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His face falls slightly, and he turns to look at her.
What is happening between us? Why is he going with her if he doesn’t want to?
Maybe because you pushed him away and then when you finally came back, told him to go with her.
He leans over and kisses my cheek. “You look absolutely beautiful.” Then he goes to greet Caity while my heart slams in my chest.
Am I ready for this?
“Okay?” Joel asks.
I spin back to face him. “Yep. I’m great. We’re gonna have a good night, Joelskies.”
He throws his arm around my shoulders. “Yes, we are. We are the OG’s after all.” He extends his fist and I smile as I bump it back.
The second we walk into the school, I’m not into it. It’s crowded, the lighting is low. It’s giving me all the wrong vibes, and my skin starts to crawl.
“Hey,” Joel’s voice cuts through. “I’m right here. You’re not shaking me tonight.”
“Even if I want to?” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
He shakes his head. “You’ll have to give me two passwords for that. Two-factor authentication.”
“You’re such a dork.”
“But ya love me.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m stuck with you whether I do or not.”
“Come on,” he says, leading me over to a table with snacks and punch. Why is punch some weird dance staple? It’s so easy to spike. In fact, this is already spiked, but for once, I’m welcoming the warmth it’s giving.
Trevor, ever the instigator, comes over and drags Joel, Mackie, Miles, and me onto the floor, and I try to forget the last time I danced with Trevor. Eventually, Sarah and Ian join us and I relax into dancing.
Then I feel what I can only describe as apresence. Really, it feels like there’s an electric charge in the air. Except it’s something only I can feel. Aaron wraps an arm around my waist and joins us. And Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the freaking camel—I feel like I’m on fire. I’m burning to ash right here on this dance floor.
I don’t think I can just be friends with him.
But a moment later, Caity joins us, and he pulls his arm away from me. He doesn’t wrap it around her, but it doesn’t matter. There’s a void now where his touch was.
The music switches to a slow song, and I look away from Aaron. I don’t need to see him wrap his perfectly toned arms around Caity.
Fucking hell, I’m a mess.
I wish I had a time machine.
If I did, I’d go back to the night of that stupid party. I’d walk off the dance floor with him. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone through all the hell I went through, and I’d be the one in his arms right now.
My internal pity party is interrupted by Joel. He can sense how I’m feeling. Or I’m very bad at hiding it.
“Come on,” he says. “Let’s make the best of this.” He gives me a sweet smile, and I roll my eyes a little, but take his hand and let him pull me into his arms.
Joel’s actually a very good slow dancer. He doesn’t wiggle in one spot on the floor and call it good. He moves around and actually leads. It’s head and shoulders above the capabilities of most teenage boys.
After our sweet slow dance, Sarah and Mackie kidnap me for snacks and some girl talk, which starts with Sarah telling us about her night with Ian.
“He’s being really sweet. He’s so nice to be around, and I can tell he likes me,” she says. Even though she started excited, she sounds a bit wistful now. “But I don’t think he’s hearing me when I say I don’t want more. Dating is fun. Butdating?Not now. I want to have a fun senior year, not to be tied down.”
Hmmm. Where have I heard that before? I glance over at Joel, who is chatting with some of his jock buddies. He and Sarah are two peas in a pod sometimes. I wonder if Sarah will ever realize that.
