The gold dress was beautiful,and it screamed Ducane.
“Damn, that dress is beautiful. Skye, it’s BCBG. He’s got taste. I’ll give him that.”
Fee grew up much like Ducane, born to parents with means and living to rebel against it, at least for a little while. She was always clear that she’d eventually take over her family’s finance business. She knew exactly what things cost and what it meant when someone spent intentionally rather than just spent.
I looked over at the clock. A little over an hour to get ready. Fee and I kicked into high gear. I showered, did my hair while she handled my makeup, both of us moving around each otherwithout a single collision, a system built from years of getting ready in the same tight bathroom.
Ducane and I were attached at the hip, so we had gone out plenty of times: parties, games, late lunches at The Diner. But a fancy dinner was a first, and some silly, giddy part of me wanted him to see me walk out that door and forget how to finish his sentence.
He knocked at seven on the dot.
I sprayed my Juicy Couture perfume, checked the mirror one last time, and met him at the door. My smile was so wide that it hurt my cheeks.
I watched him open his mouth, close it, and start over.
“You look—” He shook his head and laughed at himself. “Exquisite, Spot.”
“And you look so handsome.” I wiped his shoulders off. “I love you in a suit.”
He smiled and led me to the car. We made small talk until we pulled up to Glorify, a new restaurant that had been the talk of Coupeville for two months.
Inside, the dining room glowed with warm candlelight. The smell of fresh bread and garlic hit me before we even reached the hostess stand.
The host led us to a quiet corner table. Before we’d even opened our menus, champagne was being poured. I tried to do the math on what this night was costing him and stopped myself because he would hate that I was doing it.
Our waiter made it to the table, and we ordered. I’d gone with the salmon for the night. Normally, he ordered for both of us, but tonight I wanted to be the one deciding what I wanted. I’d made the Dean’s List, and that may not have been a big deal to anyone else, but it was for me. After losing my parents, I'd had a hard couple of years. I’d bounced around, dealt with side-eyes,missed my parents and my sister like crazy, then moved here with no friends and no real direction.
I’d been becoming someone new all semester without giving myself credit for it, and tonight, ordering my own dinner, I finally acknowledged her.
“Look at you,” he said, amused and a little thrown. “Ordering for yourself and everything.”
“It could be the dress, or you. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Anyway, what’s the occasion?”
“You.” He set his menu down. “Congratulations on the Dean’s List. I wanted to do something nice. You deserve nice things.” He turned his glass slowly. “You make it easy for me to be myself. You push me in the right direction. I don’t think you even know you’re doing it.” He paused. “I won Tolliver’s appeal today. The administration is pissed, but I feel good about it.”
“Sugar Cane.” I reached across the table. “That is so special. You are special. I know the pressure they put on you, but it’s okay to be good at something because you believe in it. It’s okay to look out for people. It’s okay to lead with love.”
He stared at our hands together on the table, working out whether he believed that to be true.
“I can honestly say I was never raised with that mindset.”
“I know.” I squeezed his hand. “That’s why I’m here.”
I had gotten to know Ducane, even the things he hadn’t said out loud. His parents loved him. I believed most parents did. But some only loved you when you could be managed. When they could play puppet master. Ducane loved law. There was no denying it. But he loved people too. He was humble. Kind. He wasn’t a pushover, but he carried the weight of their expectations like it was his job, and nobody had ever told him he could put it down.
I saw that. I had seen it for a while.
“We could always run away, you know. Assume new identities. Witness protection type stuff.”
I snickered. “You couldn’t leave it. The law. Your family. I couldn’t even ask that of you.”
“I would for you, Skye.” He held my eyes. “I love you.”
I felt a brick settle in my throat.
No one outside of family had ever said those words to me. And whatever that was with Zay in high school did not count. This did. This meant something.
“I love you too,” I said. “Obviously. I’ve never been in love before.”
