“There's a movie about that?” Chase asked, bright eyed and bushy tailed despite rolling off his bunk bed no less than three times last night. He slept through all three incidents, too.
“I don't know about that,” Mom said cautiously. “I'm not sure if you're ready to … watch that movie alone. The, uh, werewolf hunters in it are kind of … scary.”
“Sylvia's a coward!” Chase chortled and I kicked his leg under the table with totally cute red suede boots with red puffs on the ends of the laces and faux fur trim around the top. With my black leggings, my gold heart earrings and the armful of matching bangles, I was ready to rock it.
“I think Josiah really … would like that movie,” I said, strangely fascinated by our conversation within a conversation and all its secret meanings. “Because you know, his mom doesn't let him watch that kind of stuff at home.”
Mom sighed and exchanged a long look with Dad as he fumbled with a small tower of gifts and started passing them out, each one wrapped in brown butcher paper and tied with colorful twine. Inside, I knew, would be a hardcover book of some sort and a box of their homemade chocolates. They did this every year and it never got old.
“Alright,” Mom relented after a moment, “but make sure you call me before and after starting the movie. Do you hear me?”
“Roger that,” I said, standing up saluting them as the sound of Deb's car horn beeped from out front. “Sylvia Noe, over and out.”
The school looked like Cupid himself had visited last night, dusting the halls with glitter and red plastic heart lights. Everywhere I looked there were paper hearts hanging from strings, flyers advertising the dance, and students dressed in ridiculous outfits. Chocolates, flowers, cards, and stuffed animals floated between hands and more than one couple got in serious trouble for taking their hallway make out sessions to new levels.
“I talked to Linc last night,” Deb said and she looked like she was about to burst out of her skin with this secret, whatever it was. She hadn't brought it up in the car on the way over—most likely because she was busy singing Bryan Adams again. I'd taken that as a sign that maybe things between her and Lincoln hadn't worked out so well. But then, she seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe she just loved Bryan Adams songs and I'd never noticed before?
“And?” I asked, scoping out the halls for Josiah. No sign of him yet. Not good. My heart started to pound.
“We worked it all out!” she squealed and I grinned, hugging her back when she threw her arms around me. When Deb leaned back, I finally noticed the bright sparkle of diamond earrings in her lobes. “Like them?” she asked, touching each ear with a hand and grinning. When she unzipped her plain red hoodie, I saw that her shirt said One Half of a Whole Soul so I guessed DebLin was officially back in action. “Between your advice and the advice that Josiah gave Lincoln, we decided we were too good together to screw things up over something so stupid.”
“I'm glad,” I said, giving her my best, most authentic grin, “really, really glad.”
A second later, Lincoln was sweeping around the corner of the hallway with his hands full of white roses and Deb was officially over the moon, practically skipping her way across the old orange tiles toward him. And then … there was Josiah!
I sprinted over to him and thew myself into his arms, letting him swing me around in a big hug and set me back on my feet with a wild grin spreading across his face.
“Hey there, my little werwolf girl,” he whispered in my ear as he leaned in and kissed me softly.
“I didn't think you'd be here today,” I said as Josiah ruffled my hair and I slapped his hand away playfully. He didn't have any roses or chocolates with him, but he did slip something in the pocket of my unzipped hoodie when DebLin wasn't looking.
“Go for a walk with me?” he asked and I nodded, letting him take my arm and lead me outside, leaving DebLin to mack in the hallway behind us.
“Thank god for small miracles,” I whispered as Josiah glanced over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows.
“They're really going at it,” he said before looking back at me and winking. “But they're not nearly as bad as we are.” I smacked his arm again and then paused under the outstretched branches of a tree when it started to drizzle again. Despite the weather though, it was looking like today was going to be perfect.
“Can I open this now?” I asked as I drew a box from my pocket and looked up at Josiah. Whatever this was, I had a feeling it was expensive. “And please tell me you didn't spend too much on it,” I added as I turned the little velvet box around in my hands.
