Chapter Fifteen
Then
Piper swore every time Wyatt passed her in the halls of Cedar Falls High, his shoulders had broadened, his muscles grown more
prominent and his face more chiseled. Preferring solitude, he used his intimidating presence to discourage small talk with
his classmates. A rotation of black T-shirts and a permanent scowl added to the effect. Wyatt was there to graduate. Period.
He wasn’t interested in making new friends or participating in school activities.
That included Senior Prom.
Piper wasted hours in homeroom imagining Wyatt prom-posing to her in the cafeteria or clubhouse. Not that she had a crush
on Wyatt—they were great friends, that’s it—but sometimes, when she lay in bed at night, she could still feel the soft weight
of his fingers laced in hers, his warm breath tickling her temple. It wasn’t hard to imagine him twirling her on the dance
floor or how good his lips might feel on hers if they sparked the same electricity as holding his hand.
But it was a silly fantasy. Especially after Wyatt confirmed he would rather shove toothpicks under his nails than go to a
school dance, despite the Lonely Onlys’ best attempts to talk him into it. So Piper accepted the invitation of her friendly
chemistry lab partner, Ryan Chen, and looked forward to the legendary high school ritual even if Wyatt was sitting it out.
Bucking the traditional rules, Allie had invited class clown Parker, who’d moved up the high school social ladder since getting his braces off a few months earlier. Not fully out of the closet yet, Ethan asked Parker’s twin sister, Penny, who was equally as fun as her brother and understood she might catch Ethan kissing Matt Thompson in the bathroom at some point during the evening.
When Ryan canceled on her the morning of prom, citing a baseball injury, Piper had been minorly devastated. Not because she
had her heart set on dancing with Ryan but because she didn’t want to be the only one in her friend group going without a
date.
This hit home when Piper arrived at Allie’s house for pictures and found everyone coupled up, posing in front of the limo
Ethan’s parents had rented for the night.
Dressed in a jaw-dropping red sequined gown that made her look like a teenage Jessica Rabbit, Allie waved Piper over and squealed,
“You look awesome, Piper. Come get in the pictures!”
Piper hugged Allie and wriggled between the sets of couples in classic prom poses, hoping she looked like she belonged. She’d
opted for a classic ball gown silhouette in a pale frost blue over a form-fitted dress. The silk and tulle had made her feel
like a princess when she’d tried it on at the store, but standing next to her classmates—dressed in bold colors with cuts
that showed off their legs and curves—she felt like a kid playing dress-up on Halloween.
In the row of parent picture takers, her mother caught her attention and smiled wide, gesturing animatedly at her mouth. Piper
forced the corners of her mouth up to appease her mom, hoping the fake smile would calm her nerves.
Mrs. McLaughlin looked up from her camera. “Wait, where’s Wyatt?”
Piper opened her mouth to explain Wyatt’s absence, but Ethan spoke up before she could get a word out. “There he is! Looking sharp in that suit, I might add.”
Wyatt sauntered toward the group looking more than sharp. Piper had never seen him in anything besides a T-shirt and jeans,
and she couldn’t stop staring at how handsome he looked, cleaned up in what she later learned was a suit borrowed from Ethan’s
dad.
Ethan high-fived Wyatt, and Allie catcalled him, making him duck his head in embarrassment.
“Wyatt, go stand by Piper.” Molly pointed, raising her camera back into position.
Wyatt slipped an arm around Piper as everyone turned back toward the cameras. “Surprise,” he whispered into her ear. “I heard
you needed a date.”
Heat crawled down Piper’s neck, flooding her stomach with liquid warmth like a chocolate lava cake cut open. “I don’t know
who talked you into this, but I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered back, pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
He dazzled her with a smile, and for the first time all evening, a thrill of genuine excitement pulsed through her.
When the painfully long photo shoot ended, Wyatt took her aside and pulled a small box from his jacket pocket. “I don’t know
the right protocol for this, but Ethan told me to get you one.”
He opened the lid, revealing a soft white flower corsage.
Piper’s heart did a cartwheel as he slipped the band onto her wrist. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you! I feel bad I have nothing
for you.” She still couldn’t believe that Wyatt was standing in front of her, dressed in a classic black suit, putting a corsage
on her wrist. It was a scene from a movie. A movie she lived in.
“Just promise you won’t let me look stupid dancing, and we’re even.”
Piper beamed. “Wait, did you just agree to dance?”
She bit her lip to keep from smiling like a maniac. Around her, the whirl of cameras captured quintessential prom memories, but she was too enraptured in the moment to pay attention.
