“Do you ever think about — I dunno, doing something like this?”
“You mean, like a wedding?” Cole’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead, and I can feel my cheeks getting hot.
“Yeah, I guess.” I wave my hand vaguely. “I mean, all the fuss. All — this.”
Cole shrugs. “I mean — my parents would be a problem. I feel like no matter what I did, they would hate it somehow. But I guess I haven’t thought about it. Well, until recently, that is. I didn’t really have a reason to.”
“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it, either.”
We reach the door to the reception hall, and we stop just outside, waiting for the bandleader toannounce us. Cole leans against the wall, and I fiddle with the button on my jacket.
“An event this big — I mean, this would definitely be too much,” I go on. “But something quiet — maybe just a few people — I dunno, it might be nice.”
Cole stares at me for a long time, but then his face breaks into a soft smile. “Yeah— it really would.”
***
“You know, she made him take dance lessons.”
Cole is sitting beside me, his arm slung around the back of my chair as we watch Bree and Seth having their first dance. Bree has changed into a different gown, and it sort of looks like an explosion down at the feather factory. I guess it works for dancing or something because it twirls when she moves. I bet Cole could explain it better.
“Yeah, Seth was complaining about it,” I reply, leaning against him. “But maybe he can take her out and make her happy before she spills all your secrets next time.”
Cole looks at me and lifts an eyebrow, and then we both burst into giggles. It feels good to know that thinking about that night doesn’t hurt us anymore. Even though it wasn’t that long ago, it’s hard to believe that we ever could have misunderstood each other so completely.
The music draws to a close, and Seth dips Bree intoa kiss while the crowd whistles and hollers. As the band strikes up a new tune, the bandleader steps up to the microphone.
“Let’s hear it one more time for Sabrina and Seth! And now, I’d like to invite everyone out onto the dance floor to join our newlyweds and get this party started.”
Cole holds out a hand to me, and I splutter. “Oh, fuck, I mean — I have no idea how to —”
He stands and slips off his jacket in one fluid motion. Underneath it, his silky shirt is completely backless, fastened behind his neck with a jeweled clasp and fluttering over his slim chest. He begins to walk towards the dance floor, and I’m cemented to my chair, watching the elegant flow of his body, the pale slash of him in the sea of formalwear. But then he looks back over his shoulder, a crooked smile lifting the corner of his mouth, and I know I’m going to follow.
When I’m beside him on the parquet floor, he takes my hand and spins me so that I’m facing him.
“I really — I have no clue what I’m doing —” I stammer over the music from the band.
Cole grins and puts my hand on his bare shoulder, snaking his own around my back. “That’s why you’re going to follow while I lead.”
I have two left feet, but it’s surprising how easy it is, letting him show me what to do. He’s moving me gently around the floor, letting me rely on him and —fuck, I’ve known Cole since I was a boy and this is the first timeI’m dancing with him. I’m picturing him across the room, meeting my gaze while I stared over Hannah’s shoulder at prom, and there’s something welling up inside me as I think about how far we’ve come.
And he must be feeling it too, because he pulls me closer, no longer paying attention to the beat. We’re swaying in the middle of the floor, and my arms are around his neck, and he’s holding me tight, his eyes heavy-lidded as he looks down at me. And somewhere, teenage Ezra is hugging himself, because we’re in the middle of a crowded room, and I can see Dad at his table with my aunts and uncles, my whole family making their way to the dance floor, and all of them are smiling. And Cole is a dream, the dream I’ve always wanted. And so I pull him down and kiss him, and I don’t care if the room is crowded or if we’re making a scene or if anyone is going to talk about us.
The only thing that matters is him.
And as the last notes play, he wraps me in a tight hug, putting his lips to my ear.
“I amneverletting you go,” he whispers. “Now that I’ve found you — not now, not ever.”
I can definitely say the same.
***
“And so, to Bree I just want to say — Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being the little sister Inever knew how much I needed. Thank you for being the force of nature that you are, and challenging me every single day. And Seth — just do what she says, man. That’s the best advice I can give you.”
Cole lifts his glass as the crowd chuckles. “To Bree and Seth!”
“To Bree and Seth!” the guests echo, and they all drink from their glasses. Cole looks over at me and winks, and then offers me the microphone.
