed. My 2018 self wouldn’t be caught dead in this shiny pink dress with the puffy sleeves. But apparently it was all the rage in 1993. Brooke, Melody and Katie all had a different variation of it. Basically, we were all wearing the same dress in different colors. If Ava and I saw a group going to homecoming like this, we’d probably snap a pic and caption it #twinning.
Brooke shoved a tube of lip-gloss in my hand. “Put this on. The boys should be here any minute.”
As I obediently slathered some on, Melody and Katie squealed and jumped up and down.
“Tonight’s gonna be hella tight!” Melody said.
“Totally!” Katie agreed.
I assumed “hella tight” was the equivalent of “lit.”
“Guys are here!” Brooke hollered, after peering out the window.
My stomach fluttered as we all filed out of Brooke’s room and headed down the hallway. Smoothing down my dress, I prayed Brooke was right about Nick liking it. When I fantasized about going to prom with him, it was always in some cute, flirty cocktail dress with my hair sleek and my makeup on point. Not in a bright pink, loud dress with over-hair sprayed hair and bright shimmery lips and eyes.
We rounded the corner, and my stomach rolled. Was it too late to back out? My hands filled with sweat, and I wiped them on my dress.
Nick came into view, standing with his buddies. He wore a black tux and held a pink corsage in his hand. I guess the guy’s style hadn’t changed much over the years.
Brooke, Melody and Katie raced to their dates, and I stepped up to Nick, my heart hammering loudly in my ears. He looked me up and down, his eyes widening.
“You look amazing,” he murmured, taking me in his arms.
My pulse quickened. I melted into him.
Drawing back, he held out the corsage. After wrapping it around my wrist, Brooke’s Mom called us over for pictures. We took so many my cheeks hurt from smiling. And the worst part was that I had no idea if they were any good since I had to wait for her to have them developed. So bizarre.
Finally, the limo arrived and we headed toward the school.
It was surreal pulling into the school parking lot in a limo with Brooke and Nick, and the entire popular crowd. Last year I hadn’t even gone to homecoming. Ava and I had hung out at my house watching movies and gorging out on popcorn and candy. At the memory I felt a twinge of something – regret, longing, sadness.
Nick reached over, his fingers threading through mine, and all thoughts of Ava flew out the window. When I glanced over at him, he winked, and my insides turned to jelly.
I agreed with Melody. Tonight’s gonna be hella tight.
The gymnasium was decorated with neon crepe paper, balloons and sparkly signs. Nineties music blasted from the large speakers at the front of the room. A disco ball emitted twinkling lights all over the room.
Nick’s fingers were still woven around mine, and I held tightly to them. All eyes were on our group as we walked in. I stepped closer to Nick, wishing I could disappear behind him. Our sides meshed together. He must’ve sensed my uneasiness, because his arm looped around my middle. We stopped walking, and I stared around the room. Behind me, I could hear Brooke and the others talking, but couldn’t make out what they said. Across the room I spotted Ava, and my chest tightened the way it always did when I saw her. She was standing near the wall with a group of girls from the choir. I was surprised she was here at all. Dances weren’t really her thing.
“What should we do first?” Nick asked, drawing my attention back to him. “Pictures? Dancing?”
I opened my mouth to answer when Brooke appeared next to Nick. Her hand landed on his shoulder. I had
a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I wasn’t sure why. “Hey, guys, let’s go grab some punch.” She winked. “Derek added a little something to it.”
My body heated up. I’d never been much of a partier. Plus, I’d been looking forward to this night with Nick for so long, I didn’t want to spend it drunk.
Nick’s gaze met mine. I tried to force my lips into a smile, but I could feel them trembling like they do when I’m nervous. Great.
“C’mon.” She tugged on Nick’s arm in a playful, almost flirty, definitely intimate way. “If we don’t get some now, we won’t get any.”
“It’s okay.” Nick waved her away, smiling at me. “I think we’re just gonna go dance.”
I sighed with relief.
But it didn’t stop Brooke. She drew even closer to Nick, her arm completely slung around him. What was happening?
“Seriously, Nick? You never turn down booze.” Her gaze flickered to me, her lips curling downward. “Oh, I see. Well, don’t worry. If little Miss-Goodie-Two-Shoes doesn’t want any, that’s okay. I’ll get you a cup, Nick, and bring it you.” She swiftly touched his face and stepped back. “Have fun, you two.” After blowing us a kiss, she sauntered toward the punch bowl.
“What was that about?” My stomach soured. It was like Brooke had flipped a switch. She’d gone from being so nice and encouraging about my relationship with Nick to acting like I was stealing her boyfriend.
Was I?
I still wasn’t entirely clear on their history.
Nick shook his head. “Just Brooke being Brooke.” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me toward the dance floor. “Forget about it.”
After weaving our way through several dancing couples, we reached the center of the dance floor. The song switched to a slower one. Nick’s arms slipped around me. I hooked mine around his neck.
He smelled different tonight – like spicy cologne – and it made my head spin.
His fingertips played with my spine. Tingles shot up my back and neck. We swayed back and forth to the music, our chest pressed and heartbeats mingling. For a few seconds I lost myself. But then I spotted Brooke watching us as she stood near the punch bowl, holding a plastic cup. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips pursed. I swallowed hard.