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Cassie nods. “Not surprised. You and Caleb are his favorites.”
“I guess.”
“Hey, Lennon,” Shannon calls, from a few spots down the table.
I glance at her. “Yeah?”
“Do you know who Caleb is taking to prom?”
My stomach sinks, but I steel my expression. “No. I don’t know.”
“You know, some people thought he might ask you, afterthe kiss.”
I pick at my sandwich. “It was just a dare.”
“But you guys are friendly now, right?”
I glance at Caleb’s back. Shannon’s nonchalance makes me feel a little better, actually. It’ll be easier if no one even suspects anything going on between me and Caleb. “No. Not really.” Worried I’m giving too much away, I add, “Maybe he hasn’t decided yet. Prom isn’t until…” I grasp for a date, and can’t come up with one, earning me an eye roll from Cassie.
“It’s on Friday, Lennon. You’d better be at my house by four.”
“I wasn’t planning to go,” I say.
“You should come, Lennon,” Shannon says. Eliza and Tina chime in with their agreement.
“I don’t have anything to wear.” My wardrobe is all fleece and denim. The only dress I own is the one I wore to Caleb’s grandfather’s funeral.
Cassie waves my words away. “No need. I have tons of dresses that you can wear. I bought three dresses for prom last year that ended up being too long.”
Sometimes I forget how wealthy Cassie, and almost everyone else I attend school with, is. The only person I’m always aware of it around is Caleb. He’s the starkest example, and also the person I most wish was on more equal footing with me. It would be a lot easier to believe what he told me on the camping trip if there wasn’t such a glaring inequity between us.
Not only with money. Opportunities. Possibilities.
“Okay, I’ll go. Thanks,” I tell Cassie. She bounces in her seat.
And just like that, I’m going to prom.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
LENNON
Iwave goodbye to Gramps, then knock on Cassie’s front door. He insisted on driving me over to her house, claiming he needs the truck later.
Oftentimes, that’s how Gramps and I communicate. He pretends to have an appointment later instead of saying he wants to drop me off for senior prom. I stop setting a third spot at the kitchen table, instead of telling him Caleb and I ended our…whatever we were.
“Don’t forget to take photos!” Gramps calls through the rolled-down passenger window as he backs the truck up.
“I won’t! You’ve reminded me twenty times!” I call back.
The front door opens and Cassie appears in the doorway. Her hair is in curlers and she’s wearing a pink, shiny robe.
“You actually showed up!” she teases.
I roll my eyes before stepping inside. Truthfully, part of me is excited for tonight.
The foyer is quiet and empty when I step inside. No sign of Cassie’s parents or brothers.
I follow Cassie up the stairs and into her colorless room. Except it’s not entirely white the way it was last time I was here. There’s a rainbow of colored fabric flung across her bedspread.
