I shook my head. I didn't want to know.
“I only see one pig here, and that's you,” Lester growled. His body tensed, and I realized things could end up very badly.
I gently pulled him by the arm, away from Hunter and his friends, who were spitting out nasty remarks.
We stopped at the edge of the dance floor. Lester began to relax to the sound of the music, dancing with me. At one point, the dance floor became so crowded that it was difficult to tell who was who or hear anything over the music. Lester locked his perfect, wonderful blue eyes on me and peppered my face with tender kisses.
The most beautiful guy in the universe was my boyfriend, I felt beautiful, and the music was great. The night couldn't have been more perfect.
We danced some more, drank punch, and ate some appetizers while we talked excitedly about our future. We both wanted to go to Ole Miss. We would study there, and after we graduated, we planned on moving to New York for a while. Enjoy the big city.
Then, once we had our lives organized, Lester wanted us to move to Wyoming, to his father's ranch, which I agreed to.
I'd met Conrad Fury, Lester's father, late last year, when he visited his son in November.
Like my father, Conrad had served in the military. He was a somewhat rough, bitter man who seemed to be running from a thousand demons, but he loved his son deeply and had treated me with such kindness and respect it warmed my heart. But to tell the truth, I couldn't complain about Lester's mother either. Although austere, Senator Jones always welcomed me in a friendly manner.
It's always nice when the parents of the people we love approve of us.
We returned to the dance floor shortly after ten o'clock at night. We were slow dancing when all of a sudden, liquid flew through the air a few feet away from us and Hunter began flapping his arms.
Olivia.
“What's wrong, Flower Girl?” Lester asked, turning to follow my gaze. Olivia was drenched in punch, her hands clenched into fists at her sides and face contorted with tears.
The beautiful white dress, covered in rhinestones, was stained. “That guy never stops being a jerk, does he?” Lester growled, pulling me under his protective arm. “Weren’t they dating last week?”
“Yeah…” I replied, watching Olivia rush off toward the restroom. “Looks like he decided to make a change.”
“Well, it shouldn't be news to her.”
“No...” I whispered, still staring at the point where I'd seen Olivia disappear. I was almost certain that Hunter had cheated on her. Worse.Jenniferhad cheated on her, after all, they'd been best friends since kindergarten.
How do you get over being betrayed by your best friend?
“Flower Girl...” Lester muttered, and I jumped, looking at him immediately. He had a scowl on his face. “No... She’s always been an idiot to you."
“I know, I know... But...” I gulped. “I just feel bad for her...”
Lestersighed and shook his head in disbelief, pulling away and waving his arm in the direction we had seenOliviadisappear.
“If you take too long, I’ll come look for you,” he grumbled.
I smiled, standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“It'll only take two minutes. I just want to make sure she survives...”
It didn't take me long to reach the bathroom or to hear the despairing wails coming from one of the stalls. Standing in front of the door from which the sound was coming, I hesitated, remembering all the times Olivia had made fun of me.
Was I going crazy?
Nevertheless, I knocked.
“Olivia...? Do you need anything?” The words came out stammering.
The cries were interrupted by sobs, and the cubicle door opened, revealing an Olivia with her makeup running down the face. Instead of sadness, however, her expression was filled with rage.
“You came to get revenge, didn't you, Parker?” I wasn't going to answer her. I backed up until my back was against the sinks. “You came to laugh at me, didn't you?! Dumped at the prom! Betrayed by my boyfriend and best friend!”
