“Aren’t you excited to perform?”
“Yeah, but I can’t say I’m excited to be up on stage watching you dance with someone else, knowing there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Somehow, my mind hadn’t really gotten as far as that. I’d only been thinking about my dress, and my hair and everything. I’d vaguely realized that I’d be taking pictures with Brian and doing whatever else I needed to do as his date, but Colby was right. I’d have to dance with him and hang out with him, at least for a while. “Maybe he won’t want to dance much.”
“I doubt that, not when it will be a good excuse to hang all over you. Are you going to leave with him too, go somewhere afterwards?” Colby’s jaw was stiff and I could see a storm brewing in his eyes as they bore into mine.
“What? No. I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it that far. Why are you so angry all of a sudden?”
He stood up and laid his guitar on the table before going to stare through the blinds at the window. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry. It’s just really eating at me to think about you going out with Brian. I watched you drool over him for too long for it not to bother me. You know?”
I went to stand beside him. “Look, I never drooled over him and I had no idea you liked me. Maybe if you’d acted like any normal guy and been nice or even flirted with me a little, I would have gotten over Brian sooner and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Yeah, well, it’s never been easy for me to talk to girls – and it’s even worse with you. If you’ll notice, I still haven’t told you anything I was going to say Monday night before you’re mom called. I want to, but I don’t know if I can get it out the way I want.”
“Why don’t you try?”
He turned towards me and framed my face with his hands. His eyes were dark with shadows, but I could sense the emotions burning inside him. “Some things just go too deep for words you know?”
I nodded slightly, recognizing the struggle that was going on inside him. I knew then that Colby was such a good musician because he felt things so deeply. And he seemed more keyed up than usual tonight. Maybe if I could get him to relax, he’d be able to tell me.
I smiled as I said, “Here, let me help you start - ‘Rylie, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever known and you sing like an angel.’”
He gave a surprised chuckle, and I could hear the humor return to his voice as he responded, “Well, so far you’ve got it right.” His arms came down and wrapped around my waist. “What else am I thinking?”
“How about – ‘Even though it’s going to drive me crazy to see you with someone else at prom, I admire you for being the kind of girl who respects her commitments.’”
Colby groaned. “Fine. I wasn’t going to say that, but I see your point. What else?”
“Um… ‘I feel amazing when I’m with you and lonely when I’m not. I feel like we’re connected somehow, but there’s so much I don’t know about you yet. I want to know what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, what you’re doing when I’m not with you – mostly what you think of me, what you feel for me, and if you wish you were with me when you’re not. And…’ Colby, I can’t breathe when you look at me like that…”
Colby’s voice was rough as he said, “How could you possibly know that I’m thinking all of that?”
“I didn’t. That’s what I’m thinking.” My voice was a whisper, but I knew he heard me. My fingers trembled as I put them around his neck. From the look on his face, I was going to need to hold on for what was coming next.
He kissed me then and my world narrowed to the perfection of the moment. His lips were firm and possessive, his breath sweet and warm as it mingled with mine. His strong arms pulled me against him like he couldn’t bring me close enough, and I was lost to everything but the feel and smell and taste of him.
It was a miracle either of us heard the front door opening.
I jerked my head in surprise as Colby groaned. He was facing the doorway, and he could see what I couldn’t. I turned and looked over my shoulders to see Marcy staring at us, her mouth open. As she closed it, it hardened into a grim line and her eyes narrowed at us.
Colby slowly released me and I turned around, my heart pounding. I felt like an animal caught in a trap with an angry predator looming over me. I’d never seen such anger consume an expression before.
When Marcy finally spoke, her voice sent ice through my veins. “Would you two mind explaining what’s going on?”
Colby’s voice was equally cold as he answered. “I’m pretty sure you’ve got it figured out, Marcy. It’s called kissing, and as I’ve been forced to notice, you seem to enjoy it too.”
