– Scotch –
Prom
Not only is tonight prom night for us seniors, but Luc and Marc will also be there, because our still unnamed band was voted by our student counsel to play for the night. Ang and I will both work on and off through the evening, but we’re also here to have fun. While Luc and Mark can’t carry the whole set, they’ll do well enough, with Marc on vocals and guitar, and Luc carrying the beat.
Ang asked a girl from the grade below us as his date, and though I’m happy he asked someone, I know she’s not someone he’s genuinely interested in. He simply needed a date, and she’s a nice girl and agreed.
Ang and I drive across town in his old Charger, with Misty in the front passenger seat, and me in the back with Sammy’s corsage and a gift I bought special for tonight, and as we pull up at Meg’s house, the fancy gates swing open and allow our entrance. Angelo drives around the circular driveway and pulls up at the bottom of the stairs that are at least fifteen feet high. This house is huge, triple story and opulent… and absolutely out of my family’s price range.
Putting the car into park, Ang climbs out and folds the front seat forward. Climbing out behind him, he claps me on the shoulder and smirks at my goofy smile. “I called you crazy, but you did it.”
I continue to smile, because I’m so fucking happy it hurts. “What did I do?”
“You creepy-guy looked at a girl, decided on the spot you loved her before you were even old enough to get your period, then you stalked her for years, only to find out she was in fact cool, and she loves you back. That was the biggest bullshit gamble I’ve ever seen in my life, yet you pulled it off.”
I laugh, even as my gut flips with nerves. “Biggest gamble of my life, Ang. And I won.”
I walk up the front stairs, slowing as I watch the double doors open and Sammy walk out shyly looking like Miss Universe. I literally clutch at my chest as my heart swells almost painfully, and I study her from her long hair hanging low with soft curls, down a slim sparkling gown that shows so much skin it’s almost indecent, but in a beautifully classy way. I watch as she does a shy twirl, and I swallow as her bare back is out for me to see. I love how the straps crisscross over her shoulder blades, but then the slinky material exposes her down to sweet dimples low on her back – dimples I’ve already seen a billion times while down at the lake. Her skin is milky white and unblemished, though the gold fabric of her dress gives her skin a sun kissed glow. My mouth waters at how beautiful she is, and my hands itch to touch her. Soon, so soon, and she’ll be in my arms and we’ll be dancing.
I step forward, climbing the stairs until I can take her hand, then tug her until her soft chest bumps up against mine. My nose drops instantly to her fragrant hair, and my lungs fill with all things Sammy. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the whole world, Ricci.”
She breathes deeply and smiles her stunning smile. “Thank you. You look so handsome.”
I step back half a foot, lift her hand between us and gently slip a corsage over her delicate wrist, admiring how the ivory flowers complement the golden tone of her gown and light tan perfectly. Beautiful. Nerves whip around inside my stomach as I dig around in my pocket. Pulling out a small box and holding it between us, I swallow heavily. Sammy’s breath hitches, but her eyes dance with happiness as they flick between my hand and face. “I got you something, Ricci. Something I hope you’ll accept.”
“I’ll accept anything from you.”
“Anything?”
She nods softly. “Anything. I’ll always say yes to you, because you love me like no one else ever will. I trust you with my life.”
Jesus. She slays me. “From the girl I begged for two minutes of your time for years, to blind faith in a matter of weeks?”
She nods again, softly and a little jerkily. “Yup. Because you’ll never let me hurt.”
“No.” She’s one hundred percent correct. I’d walk in front of a bus to protect her. “No, Ricci. I’ll never let you hurt.” I flick the box open and reveal the small silver ring. A heart shaped face with a tiny gem inside the same bright blue as my eyes. Hopefully she’ll think of me every time she looks at it. “This is a promise ring, Sammy. A promise that I’ll make you happy for the rest of our lives, and a promise to marry you as soon as possible.”
Her eyes continue to dance as I take the ring from the box. Taking her right hand, I slide it onto the finger that would mean so much more if it was on her left hand. “A month until you turn eighteen, Ricci. From that day forward, my question changes from ‘will you date me?’ to ‘will you marry me?’ I’ve had years of practice, and I know you’ll have my name soon.”
Her hand moves softly, twinkling the tiny faux diamond, and her long hair falls over the front of her shoulder as she admires her ring. She looks back up at me with emotional eyes. “Stupid teenage hormones have me shouting ‘yes’ in my head.”
“Good. Hold onto that thought, because you’ll need it soon.”
She giggles softly and steps back into my chest, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her nose against my heart. “I love you, Sam.”
My heart slams around in my chest. This is the first time she’s ever told me without me saying it first. Her initiative slays me. I bring my hands to her face and pull her gaze up to mine. “I love you too, Ricci. So much it scares the shit out of me. I’m a man with something precious to lose.”