Prom was a blur of music, lights, and sweaty high schoolers. Shockingly, Wyatt proved to be a good sport about the whole thing,
even dancing to the electric slide when Allie dragged them out onto the dance floor. Word traveled fast that the hot loner
Wyatt Brooks was at prom and not shy on the dance floor, and before long girls who’d come with a group of friends or a platonic
date lined up for a dance.
At first, Piper had been amused by the unexpected attention Wyatt garnered, but after an hour of watching him indulge every
dance invitation, Piper reached her limit. These girls didn’t even acknowledge Wyatt at school—what made them think they had
any claim to him because he looked good in a suit?
“Save me!” Wyatt mouthed to Piper as Sarah Spencer twerked in front of him.
Two more senior girls not so patiently waiting their turn to dance with him next closed in on him from behind. That was all
the prompting Piper needed to step away from her group of girlfriends to break up the twerking contest happening on top of
her date.
She tapped Sarah on the shoulder. “I hate to interrupt, but this is my favorite song, and Wyatt promised a dance with me if
it came on.”
Sarah pouted as Wyatt extricated himself from their circle like a debonair Houdini. “Sorry, ladies. A promise is a promise.”
He grasped Piper’s hand like it was a life raft in choppy waters and whisked her across the dance floor to a quieter side
of the room. “Thank you, I owe you one,” he said once they were safely out of sight of his adoring fans.
“Who would’ve guessed you’d be prom’s most popular guy?” Piper tried keeping the jealousy out of her voice.
“What can I say? Ladies love these sweet moves.” Wyatt spun in a circle and attempted to moonwalk but didn’t have enough rhythm
to pull it off.
Piper giggled. “Keep that up and you’ll be able to fend everyone off without my help.”
The music transitioned to a slow song. All around them, their classmates partnered up like a game of couples musical chairs.
“Oh, slow song!” Piper pointed out the obvious. Why had the air suddenly been sucked out of the room? “Should we go sit down?” She could kick herself. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do.
“Actually, this is more my speed. If you don’t mind more dancing.” A slight wobble colored his voice.
He held his hand out, and she took it, stepping closer to him. One of his muscular arms encircled her waist. The other kept
her hand in his tight grasp as they swayed back and forth to a Lumineers song. Her fingers itched to touch his soft, curly
hair, to run her palm over the delicate stubble on his cheek. But she satisfied the itch by breathing in his warm pine tree
scent.
Wyatt smelled like Christmas.
“Is this okay?” he asked after a minute. “You promised you wouldn’t let me look stupid.”
She pulled back, gazing up at him. “You’re doing great, but trust me, no one is watching us.”
Sure enough, the surrounding couples were kissing or holding on to each other as if it were their final moments on the Titanic .
“You’re right. So, no one’s going to notice if I do this.” He twirled her around, then dipped her.
“Where did that move come from?” she asked, breathless, her head spinning.
He pulled her upright and back in against his chest. “I may have YouTubed a few dance pointers.”
“You’re full of surprises, Wyatt Brooks.” His face was so close, his sweet breath warmed her cheek.
“I like the way you say my name,” he confessed huskily. “And if I didn’t tell you earlier, you look beautiful tonight.”
Piper’s cheeks flamed hot, and she had to concentrate to not step on his feet. She’d never seen this side of Wyatt—this flirty
side. It unsettled her. She was disturbed by how much she liked it and how much she wished he would keep looking at her like
she was the only girl in the room.
Finally finding her words, she choked out a response. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He leaned down until his forehead rested against hers as they continued swaying to the music. Her heart hammered like a kick
drum beneath her dress, louder than the song playing around them. Was it possible he felt the same tickle of butterflies she
did? This was Wyatt, after all. Wyatt, who’d taught her how to throw a punch and made fun of her British accent. Wyatt, who
watched terrible action movies with her, who helped paint the clubhouse furniture yellow, who kept her secrets. Wyatt, who
made her feel safe enough to step outside her comfort zone and challenged her to be her best self.
Wyatt, who she could envision spending a lifetime with.
She raised her face, inviting him to kiss her. His gray eyes shone softer than she’d ever seen them. His full lips hovered
above hers, but the song faded out, and the tempo picked back up before he could move any closer. Then Allie was by Piper’s
side, saying this song was their anthem and they had to dance. Before she knew it, a circle of girls singing enthusiastically
to every word of the new song surrounded Piper.
When she looked back to find Wyatt, he had disappeared into the crowd.