Marcy’s eyes flashed at him, but she focused on me. “Rylie, I expect this kind of behavior from Colby, but I thought I could trust you.”
My mind raced and floundered at the same time, trying to figure out exactly why she was so angry. I could see her being a little annoyed, but since Abby was obviously already in bed, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Naturally, I’d rather they hadn’t walked in on us, but Marcy’s reaction seemed … crazy.
Before I could answer, Colby’s dad came in. I heard him saying, “Here, Marcy. You left your phone in the car.” Then, sensing the atmosphere, his voice turned all business as he asked. “What’s wrong?”
“These two have been here, making out, while our precious baby is alone and neglected.”
“Oh good grief!” Colby, sounding angry, but not really surprised.
His dad studied us, weighing the situation. Then he asked me, “Where’s Abby.”
“She’s sound asleep upstairs in her room.”
“How long has Colby been here?”
I could only guess, though I knew it hadn’t been long. I looked at him to see if he knew.
Colby answered for me, sounding as firm and confident as his dad. “Maybe twenty minutes, thirty tops. I helped get Abby to sleep while Rylie straightened up. We’ve only been alone down here for about five minutes.”
His dad turned back to Marcy and said, “I really don’t see the problem. “
I thought her head was going to explode. “Are you serious? We are paying her to babysit Abby, not make out with your son. The last thing I want is our daughter’s safety in the hands of a couple of horny teenagers.”
I wanted to die.
Colby’s eyes were scorching as he looked at Marcy. “Wow. That’s over the line.”
“Marcy,” Colby’s dad said, as if trying to calm the situation down. “Look, they’re both responsible kids and it’s not like we told them they couldn’t spend time together while we were gone.”
“If I’d known they’d be up to this, believe me, I would have.”
I felt sick to my stomach, and the only thing that kept me together was Colby’s hand holding mine. I cleared my throat and said, “We weren’t even friends at first. It’s kind of developed since then. I’m sorry, Mrs. Adams. I should have known better.”
“Yes, you should have,” she agreed, sounding only marginally appeased. “I never would have hired you if your mom hadn’t assured me that I could trust you.”
Apparently, this was too much for Colby. “What’s she supposed to do? Stand over Abby and count every breath she takes?”
“Of course not, but I want to know that if anything goes wrong or Abby needs something, Rylie will be paying attention. I doubt she can do that if she’s sucking face with you.”
My eyebrows went up. My mom never would have used that phrase and it reminded me how close Marcy was to my own age. Too bad she was in another universe sanity-wise.
Colby’s dad broken in to say, “Well, let’s just make it a rule from now on and no harms done.”
“No, she’s right, Dad,” Colby said, sarcasm dripping from every word. “You shouldn’t trust us. Teenagers are completely unreliable when their hormones are involved. I mean, she remembers that better than you, right? She was one herself just a few years ago.”
Marcy gasped, Colby
’s dad closed his eyes with a pained expression, and I winced. It was going to be full-out war between Colby and his step-mom now, and it was all over me. I gripped his hand in support, but it he seemed ready to take his stepmom on.
She put her hands up like she was pushing back on him and said, “Look, I know you have a problem with how young I am, but I’m still Abby’s mother and I get to decide what’s best for her.”
“You mean, my dad doesn’t have any say in it? She is his daughter too, you know, and he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.”
“He’s too lenient when he’s dealing with you.”
“Yeah, because I get in so much trouble.”
“You’re never around enough for us to know what you’re doing. Who knows what you get up to with that band of yours - or how many other girls you’re stringing around?”
Colby stared at her, his eyes scathing. “I’m glad you know me so well, Marcy. Let’s get out of here, Rylie.”
I was desperate to get away, so I let him pull me towards the door. As I went, I heard Marcy speak behind me. “Wait, Rylie. I haven’t paid you yet.”
I stopped and Colby waited impatiently in the open doorway, the porch light streaming in around him. Marcy fumbled around in her purse for a second and held some bills out to me.
