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I’m not sure if it’s the dairy from the ice cream or my nerves of knowing Dalton is in there somewhere that causes my stomach to turn in a not-so-fun way as we exit Ashley’s car.
Susie wraps her arm through mine as she guides me to the barn. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. He likes you. This is a good thing.”
“It’s not him I’m afraid of … it’s my dad,” I respond.
“Well, your dad isn’t here, and there’s no way your brother would ever be caught dead here, so you’re good to go for the night. Try not to worry and try to actually have some fun.”
I inhale and take a deep breath just before we enter the barn.
The lights are dimmed, so it takes a moment for my eyes to focus as I see everyone around us.
Ashley grabs my other hand and makes a beeline for the couches in the back, knowing that’s exactly where Marcus will be. I’m not sure whether to be embarrassed that she’s dragging me there or excited because I know Dalton will be there too. Right now, I’m a little bit of both, which causes my stomach to tie in even more knots.
When we get there, my eyes instantly lock on Dalton, who’s sitting there, looking out into the crowd. His eyes soften, and a small grin graces his gorgeous face, almost like he was searching for me and now that he’s found me, he can stop his quest.
He mouths,Hi.
I mouth,Hi, back as I stand on the far end of the couches.
He doesn’t motion for me to come join him, and I must say it’s a bit of a relief that he doesn’t.
We haven’t spoken about keeping us a secret for now, and I’m glad he realizes that we need to. If there’s one thing any small town loves, it’s gossip, and it spreads through our school like wildfire. Everyone knows our families hate each other, so it would be top news if they found out there was something going on between us.
Oh God, not if—whenthey find out.
My stomach turns some more, and I close my eyes, willing myself to not feel the way I do for him. When I open my eyes, all I see is him with a worried expression covering his beautiful face.
I try to ignore the battle in my head as I engage in meaningless conversation with my fellow classmatesabout the game and homecoming, which is still a month away.
Every once in a while, I’ll sneak a peek toward Dalton, who is still facing me and hasn’t moved an inch since I got here.
“Are you going to the dance?” Lisa, a girl in my math class, asks.
I shrug. “Not sure yet.”
“How about all of us go as a group?” Ashley speaks up, grabbing Marcus so he knows she means him too. “It will be fun, and then no one has to worry about not having dates.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I know she’s saying this for me since there’s no way in hell I could go with Dalton.
“That’d be cool.” Marcus nods his approval.
“Yeah, you could get Ben and Dalton and some other guys on the team to go, too, right?” Ashley asks.
“For sure.”
“You guys in?” Ashley asks the rest of our little circle.
They all nod, and I smile at Ashley, mouthing,Thank you.
She blows me a kiss just as my phone dings in my pocket. I grab it, and when I see Dalton’s name across my screen, I realize, first, I need to change his name to something else so people don’t see, and, second, that when I look up, he’s not sitting there anymore.
I swipe the phone to read what he sent.
Come outside to where we sat last time you were here.
I type a quick:
OK.
