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In my head, I’d worked out a fantasy scenario where I walked down the stairs, just like in the movies, and Noble, who would be there with my brothers like he’d been for the past two years, would take one look at me and realize I was the one he loved.

We’d go to the dance with our dates, because that was the polite thing to do, but we’d stare at each other the entire night. It would be the first night of a lifelong romance. We’d date all through high school, get married on my parents’ ranch, climb the professional rodeo ranks, and live happily ever after.

But things didn’t work out like that.

Noble didn’t show up at the house for pictures with my brothers. His date, a girl named Kennedy, had made all the arrangements with her friend group, so when I walked down the stairs, the only people waiting for me at the bottom were Bo, my parents, and Rowena.

“You look weird,” Rowena said. “Are you wearing makeup?”

My mom steered her out of the room, Bo handed me a corsage in a plastic container, we posed for a couple of photos, and then we left with very little fanfare. We met Mia and her date for dinner, then made our way to the high school gym for the dance. About ten minutes in, Bo disappeared, and I sat down on the bleachers, waiting for him to come back.

He never did.

My first high school dance, and I didn’t have anyone to dance with.

Sitting on the sidelines gave me plenty of time to work out exactly what I was going to do to Bo at school on Monday. A well-placed fist to his midsection maybe. Or a textbook to his fat head, time permitting. I’d worked out lots of scenarios.

I watched my brothers and their dates show up about an hour into the dance, all of them treated like high school royalty because they were popular and pretty. Then I saw Noble, and I felt even more like a loser.

He was wearing black dress pants and a white button-down with a green tie that matched Kennedy’s dress. They looked perfect.

They looked perfect and I looked stupid and I just wanted to go home.

Mia checked on me a few times, but I promised her I was fine—no sense in her having a bad time just because I was. West and Hudson both spotted me sitting there, and I lied and said my date was in the bathroom, then got up and moved to a different set of bleachers. The last thing I needed was for one of them to get all overprotective.

If I’d had a driver’s license, I would’ve been out of there so fast. I mean, heck, my dad let me drive his truck on the ranch all the time, I could probably make it home no problem.

After a few songs, Noble left his date with her friends and walked over to the punch table. I tracked his movements like a stalker, but when he glanced over at me, I pretended I was content watching everyone dance, fixing my face in a totally neutral expression.

He crossed the gym and stood in front of me holding two cups of punch. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Where’s your date?”

I shrugged.

Noble frowned. “He ditched you?”

“I guess?”

“What a jerk,” he said. “Get up.”

“I’m fine here.” I felt like crying. I’m such a loser.

“Whatever. You’re coming with me,” he said.

“Oh, right, Noble. You, me, and your date. Sounds like a great time.”

He sat down beside me. “Kennedy and I are friends. She only asked me to take her to make her ex-boyfriend jealous.”

I looked at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” He nodded at a group of football players in a huddle around the punch bowl. I made a mental note not to drink it. “That guy in the middle with the zits and the bolo tie.”

I laughed. “She can do so much better.”

“She’s nice. And she won’t care if you come hang out with us,” he said. “It’s a big group.”