We looked at so many dresses, but this was the one, and I knew the moment I stepped out of the changing room and saw the look in Hayden’s eyes. There was something there in that moment I knew this was the one.
When I reach the bottom, Hayden turns to face me when his mom smiles and looks at me.
He looks... devastating. A black suit tailored to his body like it has been sewn just for him. It probably was. His dark hair falling slightly over his brow, and those eyes, the way he’s looking at me makes me feel so hot at the minute.
“Holy shit,” he whispers, then steps closer, holding a small corsage with a white flower and a hint of gold.
“For your wrist,” he murmurs. He slips it on, his fingers brushing my skin and I swore my knees go weak. “You look... Olivia, there are no words. I think you just broke language.”
I laugh, cheeks warm. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious. Everyone’s going to be jealous of me tonight.”
“You two look so perfect together.” I turn to my mom as she wipes a tear away, and I smile at her. There was a part of me that thought maybe I was going to lose her before she got to see any of these events with me. So, her being here now is amazing.
“They look good together,” Hayden’s mom says.
I glance away, but the blush on my cheeks is not going away, and everyone sees it. His hand hovers at my waist as we pose for photos, his mom fussing over us with her camera. I catch him staring more than once, and each time, I look away, my heart racing.
The man I want, doesn't want me, and it’s killing me not to just try my luck and see what happens.
Prom is like nothing I expected it to be. This is how the rich do it, twinkle lights strung above a yacht-sized dance floor, a live band that plays actual romantic jazz, and that changes after a while with a DJ, and food I can’t even pronounce. But none of it matters. Not when Hayden hasn’t left my side once, since we walked into this beautiful hotel.
His hand rests on the small of my back every time we walk, and it sends goosebumps rippling up my spine. I’ve read about it in books, how that one touch can set everything on fire. I never thought I’d feel it, but every time he does it, I feel like I only belong to him, and no one else in the world matters to me.
We dance, he twirls me, laughs with me, and holds me close when the music slows. His arms curled around me just right, as if my body has always been meant for him.
When the slow song starts, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asks, his voice warm in my ear.
“Nothing. My mom’s been saying all day how crazy it is that we’re not together.”
I stop when he starts laughing too. “Mine said the same thing.”
We both fall quiet, then his hand slides further around my back, pulling me closer.
“Olivia...” he starts, “I never wanted to ruin what we have. You’re my best friend. But I can’t lie, I’ve thought about us maybe being together for two years now. Maybe longer, I don’t know.”
I look up into his eyes, heart pounding. “I’ve been thinking about you like that too.”
His lips curve into the sexy smile I love seeing on him. “Yeah?”
I nod. “Yeah, but like you I was scared it would ruin things between us.”
“Olivia Banks,” he says, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. He looks around, then pulls me closer to him. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
He grins like a little kid who’s just won the last sweet on the table.
He leans in closer to me, and in this moment the world around me disappears. The moment his lips touch mine softly at first. A brush. A question, and I answer with everything I have inside me. My arms curl around his neck as his hands find my waist, anchoring me to a world I never want to leave.
His lips move with mine like they’ve been made to know me. I can feel his breath, taste the faint sweetness of punch and the warmth of something deeper. Every moment I have dreamed about this, isn’t even close to how perfect I feel.
How perfect this feels.
When we pull apart, my chest heaves softly, his forehead resting against mine, and I can’t hide the smile.
