56. Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Sloane
T ameka and I race home and find my house empty. My mom and Bryn must be at the mall or running errands and my dad is at the lake this weekend. I shower as fast as I've ever showered, there's not even time to wash and dry my hair. When I get out of the shower, I hear the phone ring and pop my head out of the bathroom. "It's Evan," Tameka says as she holds the phone against her chest, covering the mouthpiece with her hand.
Holy cow, I can't believe Evan Dando is calling my house! I walk into my bedroom, and Tameka hands me the phone. "Hey," I say into the receiver.
"Hi," Evan says. "I don't think I'm going to be able to go…"
My heart drops into my stomach at these words. I have not come this far to get dumped for my prom a second time. "What do you mean? Why not?"
"Well, we can't find anything for me to wear. We couldn't rent a suit in time or anything."
I breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, don't worry about that. You don't need to dress up." I am this close to taking Evan freaking Dando to my prom. I am not going to let this opportunity pass me by. Be bold, seize the day, life is short, take the bull by the horns, and all that stuff. This is the boldest I’ve ever been in my entire life. Who am I right now?
"Are you sure? Do you think they’ll let us in?"
"Oh, they will let us in," I say, imagining myself busting past anyone who tries to stop me and Evan Dando from going to this dang dance. "I will make sure of it." I can tell he's hesitant, and I really don't want him to worry about what he's wearing. "Listen, I'll be in my dress, so one of us will be dressed up. It seriously won't be an issue."
"Okay, cool," Evan says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. "As long as you're sure, and you wear your dress."
"Absolutely," I tell him. "I can't wait to see you! We'll be there in about an hour."
With that, we hang up, and I get dressed, smooth out my hair with the blow dryer, and put on a bit of make-up. I honestly don't have time to fuss with anything right now.
"I can't believe you're ditching me tonight after I came all the way back from school to hang out with you," Tameka says, and I nearly drop the make-up brush in my hand.
She's standing in the doorway watching me get ready, and I can't tell if she's actually serious. "You're joking, right?"
She shakes her head. "No, I mean, I came home to hang out with you, and now you're going out."
I feel my eyes practically bulging out of my skull. "Tameka, you understand that I have the opportunity to not only go to my prom, but to go with Evan Dando. It's not like I decided I just didn't want to watch Johnny Depp movies with you all night. Heck, it's not like I decided I want to go to prom by myself." I can't believe she's doing this right now. My pulse is racing. She has to understand that, as my friend, she should be so happy for me, not thinking about the fact that she now has to spend a few hours by herself.
"Will you at least drop me off at Tech so I can hang out with my friend there?" She says as she crosses her arms across her chest, referring to the university in downtown Atlanta.
Is she seriously pouting? I take a breath. "Of course, I'll drop you off. No problem." I feel like a parent dealing with a petulant child, giving in to whatever she wants so I don't have to argue with her. There’s no time for arguing, I’ve gotta leave as soon as possible, so I can make it to my darn prom. I force a smile still not believing that she can't see how selfish she's sounding right now. "You know I'm so grateful you came to town to see the show with me, right?"
"Yeah, of course," she says. "I'm going to go call my friend."
"Cool," I say as I put on a neutral eye shadow. "I'll be ready in about ten minutes.”
***
Tameka was unable to get in touch with her friend, but makes me stop by a different friend's house on the way to see if he's there. I love her and am so glad she came back home to be with me, but she is starting to get on my nerves. I'm already late to prom and now I'm late to pick up Evan. Of course, said friend isn't home, so we go to Evan's hotel together where she will try calling the first friend again. When we get to Evan's hotel room and he answers the door, his smile melts me. "Hey," he says and as he sees Tameka behind me, his eyebrows arch in surprise.
"Hey," I say. "Tameka came with me because we're going to drop her off at a friend's on the way," I explain.
"Oh, cool." He opens the door and motions for us to come inside. "You look really nice."
"Thanks," I say and feel myself blush as I smooth a hand on the front of my red Jessica McClintock dress, hoping it’s not sliding down my flat frame. "You look great, too."
This causes Evan to chuckle, and he has the cutest, goofiest chuckle. "It's the same thing I wore on stage today. I hope that's okay." He dips his head forward as he says this, like he feels bad. He's wearing dark green jeans, a T-shirt under a black sweater, and black Beatles-style boots. He looks perfect to me.
"Of course, it's okay. You look great." I noticed it was what he wore on stage, and I don't care one bit. He could be wearing jeans full of holes and a ratty sweatshirt, and I wouldn't care.
Tameka and I walk to the far side of the room where there are chairs in front of a large window. "Can I use your phone to call my friend?" she asks.
"Yeah, sure," Evan says. "I'm gonna finish getting ready."
As Evan busies himself in the bathroom, I have a thought as I watch Tameka waiting for her friend to pick up the phone. "Oh my gosh," I whisper, "I have to call my mom. I forgot to leave a note."
Tameka nods and after a couple of seconds, hangs up the phone. "He's not answering."
My heart sinks a little as I realize that this may be a three-person date because I can't just leave Tameka downtown by herself. I don't have time to worry about it, though, because I have to call my mom. I dial my home phone number, and my mom picks up on the first ring. "Hey!" I say into the phone.
"Hi! Are you going to prom?" My mom asks, and I can hear the confusion in her voice. She knows I would never go to prom by myself.
"Yeah," I say and proceed to tell her who I'm taking to my prom.
"Sloane, remember, he's a man, not a boy." My mom says as if this is the most scandalous thing in the world. "You don't even know him."
"Mom, you don't have to worry. Nothing weird is going to happen." I assure her, and I mean it. While Evan is practically a god among men, I'm seventeen and still a virgin. I'm not ready for that and not looking to hook up with anyone, especially a rock star who could have any woman he wants. Women much more beautiful and voluptuous than scrawny old me. “Besides,” I add quietly, “Tameka is with me. I was going to drop her off at a friend’s, but she couldn’t get in touch with him.”
"Okay," my mom says, and her voice sounds more relaxed. "Please just be careful."
"I will," I promise her, and I mean it. "Can my curfew be a little later tonight?" I might be pushing my luck because my curfew is normally midnight, but this is certainly a special occasion.
I hear my mom sigh through the phone. "Okay, your curfew can be one a.m., but promise me you'll be careful."
A smile immediately grows across my face, "Thanks, mom! I appreciate it." I lower my voice again, "And don't worry, I'm not going to do anything stupid." It's funny that my mom is worrying because I'm probably the last girl on Earth who would do what she's worried about.
I hang up with my mom just as Evan comes out of the bathroom. "Are you ready to go?" he asks.
"Yep," I smile. Heck, I don't think I've stopped smiling since we got here. "Uh, Tameka couldn't get in touch with her friend, so she's going to ride with us and hang out in the lobby while we're in the dance." I feel like such a heel having my friend tagging along, but what am I supposed to do at this point?
"Okay," Evan says and doesn't seem bothered by it.
Now that we're on our way to the prom, I can't believe this is actually happening!