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I laugh. “I’d hope so.”
He pulls his shirt over his head. “Well, I do. I know things are probably moving way too fast but let me take you to dinner this Friday.”
I nod. “On one condition.” I grab the gold crown from on top of his bookshelf.
“Anything.”
“Why do you still have this thing?” I hold up the crown. Is he really that sentimental over becoming prom king? I know it’s a big deal in high school, but come on, high school is over.
He places both hands on his hips and blows out a deep breath. “Sit with me?” he asks, taking a seat on the couch.
I plop down next to him, and he wraps an arm around me. “Okay.”
“When I left for prom, my mother told me to make sure my hair looked just right because she knew I’d win prom king.” He laughs lightly to himself, most likely reliving the memory.“When I came home from prom, she was so proud that I had won. She said I was the most handsome guy in that school.”
I can believe that. “Aw, how sweet.”
He takes the crown from my hands, twisting it in his fingers. “She put it up on the shelf, and I was so embarrassed by it all. I didn’t care that I had won. I never even really wanted to go to prom, but my mother said I’d regret it if I didn’t go. So, I asked my girlfriend at the time, and away we went. My mother took so many pictures. She was so happy.”
“I bet she was.”
“She died the next day.”
My heart bottoms out in my chest. “Oh, Harrison, I’m so sorry.” I can’t even imagine what he must have gone through back then.
“She went to the grocery store after putting my crown on the shelf. On her way home, she was in a car accident. T-boned by a big truck, and she died on the scene.”
I cover my mouth with my hand. “I’m sorry, Harrison.” The anguish radiating from him becomes palpable, filling the air with an unspoken sorrow.
“I keep this crown with me because it reminds me of her. It’s silly, I know.”
I shake my head. “It’s not silly at all.”
“Well, now both my parents are gone, and I have nobody left in this world.”
My heart shatters at his words. “You have me,” I say, not even thinking about it. Because he does have me. Even if nothing romantic comes out of this whole thing, he’ll always have me byhis side.
He smiles at me, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Do you mean that?”
I nod. “I do mean it. I know things are moving quickly between us, but I want you to know I’m always here as a friend.”
He glances down at the crown in his hands. “I don’t want to be friends with you, February.”
The sentiment makes my breath catch. “I don’t want to be friends either.” I want so much more with him. Yet, the haunting fear nestled within my chest threatens to overpower, causing a pain so profound that it threatens to bend me in two.
“Can I take you out on a real date?” he asks me, standing from the couch and setting the crown back on the shelf.
I respond with a nod, rising in tandem with him, my heart echoing a resounding, “Yes.”
Perched on the edge of my bed, Lennon inquires with a playful gleam in her eyes, “What are you going to wear?”
I grab a blue dress from the closet and hold it up in front of the full-length mirror in my room, seeking Lennon’s approval. “What about this?”
“I like that one. It goes good with your eyes.”
I toss it on the bed. “Or this one?” I grab a long red dress.
Lennon shakes her head. “That’s a bit too dressy. I like the blue one.”
