by Tay Marley
“I’m sorry for how I handled things this afternoon,” I said, standing in front of him. I folded my arms and then unfolded them. I tugged on the long sleeves of my oversized sweater. I couldn’t stop fidgeting. “I know how I feel. But you don’t know how I feel unless I tell you. And I could do better with that. With verbalizing. I guess I was putting up a bit of a wall without realizing it. Because how I feel does scare me sometimes, Dray.”
He rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped as he looked up at me. “And how do you feel, Dallas?”
I felt breathless. “I love you.”
His lips parted and his gaze grew wide. He stood slowly and cautiously. “Tell me again,” he murmured. He stood so close that I had to tip my head back to see the enamored expression on his face.
“I love you, Drayton. And it does scare me. Because this is new. But I feel it and you need to hear it. Of course I want you close when we go to college. The closer, the better. But I love you enough to know that if we aren’t dealt the cards that we want, I will still love you.”
His hand cupped the nape of my neck and he pushed our mouths together. There were times when his lips had a language of their own, one that I could understand. One that I could speak. I felt it before he said it. “I love you too.” He held my face, his forehead on mine. “So much.”
“No matter what happens,” I said, raising my arms to clasp my fingers behind his neck.
He spun us around and I fell backward onto the bed. He crawled over me and looked down with so much love that it was electric. His touch ignited me. His kiss reminded me how to breathe even as it stole the air from my lungs. Loving Drayton had never been hard. It had happened on its own. It had taken the wheel and I never wanted it back. But for a while, I’d focused so hard on what I wanted that I forgot to focus on what I deserved. The perspective was breathtaking.
“Please tell me again,” Drayton murmured against my throat as his hand popped the button on my jeans. “I love you, baby. Tell me that you love me.”
“I love you, Drayton.”
Drayton had always been supportive and celebrated my success, just as I’d done for him. I was wrong to assume that a relationship would make me weak. I could still achieve everything that I’d ever wanted. Having him there beside me, cheering me on, lifting me up, that was a privilege. I loved him and I knew that he loved me too. We’d be okay.
Chapter 24
Prom night started at Gabby’s house. We had our makeup done by a freelance artist who did an exquisite job. We looked flawless with contour, highlight, and brows that could have been sculpted by an angel.
Josh and Drayton arrived while Gabby was standing in front of the mirror in her living room, running her fingers through her pin-straight hair. It was parted in the middle and tucked behind her ears. She’d used a picture of Kim Kardashian West when we went to the salon that afternoon. I’d opted for a curled updo. A bun sat low at the back of my head and wisps of hair framed my face.
Drayton and Josh strolled in wearing hoodies and jeans. But like us, their hair had been done. Drayton’s was its usual crop on the top of his head. Product kept it still and the sides had been cut shorter. Josh wore his signature slicked-back style.
“Don’t you look fucking beautiful,” Drayton hollered as soon as he walked into the room. He went in for a kiss, but I pointed at the nude lip color on my mouth and offered him my head instead.
Josh and Gabby went straight into selfie mode and began snapping a few photos.
“Did you guys remember to pick up your suits from the dry cleaner’s?” Gabby asked, assessing her brand-new nails after Josh sat down on the corner of the coffee table. “Or do we need to go and get them?”
“Nah, we’re fucking dumb and forgot,” Drayton drawled with sarcasm. Gabby rolled her eyes in the mirror, watching his reflection.
Camilla appeared from the kitchen wearing a floral apron covered in flour, her long dark hair in a tight braid. The plate of brownies in her hands steamed. The delicious morsels were powdered with icing sugar, and the aroma of homemade baking was mouthwatering.
“Ahh.” She nodded when she saw Drayton standing beside the sofa. “I thought it must have been you when I heard all of the cussing.”
He put a hand across his chest and graced her with a sincere apologetic smile. He was so damn charming. “Sorry, Ms. Laurel.”
She smiled but he should have counted his blessings. If it was me or Gabby dropping f-bombs, we’d be six feet deep.
“Brownie?”
“This is the reason that my clothes are getting too tight.” Gabby pointed at her mother, finally tearing herself from her own reflection. Not that I could blame her, I would stare at myself if I had her face as well.
I passed on the brownie as well. Not because I was concerned about my clothes, but because there weren’t a lot on the plate and Josh and Drayton were inhaling what was there. Gabby complained about the injustice of men eating whatever they wanted and not putting on weight. In their defense, they did put in the hours at the gym.
When we arrived at Drayton’s, Gabby was devastated to find that there was even more food there to tempt her than there had been at home. Ellie had laid out a spread in one of the sitting areas downstairs. The coffee table was covered in cakes, cookies, club sandwiches, and cupcakes.
The four of us separated to get into our outfits. The girls were upstairs; the boys were downstairs. Ellie arranged it that so that Gabby and I could descend the staircase in our dresses. Her excitement was contagious.
The spare bedroom smelled like fresh linen and lilies, which I didn’t think of much until I saw the bouquet sitting in a vase on the bedside table. The ribbon around the stems had a card attached to it and Gabby watched—and obsessed—as I tiptoed across the soft carpet to read it out loud.