“Just think of this as … an extended Christmas/New Year's/Valentine's Day gift,” he told me, smiling softly as I gently pushed the lid open and gasped. “I hope you don't mind, but I went and returned the silver one without you.”
“Josiah,” I said, and I tried not to get all weepy because I wasn't really that sort of a person, but aww. Just aww. Josiah was so fan-flipping-cute that I wanted to kiss his face off. I lifted the little white gold and diamond tennis bracelet from the box and held it gently across my fingertips, admiring the shimmer and sparkle. Even in this cruddy light, it was impressive. “You really didn't have to spend all that money,” I whispered, but I was too excited to do anything but let him put it on for me, his fingertips brushing against my skin with warm heat as he hooked the clasp.
“It looks really good on you,” he said with a sharp nod of his head, “and really, it's the least I can do considering the fiasco with the stupid silver bracelet is what got my mom on our cases in the first place.”
“I can't believe you got me diamonds,” I said as I shook out my wrist and stared at the bracelet, like a little ring of snowflakes or teardrops around my wrist. “Sixteen years old and I've already gotten a present that can't be beat.”
“I'm glad you like the bracelet,” he said with another grin, but I was already shaking my head.
“Not the bracelet,” I said, although I was quick to add, “not that I don't love it, but what I meant was … you. You're my gift, Josiah.”
And then he kissed me under the wet branches of an oak tree and all was right with the world.
School was great; lunch was better.
Josiah and I sneaked down to the bleachers to make out (we weren't the only ones), and I was finally able to give him my gift. It wasn't much, but I'd knitted a black beanie that was substantially less chunky and weird looking than the scarf I'd given him for Christmas. Of course he'd put it right on, tucking his spiky brown hair underneath and looking too adorable for words. I think my ears almost sprouted up again, but I managed to keep them in check.
After school, we checked in for a quick peck and went our separate ways to get ready, Deb with me, Lincoln with Josiah.
“I love your house so much,” Deb said as I grabbed us a plate of Valentine's Day goodies and got us set up in my room with sappy love songs playing on my laptop. “It's always so festive. I can't believe your Mom has Valentine's Day throw pillows.”
“Only like a hundred of them,” I joked as I spread my dress out on the bed and fingered the bracelet on my wrist. It wasn't just that it was made of diamonds that I liked it. No, really, it was more that Josiah had taken the silver bracelet incident and carried it through. The last time I'd seen or thought of my Christmas gift gone wrong had been before New Year's when his mother had shown up at our front door with a mace. Josiah had slipped the box to me and promised to make things right. And he had—in a big way. “Lincoln's not going to show up here in a red limo again, is he?” I asked and Deb blushed, switching her glasses out for contacts.
“I have no idea,” she said, but what I think she really meant was I hope so.
I smiled at her and disappeared into the bathroom to attack my hair, deciding on the curling iron and a fluffy sea of brunette ringlets. That, at least, I could do alright. An updo just seemed too stuffy and formal—especially if I planned on shifting later tonight since it would fall out anyway.
I was no makeup artist, bu
t I pulled up a few styles on my Pinterest board and followed the tutorials as best I could, painting tiny little red hearts next to my right eye, shading my lids with a soft sparkly peach color that matched my dress. Tonight was no-holds-barred and I wasn't holding back on the festive spirit.
When I slipped into my dress and had Deb zip me up, I started to feel like a princess getting ready for the ball. My skirt was flouncy and full, my wrist sparkled with jewels, and my shoes were these crazy velvet red pumps that I could only pray I'd be able to walk in. I didn't wear heels much, so this was going to be a challenge. Just in case, I also tucked some plain ballet flats in the pocket of my red wool coat.
Looking in the mirror, I could barely recognize myself.
