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“Sure, I’ll take a picture, but only if you and Dad will take one with me?”
Dad laughed. “I guess this outfit is going down in history.”
Mom nodded, reaching for his hand. “How could we forget what a great dad you are?”
I spotted Dee and called her over, and we made our way through the crowd. At the boat, the photographer posed us. Dee and me in the middle and our parents on either side.
The flash went off, freezing this moment, our love, forever.
A deep voice came over the speaker system, saying, “I’m DJ Dance, and I’m here to get this party started!”
Cheering sounded all around us, and we clapped along.
“Let’s start this prom off right with a good old-fashioned slow dance,” DJ Dance said.
Everyone clapped as a country song began playing over the speakers. Dad held his cowboy hat to his chest, asking Mom to dance in a corny southern accent. Dee and I giggled, but as soon as she said yes, he spun her away to the slowly growing throng of couples.
“They’re so cute,” Dee said.
“Agreed,” I replied. “And since neither of us has a date... Will you be my first dance?”
Dee glanced over my shoulder, and then I heard Kiyana say, “Actually, I was hoping you would dance with me.”
Twenty-Four
Kiyana
Xi slowly turned toward me.Her mouth formed a question to match her eyes, but no sound came out.
Dee nudged her sister. As if that was all Xi needed to snap out of her surprise, she nodded, her throat moving as she swallowed. “I’ll dance with you.”
I extended my hand and watched as her fingers landed in mine, the perfect match, perfect contrast to my own.
We walked a few steps closer to the center of the gym where other couples of every gender, age, and color were dancing together. It felt like a huge win, but I wasn’t so sure whether I should be celebrating yet. Xi had seemed so hurt earlier, and her text had brought me to tears before coming in here.
“Hey,” she said, a small smile on her lips.
The relief that simple word brought me made me smile. “Hey.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Can I ask the obvious question?”
I nodded, still feeling breathless from all the events of the day.
“How did you get here?”
“I drove.”
She laughed, the sound pure music to my ears. “Really,” she said. “Does anyone know you came?”
“After you left the tumbling gym, I went home, frustrated about all I was missing out on. I loved my high school experience. Stefon was the best fake boyfriend, and I had a great time on the cheerleading squad. But today showed me that I want more. And I could only think of one way to do that.”
Xi’s smile touched every corner of her face. It was just as intoxicating as her kiss had been. “And your parents were okay with it?”
Tears stung my eyes at the memory of my parents. How supportive they’d been. “They said they love me no matter what and even said they would stand up to my grandparents for me.” I removed my hand from her shoulder to wipe my eyes before my makeup could be ruined. “I have to thank Stefon. Our moms spoke earlier today, and I think him taking the step first made it easier for me.”
She let go of my hand and put her arms around me for too short of a hug, our dance forgotten altogether. “Kiyana, I’m so happy for you!”
When she stepped back, I kept my arms linked around her neck so we could dance a little closer. I liked looking at her this close up. Her eyes were the prettiest almond shape, and her eyebrows were sharp and strong, the perfect contrast to her full, soft lips.
