AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I took April’s hand and lifted it so she’d spin. As she did, I drank in every last drop of her. “Beautiful.”
She shook her head slightly. “If you keep complimenting me, my head won’t fit through the door.”
“Then we should get you inside so I can compliment you more,” I teased. “Because I am the luckiest guy here tonight.”
And I meant it. Every last word.
Forty-Three
April
“I got this for you,”Diego said. His eyes were honey in the light of the setting sun, his smile just as sweet as he held out a stunning corsage.
“Diego, it’s beautiful,” I breathed, staring at the arrangement. I’d been to a school dance or two, but no one had ever gotten me flowers. No one had ever made me feel as pretty as Diego had.
“Can I put it on you?” he asked.
Nodding, I extended my hand. He slipped the stretchy band over my wrist, and I stared at the flowers, the accents that perfectly matched my dress. This must be what girls feel like with their engagement rings. All giddy and just wanting to stare at it. “I love it. Thank you.”
He bent, easily kissing me, and then pulled back. “You’re welcome.”
I could have stood in front of the school for hours, just kissing him, but he put his arm around me and walked with me toward the stairs. We took them slowly since I had to be careful in my heels, and then continued down the hallway.
The entire school had been decked out for homecoming, from blue and white balloon arches to giant hand-painted signs. But nothing had been transformed quite like the gym.
The hardwood floors were covered with a dark blue vinyl, and white gossamer streamed from the ceiling, giving the place a dreamy effect. A few tables sat off to one side of the gym and chairs lined the other. All the lighting had been dimmed, replaced only by a disco ball in the center of the dance floor and strobe lights flashing from the DJ stand.
“Do all dances here look this amazing?” I asked Diego.
He leaned closer, speaking in my ear so I could hear him above the music. “Just wait until you see prom.”
I loved the insinuation in his voice—that we’d be going to prom together. Never before had I been so confident in future plans, but I knew, as long as I went to this school, I’d want Diego to be my date. Just so I could see him smiling at me the way he had as I’d approached him from the parking lot moments ago.
A slow song began playing over the speakers, and Diego said, “Can I have this dance?”
And for a moment, I wasn’t a girl who knew how to leave more than how to stay. I was Diego’s girlfriend, a princess ready to be swept into his arms. So I nodded and held on to the moment for as long as I possibly could.
He twirled me again, like he had in front of the school, but this time, he spun me back to his chest. He slid my hand to his shoulder, and I held on to his other hand, letting him lead the way as we slowly swayed to the music.
Diego spoke against my ear. “You know what’s amazing?”
“What?” I asked, closing my eyes so I could savor this moment.
“The fact that you’ve been all over the world, lived in so many different states, and now, in this moment, you’re here with me. You could have been anywhere else.”
He was right.
So many pieces of my life had fallen apart when my dad got injured. And those pieces could have taken us anywhere. I shuddered to think what would have happened to us if Mom hadn’t gotten her business off the ground, giving us the capability to live here and give Dad the care he deserved. And no matter how much I tried not to get attached to people or places... I was glad we’d landed here.
Emerson felt like home, more than any other place had.
I’d always thought the Kansas state motto was inspiring.To the stars through difficulty. I used to think it meant to keep pushing forward, no matter what obstacles stood in your way. Now I knew it meant something else.
It meant that no matter what difficulty lay in your past, something beautiful, something good, could always come out of it.
Diego and Sadie... they were my stars, lighting my sky no matter how difficult life felt.
“I’m glad I’m here with you,” I said to Diego, my throat feeling thick with emotion