The color of my dress suited my skin tone perfectly, and the sweetheart neckline (plus that padded bra Grandma V. had given me) helped give me some cleavage. My legs were long and lean, the heels this crazy bright pop of color at my feet. And when I turned, the skirt on my dress flowed around me, red heart sequins flashing almost as brightly as my diamond bracelet.
“You look so cute!” Deb exclaimed, looking pretty dang adorable herself in the white satin dress and a pair of red go-go boots with pink hearts that only she could pull off. Her hair was up in a fancy twist on the back of her head that I couldn't possibly fathom how she'd done herself. “Pictures?”
“Absolutely,” I said, ducking in for several selfies before we headed downstairs to meet the guys.
About three minutes later, Lincoln really did pull up in an ostentatious rental, only this time it was a pink Hummer instead of a red limo. I tried not to laugh as he helped Deb into the passenger seat and waved them away when they asked if they should wait for me.
“Go, and we'll catch up,” I told them, standing on the porch under the eaves as they drove off. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long because Josiah showed up soon after in his old black pickup with the rusty steel bumper. It might not have been a pink Hummer, but I could see from here that he'd done something romantic to the inside of the cab.
“Miss Noe,” he said, moving around the front of the truck with his arms held wide and his lips quirked in an appreciative smile. “What do you think?” He did a little twirl for me, but when he came back around, I could see from the twinkle in his brown eyes that he was far more interested in how I looked than how he did. “I hope I don't disappoint because … you look perfect.”
My turn to do a little twirl, my skirt fluttering out in a circle around my hips along with the wings of my red coat. When I came fully around, Josiah was standing even closer, reaching out and taking me in his arms before I got the chance to examine his outfit some more. And damn, what an outfit it was. He'd paired a black blazer with a black Valentine's Day tee that said I'm Over the Moon for You in white, complete with a pair of howling wolves beneath the words. His jeans were dark blue, almost black, and pressed nice and smooth. And his shoes? They were these ridiculous black high top Chucks with tiny white hearts all over them.
Basically, adorable to the extreme.
“You look like a peach,” Josiah said, slipping his hands inside my coat and taking hold of my waist, his fingers teasing the heart sequins as he glanced down at my dress and then back up at my face. “Good enough to eat.”
“Why, Josiah, what big teeth you have,” I said and he grinned, leaning in to press the softest, most gentle kiss against my lips.
“All the better to kiss you with, my dear,” he said as he pulled back and then just stared and stared and stared at me, like he could never get enough.
“We're almost as bad as DebLin now, you know that?”
Josiah paused, thought for a moment, and then grinned even bigger, reaching up to touch the soft ringlets in my hair, tracing his knuckles down the side of my jaw and making me shiver. He worked his way down, pushing my coat aside to touch my bare shoulder and then lower, over the red wool sleeve of my coat until he got to my wrist, pushing back the fabric to stare at the bracelet for a moment. I felt almost light-headed from his touch.
“JoVia? Or maybe Sylviah? Which one do you like best?”
“That was not an invitation to name us, you know?” I said, but I couldn't stop smiling because my mate, he was the best mate in the entire world and I knew that.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand in his and pulling me down the steps just as it started to drizzle again. With a dramatic flourish, he released me and opened the door to the cab, flashing a sea of paper hearts, some battery powered lights in the shape of glittery gold and white stars, and a pair of mochas in pink and red paper cups.
I almost died. Seriously. Like, passed out right there in a puddle and went straight to heaven.
“Your carriage awaits,” he said and I snorted, climbing inside and snuggling a stuffed pink wolf with a box of chocolates attached to the front of it. Josiah ran around to the other side and joined me, turning on the engine and filling the cab with the sweet soft sounds of jazz. “Totally romantic right?”
“You're completely over the top and you know it,” I said, but if I told you I wasn't smiling and feeling this crazy overwhelming surge of love toward my boyfriend, I'd be lying. My wolf growled her pleasure against the rapid thumping pulse of my heart. “I feel bad; I didn't bring any extra gifts for you.” I glanced over at Josiah, but he was giving me this goofy lopsided lovesick smile that made me blush. “You didn't have to do all this but … thank you,” I told him and he winked at me.
