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“Hello, Ash,” she said.
“Mrs. Greer,” he said with a nod. He’d never gotten used to calling my mom Deb, like she’d asked.
“Why don’t you come inside?”
“Thank you.” He entered, carrying a corsage box in his hand.
It felt like something straight out of a movie. My friends parted, allowing me to step forward so he could get his first real look at me. My dress was a full-bodied Cinderella number in a silver blue that made my blonde hair shine. The top was strapless and corseted with a sweetheart bodice.
It was the first dress I’d tried on and the most expensive. I’d tried on everything else in the whole damn store to try to convince myself I didn’t love it. But in the end, my mom had conceded that I was only going to prom once and it was worth it. I’d never loved her more.
“Wow,” Ash breathed. His eyes were wide as they dragged up and down my body. “You look incredible.”
“Thanks. You look great too.”
He was the kind of guy who already owned a tuxedo, but he’d personally gone to get a bow tie and vest in the same ice blue of my dress. It was practically the same color as his eyes. As I stepped up to greet him with a hug, I’d never felt like we were more of a matched set.
My mom hurried to the fridge to retrieve the boutonniere that we’d purchased. After a few awkward moments and a pricked finger, I managed to attach it to his tuxedo. Then, he slid the bracelet corsage onto my wrist. It matched my dress with ivory and dark blue roses mixed with baby’s breath.
My friends oohed and aahed at the arrangement. My mom took pictures. Then we were herded outside, where we posed together for picture after picture. It felt kind of ridiculous, but it was Ash, so I couldn’t even be uncomfortable. He kept a smile on his face and didn’t complain once about the number of pictures my mom wanted of us.
What felt like an hour later, we were ushered into Ash’s Mercedes and driving away for our dinner reservations at Garibaldi’s, an upscale Italian seafood restaurant that I couldn’t even imagine stepping foot in, let alone eating in.
“So … how’d it go with your parents?” I asked him now that we were alone.
He’d only told him parents about me five weeks ago. Their blowup had been like dropping an A-bomb in his living room. His relationship with his dad had always been tenuous at best, but now, it was outright hostile.
“It’s fine,” he said.
“You didn’t tell them,” I accused. Even though I knew that his parents were the worst and they would have stopped him from going, I still deflated.
“I told my mom,” he said with a sigh. “She kept my dad distracted.” He glanced over at me with a grimace and took my hand. “I know it’s not what we wanted, but at least I didn’t have to sneak out. Let’s forget about it.”
I nodded. It definitely wasn’t what we’d thought it would be. I still hadn’t really ever been at his house. He had a trellis that I used to climb into his second-story bedroom, but they had a full-time cleaning staff, and he didn’t want to risk one of them finding out and telling his dad. Nor had I ever met his parents, obviously. Ash after dark remained in full effect.
Despite that fact, I tried to let it all fall off my back. We couldn’t change any of it, and I might as well enjoy our night. Garibaldi’s was even more delicious than I’d imagined.
“You ready for the dance?” Ash asked.
He took my hand as we headed back to his car parked several blocks away. We hadn’t been able to find a spot downtown for fifteen minutes and had almost been late to our reservation.
“I am very ready,” I said with more bravado than I felt.
In fact, I was nervous. This was actually the first time Ash and I would be out together. We hadn’t gone to any parties or been seen together, except with my friends and family. We skipped Holy Cross parties. We avoided the St. Catherine’s bonfires on Tybee Island. Instead, we spent all of our time together. Where we didn’t have to deal with the rest of the high school having an opinion about our relationship. And where I’d also come to realize … no one could go back to his parents about us. Strategic, if a little heartbreaking.
But Ash had insisted on prom.
We were doing this.
His dad would find out, but it was one night. And we’d get to have this night. On my birthday of all days.
Ash parked in the Westin parking lot on Hutchinson Island across the river from the riverfront. We entered through the lobby to the first-floor ballroom. The two high schools had joined together for prom, as was tradition. Otherwise, prom would have been too small for both. The ballroom was decorated in some vague Hollywood theme. But the best part of the space was the outdoors grassy area, complete with a dozen chic couches and chairs in front of firepits. The view across the river into downtown Savannah was spectacular, and more than a few people were already posing for pictures with their dates outside.