When I didn’t take them immediately, she said, “I’m sorry things didn’t work out. Here’s a little extra to make up for next week.”
Ignoring the money in her hand, I shook my head and said thickly, “No thanks.”
I walked past Colby and ran across the dark lawn, straight to my car. As I went, I heard the front door shut coldly behind me, and the tears of anger and embarrassment I’d been holding back flooded over.
Luckily, I hadn’t brought anything with me except my phone and keys, which were both in my pocket. Somehow, I managed to get in my car and get the key in the ignition even though I was almost blind from the tears in my eyes.
“Rylie, wait.”
Colby opened my door again and I paused, about to turn the car on. “What?”
“I’m so sorry, about all that.”
“Me too. I’m sorry I caused a fight between you and Marcy.”
Colby snorted in disgust. “It’s not the first and it won’t be the last. She drives me crazy. She’s sweet as honey one day, and mean as a snake the next. Her moods are wacko.”
“Yeah. I knew she was kind of – unstable, but I didn’t think she’d ever blow up like that.”
“I did. I shouldn’t have come home, but I wanted to see you too bad to worry about it much. Her moods are violent, but they blow over pretty quickly. She’ll probably regret it tomorrow.”
“Well, hopefully she isn’t too angry with you. It doesn’t matter so much about me.” A thought hit me, and I began to tear up again. “But I’m going to miss Abby and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
Colby squatted next to my seat, my car door still open, and put his arm around me. “Don’t worry. You’ll see her again. She’s my sister, remember? Marcy’s going to have to get used to having you around. I mean, I’m hoping you’re going to be a big part of my life from now on.”
That reminded me of something she’d said. “So, was she right? Are there other girls.”
Surprise flashed across his face. “No. I know her and my dad assume I’m out on dates most Friday nights, but I’m not. I’m always with the band.”
“Even that first time I babysat and your dad asked if I was your date?”
“Yeah. No girl. No date.”
“Oh. You said you weren’t having a good time and that’s why you were home early.”
“Well, I let you think that. Micah had been bugging the crap out of me, and I was already going crazy because you were at my house and I wasn’t. So I came home.
I turned in my seat and threw my arms around him, nearly knocking him off balance. “Oh, Colby, I’m so glad. I was jealous that whole night.”
“Of who?”
“Whoever you were out with.”
“Rylie, there hasn’t been anybody for me but you – not for months now. I can’t tell you what it means to me to finally be here with you like this.”
“Yeah, but maybe we should give it a rest until Marcy calms down.”
“No way. Now that I have you, I’m not letting go.”
“Except for Friday night.”
I felt him tense, and I realized how stupid it was to remind him of that just then. His eyes were fierce as he looked at me. “Rylie Butcher, listen to me. You might be going to prom with Brian, but you’d better tell him that you have a boyfriend. If you don’t, I’ll make sure he knows in no uncertain terms.”
“Look, Brian hasn’t done anything. Don’t be so mad at him.”
“No, you’re right. He didn’t do anything for months while you batted your eyelashes at him. Then, all of a sudden, you get a little popular and he decides he can ask you to prom. Shoot, he’s so vain, he probably asked you because your hair’s the same color as his and you’ll coordinate with him.”
I paused and stared at him. I wanted to ague, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s exactly why Brian had asked me to be his date. It still hurt to hear Colby say it though. “That’s what you think, huh? Clearly, he couldn’t have asked me because he thought I was pretty or nice or whatever. I guess I’m a loser that nobody wants to go to prom with just because I’m me.”
Colby’s face lost a little of its color. “Rylie, that’s not what I meant. I’d give anything to go to prom with you.”
“Really? Well, that’s not going to happen, is it? Now, can you please move so I can shut the door and get out of here?”
“No, Rylie, wait. This conversation went really wrong somehow, but I ...”
I’d been swept through too many strong emotions too quickly to deal with anymore right then. There was a knot at the back of my throat, but I took a deep breath and quietly interrupted him, “Please, Colby, let me go home.”
