Chapter 18
LENNON
I wave goodbye to Gramps, then knock on Cassie’s front door. He insisted on driving me over to her house, claiming he needs the truck later.
Oftentimes, that’s how Gramps and I communicate. He pretends to have an appointment later instead of saying he wants to drop me off for senior prom. I stop setting a third spot at the kitchen table, instead of telling him Caleb and I ended our…whatever we were.
“Don’t forget to take photos!” Gramps calls through the rolled-down passenger window as he backs the truck up.
“I won’t! You’ve reminded me twenty times!” I call back.
The front door opens and Cassie appears in the doorway. Her hair is in curlers and she’s wearing a pink, shiny robe.
“You actually showed up!” she teases.
I roll my eyes before stepping inside. Truthfully, part of me is excited for tonight.
The foyer is quiet and empty when I step inside. No sign of Cassie’s parents or brothers.
I follow Cassie up the stairs and into her colorless room. Except it’s not entirely white the way it was last time I was here. There’s a rainbow of colored fabric flung across her bedspread.
“Any color preference?” Cassie asks, heading straight toward her bed.
“Not really. Which one are you wearing?”
“Mine’s hanging up there.” Cassie gestures toward her closet door, where a light yellow dress is hanging. Tiny crystals are sewn to the fabric, making it sparkle. “These ones are all for you.”
I figured I’d be looking through one or two choices.
There are at least a dozen dresses laid out on the bed.
One is a muted shade of pink with a flower pattern, which I decide against. The next option is purple and lacy, which I also skip past. Red, shiny fabric catches my attention, but I decide against that, too.
I’m not sure I can pull such a bold color off.
The fourth dress is a darker shade of blue, almost navy. It’s strapless, made of a soft, silky material than I can’t help but touch. The bodice is covered with lace the same color as the rest of the dress.
“I like this one.”
“That’s the one I would have picked for you,” Cassie tells me. “Come on, let me do your makeup before the rest of the girls get here.”
She leads me over to her vanity. I don’t protest this time. If ever there was a night to wear makeup, this feels like it.
I lose track of time as Cassie rubs and paints and sprays my face.
“Okay, you’re done,” she finally announces.
I open my eyes. They widen when I catch a glimpse of my reflection. “Wow.”
My under-eye circles have disappeared, along with every blemish. She lined my eyes, making them look greener than usual. My lips look shiny and pink. Kissable.
“Thank you, Cassie.”
Cassie smiles as she hands me a tube of lip gloss. “Keep this. You’ll have to reapply after we eat dinner.” Her smile turns sly. “Or after a certain guy sees you.”
“You heard about that, huh?” I knew it was na?ve to think Cassie wouldn’t hear about the camping trip dare. But she hasn’t mentioned it, up until now.
“The whole school heard about it, Lennon.”
I rub a finger against the side of the lip gloss. Ironically, the shade is called Never Been Kissed. “It wasn’t the first time.”
“What?”
“Kissing Caleb. I’d kissed him before then. Kissed him a lot, actually.”
Cassie gapes at me. This might be the only time I’ve seen her speechless. “Didn’t see that coming,” she finally says.
I huff a laugh. “Yeah. Me neither.”
“So, you like him.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters.” Cassie pauses. “He stares at you in English, you know. I noticed it all year.”
I say nothing.
“So…what happened? Why’d you stop kissing him?”
“He’s leaving. I’m staying here. That doesn’t equal us working out.”
“You never know, Lennon.”
“I do know. I’m not enough for him to come back to, Cassie.
And I know that sounds pathetic. I don’t mean it like that.
I don’t think anything is enough for Caleb to come back.
He hates living here. He’s going to go off and become a famous baseball player, and that’s what he should do.
That’s not the life that I want. If we actually tried, it would just hurt us both more in the end. ”
“Or you could end up married with kids one day.”
I shake my head. “Not going to happen.”
“Just talk to him tonight. Ask him to dance. Kiss him, if there’s a moment. You never know what might happen.”
My fingers tighten around the tube of lip gloss. “I can’t , Cassie.”
She tilts her head. “Why not?”
“Because he told me he was in love with me, on the senior trip, and I didn’t say it back.”
Cassie drops the makeup brush she’s holding. I wait. One second. Two. Three. Still, she’s just staring.
“Things are bad between us. Talking will only make things worse. He’s leaving the day after graduation, so I just have to make it until then.”
