35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Sloane
I t's crazy how long each school year feels, but when you're a senior, time flies so fast after the holidays. I have so much to look forward to in the next couple of months. Next is The Lemonheads at the Masquerade, then Spring Break, followed by The Lemonheads at Stone Mountain the day of prom. All of that and I should be getting my college acceptance letters any day now.
In marine bio, I fill Tyler and Billy in on my weekend, just as I had done with Kurt in AP French. "I have good news," I practically sing to Tyler and Billy.
"Oh yeah?" Billy asks. "Did you finally listen to Johnny Cash?"
"Very funny," I say as I notice Tyler smirking. "I'll have you know I listened to Johnny Cash months ago, after our conversation." I wave my hand. "Anyway, I saw Ky this weekend."
Billy rolls his eyes and pretends like he's annoyed. "Here we go again," he says and looks at Tyler. "How could we forget?"
Before Tyler can say anything, I swat Billy on the arm. "No, it's not that Ky came for the weekend. It's that I asked him to go to prom with me, and he said yes!" I smile proudly. "I'm finally going to my first dance!"
"You've never been to a dance before?" Tyler cocks his head and I hear a hint of surprise in his voice.
I shake my head. "Not since 7th grade when everyone went, without dates, of course."
"Why not?" he asks, genuinely interested.
I shrug my shoulders. "Because no one ever asked me."
"Really?" Billy asks as his eyes squint.
I shake my head. "No, no one ever asked me to go to a dance."
"Why didn't you just go with friends?" Billy asks. "Or ask someone yourself?"
I scoff. "Well, let's see. I don't have a ton of friends, and if they go, they have dates. And, I could never ask someone myself."
"Not even to Snowball where guys would expect you to ask them?" Tyler asks.
I feel myself blush when I think about how close I was to asking him. "No, I mean, I thought about it, but I would have to be pretty confident that the guy would say yes."
"So, there was someone you wanted to go with this year." Billy says.
Oh, gosh, this is getting really uncomfortable. I shift in my seat. "Yeah," I reply, but don't know what else to say.
"You totally should have asked the guy," Tyler says. "I bet he would have said yes."
I huff out a laugh and look at Tyler. "Actually, it would have been a no because someone else asked him first." I smile trying to cover up anything that might be giving myself away. Tyler’s eyebrows rise slightly above his eyes, but I don’t think I gave anything away.
"Well, buddy, I'm happy for you," Billy says as he claps me on the back. "You'll have to introduce us to Ky. I mean, I feel like we practically know him." He looks at Tyler who chuckles and nods.
I feel embarrassment creeping up my face. "Do I really talk about him that much?" I look at them with wide eyes.
Tyler holds his index finger and thumb about an inch apart. "Just a little," he laughs as he says this making his eyes light up.
I put my hand to my forehead. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, y'all. I'll try to talk about him less--"
Billy says, "It's okay, Sloaner. We know you're just happy."
I smile. "I am. And I'm so excited that Ky's coming to prom!"
***
I head to lunch and feel like I'm floating. I'm thinking about my amazing weekend with Ky and can't wait to tell my friends all about it. I sit down next to Maggie and across from Beth and Annalise. "Hey guys!" I smile at the three girls I've become close with this year. I sit down and pull my lunch out of my backpack. "Did you have a good weekend?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait !" Annalise says as she waves her hands in front of her, stopping anyone else from saying anything. "I want to hear about your weekend first."
My eyes go skyward at the memory of hanging out on the porch with Ky. "It was amazing." I tell my three eager friends. "The show was great. His friend ‘Chris’ was actually a girl, Kris with a 'k,' and she was kinda weird." I wave off the thought. "More on that later. When we finally got time alone, it was amazing."
"Okay, this is great and all, but we need to know," Annalise says, and I realize the three of them are all leaning forward in their seats. "Did you ask him?"
Beth adds, "Did he say yes?"
I nod my head and can't contain my smile. "Ky said he'd come up for prom!"
My friends emit squeals of joy and their eyes sparkle with excitement. "Oh my gosh, we can all go together. Steve will be so glad that he won't be the oldest guy there,” Beth jokes.
Beth's long-time boyfriend, Steve, went to a neighboring school and graduated last year, so that makes Ky a year older than him. "Oh, that's right," I say. "I'm sure that will make Ky feel better, too."
Annalise adds, "We'll get a limo and go to a nice restaurant. It's going to be so much fun. I know we're all so ready to get out of here, but I'm glad we'll get to end our year doing something fun together. We deserve it!"
"Y'all have to let me know what to expect at my first dance," I tell them.
Maggie says softly, "It's more about who you're with, don't you think?" She looks across the table at Beth and Annalise.
"Totally," Annalise says. "There's usually a DJ, some lame decorations, and bland food, but it's senior prom. How can you not go?"
"Exactly," Beth agrees. "Prom is the fanciest dance of the year, so at least it will be in a hotel ballroom versus the gym. And, the decorations aren't that bad."
"No, you're right," Annalise agrees. "Just don't expect them to be as fancy as they are in the movies."
"I'm so excited to do the whole limo and fancy dinner thing," I say. "It's not like I've never gone to a fancy restaurant, but this is with y'all and our dates, not parents. In a limo all by ourselves!" I never knew going to a school dance could make me so giddy, but I am finally getting to do something that's like, a rite of passage. I finally feel included and a part of something at my school and it feels amazing.
Beth's eyes get soft. "Oh my gosh, you and Ky are going to have an amazing time. I can’t wait to meet him!”
I shift a little uncomfortably in my seat, and Beth notices. "What? What's wrong?"
I sigh and glance over at Maggie who's heard this before. "No, it's just—Ky is great."
"Uh-oh," Annalise says as she bites into her apple.
"No, no," I pause. "We have good chemistry. Great, actually. But," I look at Maggie again, and she smiles encouragingly because she knows what I'm going to say. "We talk on the phone a lot since he lives so far away, and," I think about how to phrase this. "He's sweet, he's just—"
"Not the sharpest pencil in the box?" Annalise says.
I nod and feel so bad. "Yeah. At first I just thought he was quirky, but the more I talk to him, I realize that we probably aren't going to have the deepest conversations." I think back to the weekend. "But like I said, we have great chemistry when we're together. Let's just say we don't talk as much." I feel my cheeks burn as these words tumble out of my mouth.
My friends giggle with me, and Maggie speaks up. "But, he's nice, good-looking, and you have fun with him, right?"
A smile forms on my face. "Yeah."
"Then that's what matters," Maggie says and looks across at Beth and Annalise for their perspective.
Beth leans in and puts her hand in between us on the table. "Look, it's just prom. It's not like you're going to marry the guy."
Annalise chimes in. "Says the girl in the long-term relationship who will probably marry the guy she's with."
We all laugh at this. "I know," I tell them. "Just be forewarned."
"I'm sure he's fine," Annalise says. "Just enjoy the moment. He likes you. You like him."
"He's cute," Beth adds.
"Oh, so cute," I reply. "And tall." As I say that, another tall, cute boy catches my eye as he walks across the cafeteria. Even though I'm so happy to have a boyfriend, I think about the boy with the sexy smile who I have amazing conversations with in marine bio. And in an instant, I feel bad for having that thought. Tyler must have a flaw or two as well, right?