Favorite flower for my favorite girl. Love all of who you are. I love what you love. I want to be who you need. Will never stop trying to win you over. Every day is the first day.
—Your QB
“Well,” Gabby’s voice quivered. When I looked at her, she was fanning her face. “How he can be such a shameless idiot and the most romantic man on the planet, I will never know.”
“You and me both.” I read the note again.
She walked off, her shoulders slumped. It was a bit dramatic, but she sniffed and started to pull her romper off. “Josh needs to step up. He didn’t even compliment my hair! Not one word. It looks so good right now.”
“It does. It looks beau—”
“You’ve told me! It looks beautiful. I know. I want him to tell me that.”
“Gabs,” I stared at her with bewilderment. She was one foot stomp from a full-on tantrum. “Don’t compare them. They’re two different people. Josh adores you. Stop being so dramatic.”
We were standing in our floor-length ball gowns, unzipped and shoeless. I was right; Gabby was a model. The silk fabric draped, flowing from her figure like honey being poured from a jar, soft and seamless. The dress was dark blue with thin straps and a ruched neckline that sat low and exposed her smooth chest and sharp collarbones.
She turned around so that I could zip up the back. It was tighter than I expected it to be. It was a perfect fit when it was undone. The zip did go up, but it was snug. Gabby stared in the mirror and frowned.
“This fit me three months ago. Remember? We bought this together and it fit.”
It had fit her three months ago. Now her boobs looked about ready to burst.
“Whatever, I just won’t sit down all night.”
“I bet Ellie has something in her closet,” I suggested, looking behind her at the full-length mirror. Her bum looked fantastic. “We could ask?”
“Nope.” She held my shoulders and swapped our positions so that she could zip me up while I looked in the mirror. “I’ll wear this. If it zips, it fits.”
My dress hadn’
t decided to change its measurements. It fit just as it had when I’d tried it on three months ago. It was strapless. The top half had corset-like boning, and it was fitted and flattering, accentuating my curves and chest. The material was white with rose-gold bordering. From the waist down, it flowed into sheer white waves of soft fabric that felt like a cloud kissing my legs. I felt beautiful.
Gabby was leaning on the wall beside the door. Her platforms were on. So were mine. But she was making no move to leave. Her forehead was a bit shinier than it had been earlier.
“Are you feeling okay, Gabs?”
“Just a bit hot. Sort of ick. It’s just warm up here, I think. I’m worried about my hair.”
If it was warm, I would know about it. I felt the heat harder than she did.
“We should go downstairs, then,” I offered and stared at her stomach. It couldn’t be what the little niggling voice in the back of my head was suggesting. It couldn’t be because she would have thought about that first.
“Mhmm.” She pushed herself off the wall and her heels raised her ten stories tall. “I need water.”
Click clacks against the stone floor followed our footsteps toward the staircase. Voices chattered from below. Ellie was onto something when she’d suggested that we meet our men at the bottom of the staircase. I felt like a princess.
I saw him before he saw me. His suit was divine. It was tailored to his tall frame. Snug. His tie was the same color as the rose gold on my dress. His soft leather shoes were something that would be seen on a red carpet. I was used to seeing him in casual street wear and Converse. But he pulled this off so well.
He looked up and his mouth dropped open. “Fuck. Me.”
I laughed and noticed Ellie watching him with disapproval.
“Someone’s taking a picture, right?” Drayton shouted, his gaze never leaving mine. “Because I’m in the moment but someone better get a photo of my girl.”
“All right, we get it,” Gabby’s monotone complaint droned behind me. “Drayton is obsessed with Dallas and he shows it. Cool.”
I peeped at Josh who was wearing a similar suit to Drayton’s but without a tie, and the shirt underneath his jacket was the same dark blue as Gabby’s dress. He frowned at Gabby.
“Gabby, you do look beautiful.”
When I reached the floor, Drayton’s hand took mine. It was warm, as usual. Butterflies caused havoc in my stomach due to his no-holding-back smile. It was the best one of all. Bright and bold.
“You look perfect.” His hold moved to my waist, the rest of the room forgotten.
“You look perfect.” I stored it to memory. His figure in this outfit. His perfection. The fabric of his suit was like butter beneath my fingertips. It was Armani—I’d been with him when he bought it, and while the thought of spending so much on one outfit made me sweat, I couldn’t deny that it was worth it.
Ellie was snapping photos, the flash reflected in Drayton’s soft green stare of admiration. “You girls look gorgeous,” she cooed.
The four of us stood in front of the water feature in the foyer. The sound of its fall was whimsical while we posed for Ellie, who was an enthusiastic photographer. We took group photos, couple photos, friend photos.
Ellie mentioned that she wanted to do a photo with Leroy and Drayton. Before she could run off to find Leroy, she showed me how to operate her big Canon camera, which I felt afraid to hold for the sheer fact that it was the equivalent feeling to watching a stack of cash burn in my palm. If I dropped it, I was going to die.
“Drayton!”
We all looked up at the entrance at the far end of the corridor, where a disgruntled and frustrated voice came from. Leroy appeared a moment later, holding a piece of paper in the same hand that his Rolex watch was on. If looks could kill.
