The Art of Life

by Carter, Sarah

  “You own a tux?” Eric asks.

  “Yes,” Jeremy replies. “I have gone to balls before and was tired of renting. Every man should own a tux.” He nods and says, “If you don’t mind I am going to steal Isabelle away for a minute. Maybe find a little corner to appreciate her in.”

  My jaw drops, “Jeremy!”

  “Kidding,” he draws out, “Or am I?” With that he takes my hand and pulls me away.

  When we do get down a hallway, I gasp, “What are you doing here?”

  “I decided I needed to be with you. I have never been to a school dance. Do you not want me here?”

  “No, no, no, thank you, thank you! Eric brought Sonya!” I cry.

  Jeremy gets an appalled look on his face. “He did what!?”

  “It’s horrible, but none of that matters,” I say. “You are here. I am so happy!”

  “I wanted to bring a smile to your face,” Jeremy retorts. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me here.”

  I jump and wrap my arms around him. “No, I love you, of course I want you here.” And as the words slip out of my mouth, my whole body tenses. I pull away and look at him. He has the most thoughtful look on his face. I barely whisper, “I mean, I love you….as in, you’re my….best friend.” My mouth suddenly stops working. “I mean……”

  Bringing his finger up, Jeremy puts it on my lips. “Shhh, I love you, too.”

  “As your best friend,” I whisper, “Like I love you as my best friend.”

  There is that thoughtful look again. “Yes, I love you because you are my best friend.”

  With a wave of relief, I sigh, “Okay, I have never said I love you to anyone. My mom when I was little, but that stopped soon after I realized she didn’t care.”

  “You can say I love you whenever you want,” Jeremy replies. “It is good to hear.”

  “The same goes for you,” I retort.

  He smiles and bends down to kiss my forehead. “I love you.”

  “Thank you for coming,” I say. “This means a lot.”

  Pulling away, Jeremy smirks. “You know you look exquisite this evening, beyond beautiful.”

  I spin around, “Do you like the dress?”

  “Yes, it is very pretty,” Jeremy laughs. “Totally worth the money. You didn’t send me a picture, which I am actually mad about.”

  That makes me stop. “Speaking of which, I thought you were on a date tonight.”

  Jeremy frowns, “Okay, maybe I lied about that.”

  My hand comes back and I punch him in the arm. “We were never supposed to lie to each other!”

  “It was a little white lie, but I promise, I will never lie again, after this point.”

  “You better not,” I snap playfully, poking his chest with my finger. “I do have to say, you are probably the hottest boy here tonight.”

  With a glint in his eye, Jeremy jests, “Yes, I know.”

  “Come on stud,” I laugh, pulling on his hand. “Dinner is starting soon. Wait, you don’t have a ticket.”

  “You would be surprised what you can bribe people with these days. Trust me; it was not hard to get a seat at your table.”

  “Then let’s go find my friends,” I say. “Maybe Sonya will have been hit by a truck.”

  Laughing, Jeremy remarks, “A truck in the middle of the expensive hotel or did someone push her off the curb?”

  “Whichever one you like,” I reply. “Come on, we don’t want to be the last ones in there.”

  Jeremy wraps his arm around my waist, as we walk. “Why? We would be the hottest couple walking through those doors.”

  “Aww,” I sigh. “That’s sweet.” He pulls me close and we walk back to the dining room. Everyone has already started to go in. Jeremy and I waltz in the door and I stop to look at the tables. I finally spot Jack and Eric. Grabbing Jeremy’s hand, I pull him through the tables. “Hey guys,” I finally say when we get there.

  Jack yells, “Hey, there you are.”

  I watch as Jeremy pulls out a chair for me, I smile and sit down. He gracefully pushes my chair in as I do. That makes me want to giggle. Taking the seat next to me, Jeremy winks. We share a smile and then I look back at my friends. Eric is staring at me, and I meet his eyes. He looks like he is going to say something, when I see my arch enemy walk up behind him.

  Sonya sits down in the chair next to Eric. “Good news, I can sit here.”

  “That’s good news?” Jeremy whispers to me under his breath. I snort and cover my mouth, so no one sees me smiling. He leans over and kisses me on the neck. “You smell good.”