“Yes, but can I just…”
“Please?” I asked again, even more quietly.
He sighed and nodded before standing and quietly backing away. I pulled the door shut, started the car, and pulled out onto the road – relieved to be gone, hurt that he let me go, and sure that I’d never been so miserable my whole life.
*****
“Honey, I’m not sure you haven’t gotten this all a little mixed up,” my mom told me as she concentrated on the manicure she was giving me. The money I’d handed back to Marcy had been the last bit I’d needed to go get my nails done with my friends, and my Mom was determined to make it up to me. Funny enough, I didn’t even really care that much anymore. Not about my nails, my hair, my dress – anything.
The worst part was, I was pretty sure I’d thoroughly screwed up the one thing I did care about – my relationship with Colby. So, of course, I was yacking my mom’s ear off about it. “What have I gotten mixed up about?”
“You seem to think Colby won’t like you anymore. But why wouldn’t he?”
“Because I got all emotional and mad and drove off when he was trying to talk to me.”
“So? If he stopped caring because of a little thing like that, he didn’t like you that much anyway.”
“But he hasn’t called me or anything.”
“You haven’t called him either.”
She had a point, but I hated to admit it. In my misery, I was determined to think the worst. “He thinks Brian only asked me to prom because I got more popular and because our hair is the same color.” It was a sore point for me, so I kept focusing on it.
I don’t know if she was thinking or concentrating on my nails, but she didn’t say anything for a minute. When she did speak, there was a note of hesitation in her voice. “You know, I thought it was kind of weird when you told me Brian had asked you to prom because it was only like the day before when you were saying he still didn’t know you were alive. And since then you guys haven’t gone out or talked about anything but what you’re wear
ing to prom.”
“So you don’t think Brian asked me to prom just because he thought it would be fun to go with me?”
“I’m just saying that as someone who cares about you and knows how great you are, I’ve noticed that Brian hasn’t seemed interested in getting to know you. It seems a little suspicious. If Colby does care about you, he probably picked up on the same thing. That’s a good thing. It means he knows you deserve better.”
A jolt of hope shot through me, but a moment later I sighed as my shoulders sagged. “But how do I fix this? I mean, I’m going to show up with another guy that I’ll have to dance with, that he’s already jealous of, while he’s up on stage making all the other girls in the place fall in love with him.”
“I have a feeling he won’t see anyone but you. Now, sit there and let me work some magic on your hair while your nails dry. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to play with your hair, but I studied some really pretty styles on a blog I found. Trust me, you’re going to look stunning tonight.”
Laughter bubbled up inside me, and I giggled even as a tear streaked down my cheek. “Thanks, Mom. And thanks for making me earn money for prom.”
“Despite all the bugs you had to deal with?” she teased me as she reached for the curling iron.
I nodded my head. “I never would have had a chance to get to know Colby if you hadn’t.”
“Well, I have to admit that I really intended for you to learn the value of money, but I’m glad it worked out in other ways too.”
An hour and a half later, I stood in front of the full length mirror in my mom’s bedroom, amazed at how I looked. My dress was an aqua blue silk gown with little chiffon cap sleeves and a filmy chiffon skirt overlay that floated and swirled as I moved. It was a very romantic dress, but a slit in the skirt and a beaded crystal belt gave it a little bit of an edge. I absolutely loved it, especially since it brought out the color of my eyes and set off my fair skin. I would probably be one of the only girls at prom who wasn’t bronzed to death, but I liked it that way.
And who knew my mom was such a genius with hair? Since my hair would never hold curl all night long, she’d pinned the curls into a gorgeous knot at the nape of my neck with a few curls loose to frame my face. I’d been practicing what to do with my make up for weeks, and I was very happy with the results, soft pink and pearly silver that complimented my pale blond hair. I’d only been able to afford some crystal drop earrings for my jewelry, but at least they looked nice.
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