“ Lennon . Back way the fuck up. Caleb Winters told you he’s in love with you ?” The end of the question comes out like a squeal. “What did you say?”
I exhale. “Honestly, I don’t totally remember. I was…shocked. He was already annoyed I didn’t tell him I was staying in Landry for college. We were arguing, he just said it, and then I said I didn’t want a long-distance relationship.”
“Oh my God .” Cassie leans against the edge of the vanity, still looking stunned.
The ring of the doorbell suddenly echoes through the house. Cassie straightens. “That must be everyone else.”
I reach out and grab her arm before she leaves to answer the door.
“Don’t say anything about this, to them. Please.”
She nods. A couple minutes later, she returns, with Shannon and Eliza right behind her.
“—some sort of shoe crisis,” Eliza is saying. “She said she’d be here soon.” Since Tina’s the one missing, I assume they’re talking about her.
Both Eliza and Shannon say hi to me. Cassie starts on Eliza’s make-up. Shannon offers to curl my hair. Since it’s something I’ve never had the time or patience to do myself, I agree.
It’s a long process as Shannon winds section after section around the hot barrel, letting each spiral fall after a couple dozen seconds. After she’s finished with the iron, she brushes through the curls and coats my hair in a spray that smells like coconut.
Tina arrives just as Shannon is finishing my hair. “Hot damn, Lennon.” She whistles. “You’re going to need to walk in after me, okay?”
I laugh off her compliment, but secretly I’m pleased.
I rarely put any effort into my appearance.
The horses don’t care what I look like, and until recently there was no one I was trying to impress.
Gramps isn’t full of fashion tips and I’ve spent most of high school with no female friends.
After years of messy buns and ripped jeans, the fanciness is fun.
Everyone else finishes their hair and makeup, and then it’s time for dresses.
I change into Cassie’s blue dress in her attached bathroom.
The tiled floor is cold against my bare feet, but I barely notice after I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Between the dress, the curls, and the makeup, I hardly recognize myself.
After gushing over my appearance, Cassie talks me into wearing a pair of heels. They’re too small on me, but at least it makes them a little easier to walk in.
Once everyone has changed, we head downstairs as a giggling, glittery group. Cassie’s parents are waiting in the living room. They take a series of photos of us striking ridiculous poses. I send three of them to Gramps, though I know I’ll have to remind him how to look at them tomorrow morning.
We walk outside, and there’s a shiny black limousine sitting in the front drive. I’m the only one who falters; everyone else seems to be expecting it.
Cassie, Tina, Eliza, and Shannon all clamber inside. I follow after them, glancing around the plush interior in awe. The nerves that have been swirling in my stomach all day make a rapid return, mingling with the anticipation that’s lingered ever since I saw my full reflection.
Following years of taunts about my worn jeans and jokes about hay in my hair, it will be satisfying to see what my classmates say about my formal attire. But truthfully, there’s one person in particular I want to see react to Cassie and Shannon’s handiwork.
We’ve barely made it to the end of her street when Cassie pulls a bottle of champagne out of the chiller hidden beneath her seat.
Tina produces flutes from some other secret compartment.
After popping the cork with a shriek, Cassie pours the frothy liquid from glass to glass until the bottle is empty.
Once we’re all clutching the thin glass stems, Cassie raises hers in a toast. “To…”
“Prom?” Eliza finishes.
“The rest of our lives?” is Tina’s suggestion.
“The Ladies of Landry!” Shannon trills, barely making it through without laughing.
Mostly because it sounds so fun to say, we all echo Shannon’s words before clinking our glasses together.
Prom is being held at Landry’s country club.
I’ve only been here once before, for a birthday dinner back when my mom was still alive.
The building looks just as pretentious now as it did then, but it’s also stunning.
The decorations inside don’t disappoint either.
Twinkling lights, candles, and flowers are everywhere.
We walk across the marble lobby to the inside of the ballroom, and I feel like I’ve stepped inside a fairytale.
“Whoa,” Shannon breathes, looking around.
We head for one of the open tables. I eye the two plates, three forks, and multiple glasses a bit apprehensively. I’ll have to follow everyone else’s lead on etiquette once dinner is served.
More and more seniors continue to trickle in until all the tables around us are filled.
It’s not until uniformed waiters start serving the first course that it occurs to me: he might not be coming. None of his friends are here, either. Nor Madison and her usual crew. Maybe they’re having their own private get-together?