  “Thanks,” I murmur. He reaches over and takes my hand under the table, and pulls it onto his lap. We squeeze our fingers together.

  My eyes drift up and I see Sonya looking at our arms. “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing, just watching your hand placement,” she retorts.

  That makes me burst out into hysterics. “Yes Sonya, I am showing Jeremy just how happy I am that he came under the table. Maybe you do that, but I don’t.”

  The whole table starts to laugh. Jeremy leans over by me. “I am game if you are.”

  “Pervert,” I snap, trying not to smile. I lean in closer by him and whisper, “Remember, I know how to embarrass you.”

  He meets my gaze. “Oh, I double dog dare you.”

  “I bet you would,” I tease glaring playfully at him. We start laughing and have to look away from everyone.

  “What’s so funny?” Sonya snaps.

  I shake my head and sigh, “Nothing. Inside joke.”

  As everyone sits down, it’s Eric, then Satan, Holly, her date Greg, Jack, Jeremy, me, and Ashley. I like that I am sitting next to Ashley. We giggle and talk about the dresses that people are wearing. Jack and Jeremy sit there and talk about cars.

  A few minutes before dinner is served, I lean over to Jeremy, “I am going to go wash my hands before we eat.”

  “Alright,” he replies. I stand up and he stands up with me.

  Sonya laughs, “What, she can’t go to the bathroom on her own?”

  “No, strict etiquette, a man always stands when a lady leaves or returns to the table,” Jeremy replies.

  “I have seen that on movies,” Ashley sighs. “That’s so romantic.”

  Jeremy bends down and kisses me on the cheek. “Don’t get into trouble.”

  “I will be right back,” I laugh. The hotel is gorgeous and I kind of get awe struck by its beauty. When I leave the bathroom, I walk into Sonya. Ugh, shoot me.

  “Well, isn’t Jeremy a catch,” she remarks snidely.

  Crossing my arms, I say, “He is the kindest person I know, and I love him for that.”

  “I would love him too if he gave me a car and a necklace more expensive than said car.”

  “None of that matters to me,” I reply. “This could be glass and it would mean the same.”

  Practically snarling, Sonya asks, “Where does he get all this money from anyway? Does he deal drugs?”

  “Yes,” I groan sarcastically. “He is a drug lord. Has anyone told you, you are an idiot?”

  Her jaw drops. “How dare you!?”

  “I am going to go back to my fine, droolable hot date,” I whisper as I walk past her.

  “Yeah, but I bet it irks you I am here with Eric,” Sonya calls after me. I just keep walking, even though I want to tear her to shreds.

  When I get back to the table, Jeremy stands up, and the rest of the guys follow suit. He pulls my chair out for me. “Thanks,” I say.

  As we sit back down, Jeremy leans over to me. “Are you alright? Sonya got up and I was going to come after you, but I thought that was a little obvious.”

  “I am fine,” I whisper back.

  Jeremy snorts, “She got up to leave the table and part of me wanted to not stand up. If she would have made a deal about it, I would say that it would help if she was a lady.”

  That makes me giggle and retort, “You are awful.”

  “I know,” he murmurs, before sittin
g up. Sonya comes back a little while later, and you can tell Jeremy reluctantly stands up. Dinner is plated and really nice. We all talk and laugh. It is a lot of fun. Jeremy is the center of attention and keeps the conversation going the whole time. He holds my hand a lot. It actually makes me stop and pause a little. For some reason, it feels a little different.

  As we sit after we eat, it gets quiet for a second. Sonya obviously has to talk. “I can’t wait for the after party,” she sighs.

  “After party?” Jeremy inquires.

  “Yup,” Sonya replies. “My dad got us a hotel room.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Jeremy says, “How nice.”

  “Yeah,” she snottily adds, “No parents, it will be awesome.” Both Jeremy and I start to laugh and I have to look away. “What?” She snaps.

  With a huge grin, Jeremy chuckles, “Nothing, it’s just cute…..we don’t have to EVER worry about parents, we have my apartment, with two spacious bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen and…..the bathroom. Lots of room to get mischievous in, but…..” He turns to me, “If you want to get a hotel room, I say we get the honeymoon suite.”

