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It was a snub and Elsie felt its sting. Still, she smiled, shrugged, and strolled over toward the group he’d pointed at. She passed up the freshmen and walked over to a tall, rebellious-looking guy standing behind them. He had long, shaggy hair, gauges in his earlobes, and a beat-up T-shirt. She not only asked him to dance, she danced in a way to show Kye that math wasn’t the only thing she excelled at. Every move, every twist of her hips and flip of her hair was for Kye.I’m not a little girl anymore,she thought.I’m done waiting on the stairs.
Her dance partner said his name was Bono—like the singer. She didn’t know who that was. He made small talk, which she mostly ignored. She was a dancer on a stage and this was a performance. When the song ended, Bono asked her to dance again. She said yes because it saved her the trouble of having to find a new guy to dance with. A slow song played, and she didn’t even mind Bono’s hand on her hips because every time she glanced over at Kye, he was watching with an ever-present frown of disapproval.
It made Elsie feel powerful. For so long, she had sat in the crowd watching him. Finally, their positions were reversed.
When the song ended, Bono took a step back from her. His long bangs nearly covered his eyes. “It’s hot in here. Do you want to go outside?”
Her gaze cut back over to Kye. He was still watching her, still frowning. Why shouldn’t he see her go outside with one of the guys he’d suggested? If it caused him a pang of regret for blowing her off, good. He deserved it. She smiled at Bono. “Sure.”
Bono smiled too. She hadn’t seen anything sinister in his smile. Not then. He made his way toward the door, and she threaded through the crowd after him, triumphant.
When they walked outside into the darkness of the night, her triumphant feelings drained away. She was no longer making a point to Kye; she was standing outside with a guy she had no interest in. She looked him over again. Now that they were away from the dance crowd, his rebellious-looking hair just seemed pointlessly long. The huge holes in his ears were an obvious cry for attention. His smile was too broad, his gaze too intense.
The cars in the parking lot sat in rows, their darkened headlights making them look like they were all part of the same dull stupor. A lamp in the distance cast off a feeble circle of light.
How long did Elsie have to stay outside before she could politely say she wanted to go back inside? She fiddled with her class ring, twisting it around her finger.
Bono stepped toward her. “Are you thirsty? I know a place we can get some beer.” He took hold of her hand and pulled her toward the parking lot.
She dropped his hand and gave him an apologetic shrug. “I’ll get in trouble if I go anywhere.” She drifted back toward the door they’d come from.
Bono let out a sound that was half grunt and half laugh. “No one saw us come outside. We’ll be back before the dance is over.”
No one had seen them come outside? She’d thought Kye was watching them. His eyes had been on her throughout the dance, but maybe he’d stopped looking at her when the song ended. The thought made her feel cross. Had she left with Bono for nothing?
“That’s okay,” Elsie said. “I only came out here because I was hot.”
Bono waggled his eyebrows at her. “You certainly are.”
Lame. It was such an old joke she couldn’t believe he’d said it. If he asked her for her phone number, she wouldn’t give him her real one. Maybe she would give him a list of prime numbers or turn her answer into an equation. If he was smart, he’d figure it out, and if he wasn’t, then he could just figure that she didn’t want him to call her.
Bono took hold of her hand again. “Hey, I want to show you something in my car. It’s right over there.” He pointed to a black car a couple of rows back and began towing her in that direction.
“What is it?” She reluctantly let him lead her across the asphalt. She didn’t care about anything he had in his car. Then again the car was in plain sight. It wasn’t as though he’d suggested they go into a darkened alley.
“So what does L. C. stand for?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“L. C.?” she repeated.
“Your name. What do the L and the C stand for?”
“It’s not L. C.” They were close enough to his car now that she didn’t bother protesting that she didn’t want to go there. It was better to see whatever he wanted to show her and then go back inside. “It’s E-L-S-I-E.”
“Oh,” he said, understanding. “I’ve never heard of that name before. It sorta sounds like a question. L, see?”
This from a guy whose name was Bono? She never should’ve said yes about coming outside in the first place. Making Kye jealous had been a stupid plan to begin with. He was never going to be jealous, and she ought to realize that by now.
They arrived at Bono’s car. He took out his keychain and pushed the unlock button. He opened the door and waited for her to get in.
She didn’t. “What did you want to show me?”
He pulled her closer and lowered his voice in an attempt to sound alluring. “I want to show you how my seats recline.”
Beyond lame. She wasn’t even going to give him a fake phone number. She jerked her hand away from his. “I’m going back inside.”
She turned, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to face him. “We’ll go back inside in a few minutes.”
She laughed even though her stomach clenched in fear. If she treated this like a joke, he would let her go. Nothing bad would happen. She tried to pull her wrist away from him. “I think I’ve already seen enough reclining seats.” It was the wrong thing to say. It made her sound like she’d spent a lot of time making out with guys in their cars.
