“It’s perfect. Thank you guys so much for helping.”
“It was nothing,” Isla replied with a warm smile.
“You always work your makeover magic on me,” Madi added. “It only seemed fair that I finally returned the favor.”
There was a knock on the door, and Mom popped her head in. “Are you girls…” Her voice drifted off when she caught sight of me, and her eyes turned glassy as she looked me over. “Oh, Hayley, you look so beautiful.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Now, I hope you girls are ready because there’s a car out front waiting to take you to prom.”
“There is?” I asked.
Isla and Madi shared a smile but didn’t try to explain. Madi simply linked her arm with mine. “Come on, let’s not keep the driver waiting.”
We walked outside, and my jaw dropped when I saw a limo parked on the street. “Madi, we never talked about taking a limo to prom,” I murmured.
“I know,” she said with a coy smile in Isla’s direction.
“Was this your doing?” I turned to Isla.
She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “I may know something about it,” she said. “But stop worrying about why it’s here, and let’s get in already.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the limo. I laughed and happily followed her.
As I stepped into the waiting vehicle, I spared one last glance toward Ethan’s house, and a little of my excitement dimmed. I felt his absence keenly as we prepared to make our way to the prom. He wasn’t the guy I’d initially dreamed of going with, but he’d crept into my heart, and there was no denying he was the one I wished were at my side.
I might not have been able to be with Ethan tonight, but as I looked at Madi and Isla, I knew I was still incredibly lucky. Ethan might have my heart, but these two nourished my soul, and I knew we were going to have an amazing night together.
“You ready for this?” Madi asked.
I smiled. “Yeah, I really am.”
23
Hayley
Prom was being held in a hotel ballroom in the town next to ours, and it was a twenty-minute drive to reach it. The girls turned the music up in the car, and the three of us sang at the top of our lungs the whole way there. The time seemed to fly, and when the driver pulled to a stop, it felt like the journey was over far too quickly. He opened the door for us, but it wasn’t until I stepped from the limo that I realized we weren’t at the hotel.
“Why are we at school?” I turned to my friends and caught them sharing an uncomfortable look. “Madi. Isla. What’s going on?”
Madi’s expression quickly sobered. “This is just a pit stop,” she said. “Angus is on the prom committee, and he forgot to bring the crowns for the prom king and queen.” She sighed and rolled her eyes as she spoke. “Cole told him we were running late, so he messaged me to ask if we could pick them up.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe Angus expected us to do this.
Madi shrugged. “I know it’s annoying, but I told him we’d get them. And, we better hurry, or we’ll miss even more of prom.”
I let out a sigh, knowing she was right. “Okay. Where are they?”
“In the school gym,” she quickly replied. Thankfully, the driver had pulled up right by the entrance to the gym.
“Do you want us to wait in the car while you grab them?” I asked.
“Actually,” Madi said. “I was hoping you’d go for me. I’m already finding it hard to walk in my heels.”
I glanced down at the stilettos she was wearing. Madi struggled wearing shoes with any height, and the six-inch heels were practically death traps on her feet. It was a miracle she’d made it this far in them tonight.
“Okay, fine, I’ll go.” It was the least I could do considering how much she’d helped me tonight. “But you better hope the doors aren’t locked, or we’ll have to deal with a very angry Laurie when she doesn’t get her crown.”
Madi laughed. “Angus said they should be open.”
“And where exactly are the crowns?”
“The office behind the basketball court,” she replied.
I nodded and turned for the gym, moving toward the door as quickly as my heels would let me. Now that I’d accepted I was going to prom, I didn’t want to miss any more of it.
Surprisingly, the gym door was open, just as Madi had said it would be. The corridor beyond it was dark, but I didn’t bother searching for the light switch because there was a slither of light coming from under the doorway that led to the basketball court.
I hurried toward the door and pulled it open, but I came to a jarring stop when I saw the hall beyond. Hundreds of candles covered the ground, lighting the court in a romantic, soft glow. The sight of them was overwhelmingly beautiful, but it wasn’t the candles that stole my breath away. It was the fact that standing in the center of them all was Ethan.
He looked so incredibly handsome. He was dressed in a maroon suit that seemed to highlight his broad shoulders, and he was wearing a quirky bow tie that was all too perfect for him. His hair was a mess, like always, but it was the kind of mess I wanted to run my fingers through. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and I could see his amazing blue eyes so clearly.
I swallowed but the movement was difficult because my mouth had turned so dry it felt like sandpaper. What was Ethan doing here? Why did he have all these candles out? The room looked like a scene from a romantic movie, and as I stared at it, I realized Ethan must have set this up for the girl he liked so much. I had completely interrupted their special moment.
I quickly turned and reached for the door I’d just walked through. I needed to get the hell out of there fast. Laurie could make herself a paper crown for all I cared. There was no way I was going to stick around and ruin Ethan’s gesture or, worse—come face- to face with his dream girl. I stopped when Ethan called out my name.