Drayton watched his father approaching him with boredom. His hands were in his pockets and there was not a crease of concern on his face.
“You told me that you sent that goddamn letter of intent to Baylor.” He shoved the paper into his son’s chest but Drayton didn’t touch it. “The deadline has been and gone. You didn’t get the fucking scholarship. What the hell is—”
Ellie stepped between them and held a palm up to her husband. “Don’t talk to him like that. You need to calm down.”
My throat felt thick watching the tension. Drayton appeared calm but his chest was rising and falling and his jaw fluttered. Gabby and Josh discreetly pointed at the kitchen and tiptoed across the foyer. It would be preferable to follow them. And perhaps I should have, because this seemed personal. But I didn’t want to leave Drayton.
“I’m not going to Baylor,” Drayton said. His lips barely parted.
“Apparently, you’re not going anywhere now,” Leroy snapped. He took a step back and threw the paper at the ground. “I will talk to the coach and you will do a walk-on tryout.”
“No. It’s not happening. I told you. I’ll go where I want. Or I’ll go nowhere.”
Ellie remained between them. She was smaller than both, but determined to keep them apart. Leroy and Drayton glared at each other with identical scowls.
Leroy looked at me. “This is your fault.”
Somehow telling him that I was in favor of Drayton choosing the path that he’d planned to begin with seemed like it would make things worse. I didn’t know what to tell him. I stood tall and attempted not to crumble under his harsh glare.
“Leroy,” Ellie warned.
“There was not one issue until she arrived.” He pointed at his son. “I thought you were smarter than that. But well done. You screwed up your own future over a girl.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.” Drayton’s breathing became heavier, his hands were restless in his pockets. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please, can we do this later,” Ellie said desperately. “The kids have to go. The limo will be here soon.”
“You screwed everything up.”
Drayton moved past his mother, stood in front of me, and squared his shoulders. “You’re fucking pushing me, man.”
“Enough,” Ellie shouted, once again intercepting and putting herself in the middle of a standoff. “Leroy, enough. You need to go and cool off. Now.”
Her face was flushed and her hand trembled as she pointed at the staircase. Without another word, Leroy turned around and went upstairs.
“Mom,” Drayton said.
“He doesn’t mean it, Drayton,” she mumbled.
“Didn’t mean to what? Force me into his old school because he’s on a power trip?”
“It’s where his father wen—”
“Yeah. I know. Where his father went and his father. I get it. But I can choose a new path, Mom. I don’t have to do the same thing as them. UCLA is a good school.”
“I know.” She nodded and leaned against the bannister as if she couldn’t hold up her own weight. “But it’s more complicated than that. You know that Grandpa Lahey died in that house fire when you were a baby, right?”
Drayton nodded.
“Well, before he died one of the last conversations that your dad had with Grandpa was about college football. He told Grandpa that you’d attend Baylor, their alma mater. It was a casual conversation over lunch. It was light and cute, but it was the last conversation that they had, Dray. He died that afternoon. And ever since then, your dad has been trying to keep his promise.”
Leroy had suffered so much loss. He might be cold and harsh, but it was unimaginable that he’d lost his parents and his daughter so tragically. The commiseration that I felt was immediate. I knew exactly what it was like to lose both parents.
Drayton exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “Why did no one tell me this?”
“He didn’t want to use guilt tactics to encourage your choice.”
“Being an asshole was his preferred option?”<
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“I know that he’s gone about this all wrong, but he felt panicked. He knew as soon as Dallas stepped onto the scene that this might happen”—she looked at me and smiled—“which doesn’t put you at blame, honey. But Dray, you’ve never cared all that much about the college itself. He knew it was possible that being in love would have some pull on what you chose.”
“I still should have known the real reason he was so insistent on where I went to school.”
“I told him that. But would it have made a difference?”
Drayton’s gaze moved around the room, thoughtful for a moment until he shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. At least I would have understood, and we could have saved ourselves all of this fucking bullshit.”
“Language.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
She inhaled a long deep breath. I couldn’t imagine the toll that it would take watching her husband and son fight with so much vehemence. “Forget about it for tonight if you can. Just have a nice prom. I’ll talk to Dad and we can attempt a civil discussion tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” He pulled his mom into a hug, his chin resting on her head. “Love you, Mom.”
Silver and pale-pink balloons full of helium dotted the entire ceiling. The hotel had opened up three separate banquet rooms to create a space large enough for our prom. A polished wooden floor was at one end of the room, along with a booth for the DJ. The other end of the room was made up of square tables draped in black cloth. Individual pink electric candles flickered in the middle of each table, and the chairs were silver steel.
It was dark but light was provided in the form of the aforementioned candles and twinkling lights zigzagging from one side of the ceiling to the other. It was elegant and enchanting. Beside the sliding door, which went out to a large patio, was a backdrop for photographs. Couples and groups were lined up, and the air was alive with laughter and upbeat music. The dancing was energetic, and although the start of the night had been less than ideal, the tension was slipping. The more that Drayton relaxed, the easier it was to be in the moment. Gabby and Josh disappeared in search of food the minute we arrived.