“You're worth all this, you know,” he said and his words were so earnest, I couldn't help but believe them.
“And your Mom?” I ventured because even though that was the last thing I wanted to bring up tonight, I just had to know. I mean, she had let him finally come back to school today, hadn't she? That had to mean something good, right?
“Don't worry about Mom; she won't bother us tonight. That much, I can promise you.”
“But what about the boarding school?” Josiah gave me a look that was hard to interpret.
“I'm not leaving you,” he told me, and again, totally earnest. I had to believe that, too. A smile crept its way across his lips as he reached up and pushed a few strands of brown hair away from his eyes. It was all adorably gelled up and spiky in the back, soft and straight in the front, getting longer towards his chin. And that spray of razored bangs across his forehead? I loved the whole look. “Corine's moving out,” he added, almost as an afterthought, “into her boyfriend's parents' place.”
“Did they invoke pack law, too?” I asked, still curious about how that actually worked. Mom said wolf law trumped human law, but how? Not in any courtroom I'd ever seen. But then, obviously they liked to keep things secret. I guessed I'd find out eventually.
“Nope. It's just … she's eighteen and she can make her own choices. She left last night. That's why I'm here in the first place.”
I wrinkled my brow.
“Because your sister left?”
“Because my dad was furious at my mom for my sister leaving. He gave me back the keys to my truck this morning and told me to go, and he promised that Mom would leave me alone for the night.”
My hands twisted together in front of the stuffed wolf as I stared at my red nail polish. I felt awful for making this rift between Josiah's parents. It was, in a way, my fault. Then again, I wasn't the one who'd been keeping secrets from my partner for … however long they'd been together. At least eighteen years based on Corine's age, right? That was a really long time to hold such a big secret.
“What I'm trying to say is: either I'm staying here with my parents, or I'm moving in with you.” Josiah flashed me a grin and I smiled softly back. “Now, no more serious talk like that. Tonight … is about romance.”
The community center sat in the curving arm of the river, lit up and glowing with pink heart projections on the exterior walls, the parking lot full of cars with their windows decorated, almost as if they were on their way from a wedding or something. I saw streamers and signs, cans tied to bumpers, lewd
drawings that the school administrators were probably going to freak over.
Josiah pulled into a space near the back of the lot as I finished off my mocha and stuck it back in the cup holder, turning to face him with what I hoped was a coy, sexy facial expression. I mean, at least I was trying. Not sure if I'd describe myself as coy in a million years.
“Ready?” he asked and I nodded, letting him get out and come around to open my door for me because I knew he liked to do that sort of thing. And not because I was a girl or anything, just because he was Josiah and he was a nice guy; helping people out made him happy which made me happy. And that was on both our New Year's Resolutions Lists: make each other happy everyday.
Josiah gave me his hand and I hopped down out of the cab, shrugging my coat off my shoulders and tossing it onto the seat. If I had to, I could always come back out and grab my flats. For now, I was going to head inside and get my picture taken in front of a ridiculously cheesy backdrop.
Josiah and I linked our arms, and I felt a warm flush go through me. This was, like, so totally grown up. Here we were, dressed to the nines, heading inside for a candlelit meal and dancing. The student whose parents ran the cafeteria with their catering company were taking care of the whole event which, of course, meant totally bomb food, too.
At the door, we presented our tickets and stepped into another world, one far more tastefully decorated than I would've imagined. There was the typical clichéd school dance balloon arch in satiny pink, red, and white, but the paper lanterns hung from all the walls were tasteful, and the tables elegant with their single white tapers and settings for two. There were some group tables, of course, because not everybody wants or needs to be in a relationship and that was completely cool, but tonight … I was totally going to relish my own.
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