  “Why darling, we didn’t bring a change of clothes,” I reply.

  “I don’t see why that would be a problem,” Jeremy chimes.

  I burst out into giggles, “You wish.”

  “Always,” he remarks. We sit there and stare at each other for a minute.

  “That’s not the point,” Sonya retorts. “We are all staying the room together, Eric included.”

  Jeremy laughs again, and looks at me. “Isabelle, would you like to have a sleep over?”

  “Since we live together, I say that is a given,” I state. “So whose bed this time, yours or mine?”

  There is just sudden deafening silence at the table. “You live together?” Sonya asks.

  “Mmhmm,” Jeremy answers. “Why? Is that a problem?”

  “No, I am jealous. I would love to live away from my parents,” Jack says.

  Ashley chimes in, “Me too.”

  “So....you sleep in the same bed?” Eric asks, looking at me.

  I open my mouth and then answer, “Sometimes, I have nightmares and it’s actually really comforting to have someone next to you.”

  “Totally not sexual whatsoever,” Jeremy interjects. “Well, maybe in my dreams.”

  “Jeremy!” I hiss. He grins and laughs. I roll my eyes, and he leans over to kiss me on the cheek.

  Sonya stares at us. “So, why do you live together?”

  “Because she is the best roommate on the planet,” Jeremy replies. “Cooks like a mad woman. So babe, rent a hotel room or to not rent a hotel room?”

  “They do have room service,” I point out.

  Jeremy brings his finger up. “I can make you breakfast in bed.”

  My head turns and I look at him. “You are going to cook? Should I write out my will first?”

  “It may be cereal and coffee, but I will bring it to you in bed,” he chimes.

  “Aww, that’s sweet,” I say. “No, I would rather sleep in my own bed tonight.”

  “I would rather sleep in your bed tonight, too,” he retorts.

  I narrow my eyes. “You will sleep in your own bed tonight.”

  “We shall see,” Jeremy sighs. Everyone starts to talk about what they would do if they lived on their own. It is actually pretty funny.

  Finally, it’s the dance portion of the evening. We all walk to the ballroom, with me on Jeremy’s arm. The room has giant chandeliers and marble floors. It would be fairy tale like, but there is a DJ set up in the corner. Kind of takes away the effects. We congregate in the corner and stand there as awkward teenagers do. Not Jeremy though, he seems totally at home.

  We talk for a bit, and then the DJ starts to play music. Now, I have never been to a dance before, but there is no one actually dancing. Jeremy sees me eyeing the dance floor, and he grins, “Come on.” He grabs my hands and starts to pull me.

  “No, no, no,” I gasp. “There is no one else out there!”

  “Nothing like getting the party started,” Jeremy quips back.

  Giggling, I pull back, “Jeremy!” He is obviously much stronger than me, and instead of making a spectacle, I follow him out there.

  He spins me around and then pulls me against him. “Nothing outrageous,” he whispers, and then grins, “Yet.” I laugh and shake my head. “We keep it nice and simple, until there are other people out here and then it’s on.”

  “Are you going to embarrass me?” I inquire.

  “Maybe……just a little,” he replies. Jeremy spins me out and back again. I just laugh. We literally dance for two songs before people come out onto the dance floor. That makes it feel a little less awkward. When there is a good amount of people out here with us, I finally loosen up a bit. It’s like Jeremy and I are in our own little world. We laugh a lot.

  After a while, I gasp, “We need to stop. I am dying of thirst.”

  “Okay,” he replies, grabbing my hand. He pulls me against him and we walk over by the drinks. Jack and everyone are standing there.

  Jack smiles. “You guys are really tearing it up out there.”

  “I owed her many dances,” Jeremy replies. “We aren’t done yet either.”

  “I needed to breathe and get something to drink,” I say, grabbing some water.

  Eric says, “You looked good out there.”

  “Thanks,” I say.

  “Eric has promised me so many dances,” Sonya states, grabbing ahold of his arm. The look Eric gives her is priceless. I try to not laugh.

  Ashley sighs, “I wish I had brought a date.”