“Hayley?”
I slowly turned to face him and gave him a tight smile. He was walking toward me, a concerned look on his face. Yep, I’d officially crashed his romantic moment. “Hey, Ethan. Sorry for intruding, I just came to get something from the office.”
“Intruding?” He seemed confused as he came to stand before me, but I wasn’t sure why.
“Ah, yeah. I won’t be long. Any chance you’ve seen a couple of gaudy looking plastic crowns?”
He slowly started to smile. “Can’t say I have.”
“Well, I’m sure they’re here somewhere. Can’t exactly crown our prom king and queen without them.” I was rambling and started to walk off in the direction of the office to search for the crowns before I made myself look even more foolish. I didn’t make it more than a step away before Ethan grabbed my hand to stop me.
My heart twisted as he touched me. I really loved the way my hand fit within his. It was like they were made for each other.
“Hayley, wait,” he murmured. “Haven’t you wondered what I’m doing here?”
I looked up into his eyes and found their blue depths were swirling with emotion. There was so much affection in them, but I knew it could only be because he was excited about his crush. I tugged my gaze away from his eyes as I went to answer. “Well, given all the candles, I assume you’re trying to contact the dead?” I didn’t want to speak the truth out loud.
“You think I’d contact the dead in our school gym?”
“Well, I’d hope not. There are enough forces of evil at our school without adding ghosts into the mix too.”
He struggled to contain a smile. “I’m not trying to contact the dead.”
“So, what are you doing?”
His expression softened as he looked at me. “I wanted to find a way to tell the girl I like the truth about my feelings.”
I let out a sigh as I looked across the candlelit gym. The way he had turned such a bland space into a place that felt so magical was amazing. The small flames twinkled, and the candlelight gave the room a soft glow. It was incredibly romantic and I wished it
were me he was talking about. “Well, she’s very lucky. It’s beautiful.”
“Just like she is,” he replied. He was looking at me with such warmth that I struggled to keep tears from gathering in my eyes. Why couldn’t I be the one he wanted to be with?
“I should really leave you to it,” I said, but Ethan didn’t let go of my hand.
“Don’t you want to hear about the moment I realized she was the one for me?”
No. “Ah, sure.”
His eyes sparkled in the firelight as he smiled at the memory. “It was actually right here on these basketball courts, which is why I chose it as the place to tell her how I feel,” he said. “We were thirteen years old, and it was the first gym class for the year.”
My heart dropped as he told his story. He didn’t just like another girl; he’d liked her for years. I had no way of competing with that.
“Let me guess, she walked into class in her gym shorts, and you realized she was a total babe?” I was being way too snarky, but I couldn’t seem to control it. Apparently, when I was sad, I also turned into a bit of a bitch.
Ethan actually laughed though. “Not exactly. More like, another boy noticed how good her gym uniform looked, and when he made a comment about it, she punched him in the nose.”
My whole body froze. “What?”
He was grinning as he looked at me now. “The boy’s nose started bleeding, and he began to cry. He went running to the nurse’s office, and I thought it was the most awesome thing I’d ever seen in my life.”
“But… but, that was me.”
His smile dropped a little as he nodded. “Yeah, it was.”
I quickly shook my head. “But you don’t like me. No, you like some other amazing girl.”
“Hayley, I like you. I’ve always liked you. I think you are strong and fierce but full of light and laughter. I couldn’t like another girl even if I tried, because they wouldn’t be you.”
It wasn’t often I was at a loss for words, but now was one of those moments. I stared into Ethan’s eyes in total disbelief. I was the girl he liked? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
“Please say something…” he murmured.
I suddenly realized how nervous he looked. He’d just opened his heart to me, and I was standing there staring at him like a fool.
“I like you too.” I blurted out the words in a rush but then took a deep breath to try to compose myself before I continued. “But I thought you liked someone else!”
He quickly shook his head. “No, it was always you. I was just too chicken to tell you the truth.” Ethan slowly started to smile in response. “You really like me back?”
“Yes, I really like you back.”
His smile widened until his whole face practically glowed with happiness. He was gorgeous when he smiled so brightly, and I couldn’t believe he truly wanted to be with me. This didn’t feel real, and just in case it did turn out to be a dream, I decided I needed to make the most of it.
I stepped in close to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “And just so you know, I’m a total idiot because I didn’t notice the amazing guy silently cheering me on when I punched Bobby Newman in the face. I wish I’d seen him sooner, because he’s the best guy I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I lifted up on to my toes and kissed him. His lips were soft, and the butterflies in my stomach took flight as he wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me in close. I’d thought our previous kisses were amazing, but none of them compared to this one. His kiss made me hot and cold all at once. It sent tingles from my lips all the way down to my toes.
I could have kissed Ethan forever, and now that I knew he liked me too, that was sounding like an all too tempting possibility. We didn’t have forever though. At least, not right now. There was still a prom we needed to get to after all.
