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“No, no. No arguing.” Mrs. Shields pressed a finger against her lips, making Juliet laugh.
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Oh! Wow. Okay.”
Mrs. Shields shrugged. “Might as well live a little and be spontaneous, right?”
Juliet laughed. “I guess so.”
We left Mrs. Shields to finish packing for her trip. At the end of the driveway, Juliet stopped. A tentative smile trembled over her lips. “I’ll have the place to myself. Think you’ll find time to keep me company?”
My pulse charged. Dozens of images of all the things we could do alone together flooded my overheated brain. Privacy. No worries about teachers walking in on us or other people around.
Juliet must have mistaken my silence for a no.
“I’m sorry.” She dropped her gaze to the pavement. “That was kind of forward. I didn’t mean—”
“Juliet, of course I want to be alone with you.” I flicked a glance toward the house. “I want it more than anything. You know that.”
She raised her head, a relieved expression replacing her uncertain one.
The shitty reality of my impossible situation obliterated the moment. “My schedule is so tight. The job’s given me a small taste of freedom. I’m scared to do anything that jeopardizes it.”
A guilty blush spread over her cheeks. “That was selfish. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t apologize, butterfly.” I wrapped my arms around her and brushed my lips over her forehead. “I’ll figure out a way.”
Juliet
Was it wrong that the first thing I thought about was that house-sitting would give us an opportunity to be alone together? I was dying to have him all to myself. Total privacy. Where no teachers would burst in on us. No angry uncles would show up. Nothing but the two of us.
That’s the only excuse I had for my selfish question.
I knew Roman cared about me. He showed me every day. But sometimes I couldn’t help wanting extra reassurance that he was as into our relationship as I was.
We continued the walk to my house at a snail’s pace. He needed to catch the bus to get to his job. I was about to remind him when he stopped.
“There’s a chance our curfew will be extended for prom,” he said. “I was going to talk to you about it.”
A thrill went through me. He was thinking of ways for us to be together.
Prom would be expensive. For both of us. I knew he’d been working hard and saving money. I hated to have him blow it on one night of frivolous high school stuff. Not when he was trying to save for his future.
“Let’s skip prom,” I suggested.
He stared at me, a slight frown crinkling his brow. “You don’t want to skip prom. Vienna said you already have a dress and everything.”
Sure, before I met Roman, prom seemed like the height of my high school existence. Now, when our time together was so precious and rare, the last thing I wanted to do was waste it on bad food, loud music, and the people I saw every day in school.
I tugged on his hand, drawing him closer. “Let’s have our own, private prom. You and me.”
He swallowed hard and searched my face. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to be mad at me later because you missed it.”
“I think I’ll be more upset if I waste the night with our classmates, when I could be alone with you.”
A confident smile curved his lips. “I can’t disagree with that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Roman
Prom—an event I never thought I’d attend.
Well, technically, I wasn’t attending prom.
Juliet and I had formulated our plan. I’d be dropped off with the other four kids from the house who were going, but then I’d slip away and meet Juliet at Mrs. Shields’ where she was still house-sitting.
The plan cost me a prom ticket and a tuxedo rental. Worth every penny.
“Slumming it with us tonight, Roman?” Squire sneered as I sat in the first seat in the van.
“Roman’s been so busy lately,” Janet added. “I’m surprised he can leave the house for some fun.”
Both of them still blamed me for Evie’s banishment. As usual, I ignored their taunts.
“You finally gonna smash that hot chick with the big tits?” Squire asked. “She looked hot as fuck in that bikini on the field trip.”
“Fuck off,” I snarled. The urge to yank out his tongue and tie it around his neck burned hot. I blew out a breath and counted to ten. I had too much to lose if I got into a fight. I’d worked too hard, planned tonight down to the second. I couldn’t afford to get into trouble.
“She’s not that hot,” Janet simpered. “She’s kinda short and chunky.”
I stared down at my hands—Juliet’s curves fit in them perfectly. Every inch of her was flawless. That’s why girls like Janet tried to tear her down all the time.
At the school, Mike stepped out of the van with us and patted me on the shoulder. “Have fun. You deserve it. You’ve been working hard.” He squinted at me. “Just not too much fun.”