  Jeremy looks at me, and I nod. He sticks out his hand, “Let me take you for a spin then.”

  “Really?” She chirps, looking at me. I nod enthusiastically. She grabs his hand and they go out to dance.

  “She could have asked me to dance,” Jack grumbles.

  “Why Jack, do you want to dance?” I ask.

  He grins broadly. “Why yes I do.”

  “Then let’s dance,” I declare, sticking out my hand this time.

  We go out onto the dance floor, and he isn’t as good of a dancer, but it’s still fun. Everyone kind of gathers in a group, and it’s a lot of craziness. I keep an eye for Eric, but he stands on the outskirts with people. Sonya drags him out for a few dances, but for some reason he doesn’t look that amused. Our eyes meet a couple of times.

  Jeremy suddenly pulls me to the side and against him. “I want you to myself.”

  “Are you having fun?” I ask. A love song comes on, so we slow down.

  “It’s great,” he answers. “Are you having a good time?”

  I nod and grin. “Oh yeah.”

  “Good,” he whispers. Jeremy pulls me really close and we sway to the music. “You look beautiful tonight.”

  “Thank you,” I say, looking up at him. We slowly dance and stare at each other. Finally, I narrow my eyes. “This is a horrible, cliché, high school dance, love song.”

  Nodding, Jeremy replies, “It is.” He puts my arms around his neck, and pulls me tight against him. Looking down he says, “I think this should be our song.”

  That makes me giggle. “Oh really? Why should we have a song?”

  “Oh come on,” he whispers. “What would we be without a song?”

  “So, we need a horrible cliché love song to be best friends?”

  He just gazes into my eyes. “Do you not want a love song with me?”

  My breath is caught up in my throat. “No, this can be our song.”

  “Good, then every time I hear it, I will think of you,” Jeremy murmurs. “I always think of you.” We slowly dance, never taking our eyes off each other. “You mean the world to me. You know that right?”

  Whispering, I say, “I feel the same way.” Jeremy stares at me for a second, then slowly he starts to bring his head down. I close my eyes and tilt my head up.

  Suddenly, we hear, “Can we cut in?”


  It’s like a gush of cold air. I feel Jeremy pull back and I look to the side. Sonya and Eric are standing there. “What?” I barely breathe out.

  “We wanted to know if we could cut in,” Eric says quietly.

  Jeremy tenses and then backs away from me. “Yeah, you can dance with Isabelle. I need to use the restroom.”

  Sonya gets an appalled look on her face. “You aren’t going to dance with me?”

  With a very serious expression, Jeremy replies, “No.” He looks at Eric. “Handle her gently, or you will have to answer to me.” Eric’s eyes get wide. I try to not laugh. “I am kidding Eric,” Jeremy says. Before he walks away, he looks at me. We just stare at each other. I want to say, stay, but I know I shouldn’t. I want to dance with Eric, right? Jeremy finally turns and walks away.

  I turn to Eric and smile awkwardly. He sticks out his hand. I take it and he pulls me in by him. We start to dance, which seems to tick Sonya off. “You can have him for a dance I guess,” she snidely remarks.

  “What are you talking about?” Eric almost snaps. “What is your problem tonight Sonya?”

  She glares at me and growls, “Nothing.” I just raise my eyebrows. In a huff, she turns and walks away.

  My gaze turns to Eric. He gives me the most perplexed look. “I have NO idea what has gotten into her. She is acting so bizarre.”

  We slowly dance. I finally whisper, “She is trying to get to me.”

  “What? What do you mean?” He asks.

  “Sonya hates me, and tries to torment me any chance she gets. She is relentless.”

  Eric gives me a look of concern. “She is the one that picks on you all the time?” I nod. “I don’t understand what her problem is tonight. Why is she all over me then? It’s almost unreal.”

  “She is doing it to get under my skin,” I mumble, looking away from him.

  “Why would her being all over me get under your skin?” He asks. After a moment of hesitation, I look up at him. It takes a second and then it’s an epiphany. “Oooohhhhh.” My cheeks light on fire, and I can’t even look at him. “Isabelle,” Eric says quietly. “Do you want to go on a date with me?”