As we broke apart from our kiss, Ethan was smiling. “You had me worried there for a second.”
I laughed and pulled out of his hug. “You had me worried for several minutes. I thought I’d walked in on a romantic gesture for someone else.”
He shook his head at me. “I thought you’d see all of this and realize right away it was meant for you.”
“I can be a little dense sometimes.”
“No, you’re perfect,” he replied. It was the kind of response that melted my heart. I could really get used to this. “So, what do you say we go to prom together?”
“I’d love that.” I took hold of his hand but paused as I turned for the door. We couldn’t race off to the limo just yet. “But perhaps you should blow all these candles out first while I hunt down those crowns for Angus.”
“That sounds like a plan, but you know there are no crowns here, right?”
Suddenly, Madi’s little ploy to get me into the gym made sense. “Oh, yeah, obviously.” I felt silly for not working that out sooner, but I was impressed with Madi’s sneakiness. How could I be annoyed when everything had turned out so perfectly?
We blew out all the candles and shared a few sneaky kisses as we went before we finally left the gym to return to the limo. The moment we opened the door to leave the building, a cheer greeted us. I looked up and found Dex, Colin, and Cole had joined the girls, and they were all hooting and whistling as we walked into the parking lot hand in hand. My cheeks flamed in embarrassment, but I couldn’t stop smiling either.
“You guys knew!” I called out as we approached.
“Well, there was no way Ethan could have pulled this off on his own,” Isla said.
“And I’ve watched enough rom-coms with you to know you’re all about the BRG,” Madi added.
Cole looked at Madi like she was speaking Latin. “BRG?” he asked.
“Big romantic gesture,” Madi and I both responded at the same time, making everyone laugh. Madi was totally right though. I loved a good BRG, and Ethan’s had been amazing.
I glanced at him, unable to keep the smile from my face as I looked into his eyes. I didn’t think he could top his Taylor Swift promposal, but apparently, I’d been wrong. I couldn’t believe he’d gone to so much effort to tell me I was the girl he’d liked all along.
“You guys are so cute I think I’m going to throw up,” Isla said. I blushed and glanced away from Ethan. I hadn’t realized I’d been all dopey-eyed and was staring at him, but it was really hard not to get caught up in his eyes.
“Please don’t chuck,” Dex said. “And now that these guys are all loved up, shouldn’t we be getting to prom?”
“Ah, yes!” Isla squealed before ushering everyone toward the waiting car.
The others all started piling in the limo, but Ethan pulled me into his arms once again. I felt completely at home in his embrace, and it was far too easy to block out our friends and pretend we were in our own little world. I already knew I was going to spend the whole night in this exact position with him, swaying to each and every song.
“You know, you might regret deciding to be with me,” I said.
“And why’s that?”
“Because I’m going to expect you to sing me more Taylor Swift songs.”
Ethan smiled and shook his head. “I think I can handle that.”
“Really?”
“Hayley, I’ll sing you all the songs.”
“You sure?”
He grinned and placed a light kiss against my forehead, sending flutters to my stomach. “Yeah, I’m sure. All you have to do is ask.”
I was silent for a moment as I tried to remember to breathe. I was going to be in trouble if Ethan kept this up because he continued to steal my breath away. “What if I asked you to sing one for me now?”
He chuckled. “Maybe, we should wait until later. I have the perfect prom date in my arms, and I’d quite like to take her to the dance.”
“I guess that’s a pretty good reason.”
“Are you guys coming or what?” Isla called from the car. We glanced in her direction and laughed when we saw the disgruntled look on her fac
e. It appeared we’d kept her from the dance far too long for her liking.
“Yes, we’re coming,” I called back to her.
I stepped out of Ethan’s arms, and he took my hand as we walked toward the waiting car. Holding his hand still made my pulse race and my heart soar. I didn’t think I’d ever get sick of the feeling.
As we reached the open door of the car, I paused and faced Ethan once more. “You really think I’m the perfect prom date?”
He smiled. “Hayley, you’re the perfect everything.”
Epilogue
ETHAN
Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be walking into prom with Hayley holding my hand. If someone had told me a month ago she’d be here with me as my real girlfriend, I never would have believed it. But, here we both were, entering the grand ballroom of the Excelsior Hotel together.
Angus and the prom committee had really embraced the winter wonderland theme. It looked like the room had been blasted by a snowstorm, and everything in the vast hall was covered in white. The floor was coated in a layer of white confetti, long white streamers fluttered from the ceiling, and huge clear balloons floated overhead with glittering flecks of silver and white dancing inside them. There was even an ice sculpture by one of the tables that was shaped like a large snowflake.
Hayley’s eyes were wide as she took it all in and she let out a light laugh when she caught sight of a photo booth with a snowy backdrop that stood near the entrance. Isla was already in there with Dex, and the two of them were making the most ridiculous poses for the camera.
“Angus really went all out,” Hayley murmured as she faced me.
The Wrong Prom Date Page 22