“We’re the easiest thing there’ll ever be.” She throws my own words back at me. “We’ll be okay, and we’ll always be happy.”
“Yeah.” I kiss her forehead and my eyes snap closed before I weep. “Yeah, we have the rest of our lives together.” I take her hand again, and turn us toward Meg’s landscaped yard. “Ready to go?”
She nods softly, tucks her clutch under her left arm and threads her right through the crook of mine. “I’m ready. I’m really excited about tonight. Do you have a curfew?”
We walk down the stairs leisurely, and her stunning dress swishes around her feet. “Not really. My folks will come looking eventually, but they’re cool. I’m eighteen now. What about you?”
“My mom and dad think I’m sleeping at Meg’s tonight. They won’t come looking until tomorrow.”
“They think you’re sleeping at Meg’s? Where are you sleeping?”
She shrugs casually, but the twinkle in her eyes is obvious. “Dunno. I bet you won’t let me sleep in the street though.”
I frown at what I’m sure I hear in her voice, and my dick swells at the insinuation, but I must be wrong. “I won’t let you sleep in the street, Ricci. Not ever.”
“Where are you sleeping?”
“I dunno. I didn’t really think about it. I would have stayed with you until you had to sleep, then I would have made my way back home.”
She shrugs casually, and as her delicate shoulders lift and drop, her dress shimmers. “I guess we’ll figure it out later.”
“Hey Soda.”
Sammy’s eyes leave mine, and she smiles breathtakingly as she looks at Angelo. “Ooooh boy.” She leaves my arms and steps toward him, taking the lapels of his coat in her hands. “You look so handsome, Angelo.”
A genuine blush covers his cheeks. “Aw thanks.” He squeezes her in a quick hug, then lets her free. She steps back to me, but she bends low to look into the car. “Hey Misty. You look beautiful tonight.”
Misty smiles shyly as Sammy and I climb through Ang’s door and into the back seat. As soon as I settle in and secure our belts, her hand is in my lap and her head on my shoulder. Her candy scent fills my nose, and her warmth envelopes me. I press my face closer, and I murmur time and time again that I love her as Ang drives toward our prom.
Barely ten minutes later, we pull up out front of the fancy Lleytton Hotel, and climbing out first in the long line of cars already in the valet queue, I take Sammy’s hand and I help her out. Her face is flushed a stunning soft pink, and her eyes continue to twinkle as she looks around at the hundreds of people milling around.
Luc and Marc are already here and they’re already set up. Angelo and I helped them for hours today in prep before we went home to dress, so circumventing the long line of my classmates at the front of the hotel, I thread Sammy’s arm through mine and lead us toward the entrance me and the guys used earlier.
We navigate the large hotel using service halls, then finally enter the ballroom with only a handful of people milling around. We both glance over to the stage as Luc wolf whistles obnoxiously.
“Well, well, well.” He jumps down from the platform and swaggers toward us arrogantly. He tugs Sammy from my grasp, dramatically spinning and dipping her. She giggles freely, but the sound comes to an instant halt when Luc drops a juicy kiss on her lips. He’s laughing, but my poor shy Sammy blushes. “You look amazing, Soda. Save a dance for me tonight?”
“Ah, no,” she answers on a nervous giggle. “I’m here with Sam, but thanks.” She recovers some of her usual sass, and steps forward, taking Luc’s lapels in her hands the way she did with Angelo. “But you sure do look good, Luca. Too bad you didn’t get to bring a date tonight.”
He scoffs arrogantly. “That won’t stop me. I’ll take someone else’s date. Everyone knows I’ll be more fun than whoever she’s with anyway.”
“Even me?”
Luc flashes a cocky smile, but he shakes his head. “Not you, Soda. Not even my sexiness could draw you away from him.” He looks up at me finally and punches me in the shoulder. “You look good, bud. Is that your funeral suit?”
I laugh, because he’s almost right. “I rented a new suit for tonight. My girl deserves better than something that smells of mothballs, but I totally would’ve worn the other one for any other event.”
I turn around the room, checking it all out and admiring the fancy crystal chandeliers and ivory marble floors. Someday I’ll buy Sammy this kind of opulence. Someday I’ll be able to provide her with the lifestyle she’s already accustomed to.
A net has been installed above us, holding thousands of silver and gold balloons ready to drop later tonight, and tables are scattered throughout the room surrounding the dancefloor in the center. Students trickle in slowly, and before long, the place is packed with fancy gowns and suits that most of these guys’ moms would have picked out. Sammy follows me mostly everywhere I go. Not because she’s my Velcro, but because I refuse to let her loose.
Marc and Luc start playing, and though I bitch at them, Luc actually can sing well, and he carries our band while Angelo and I hang out. Every third or fourth song, we switch out; I leave Sammy at the table with Misty and Meg and her douchebag boyfriend, or I bring her with me to the stage, and Ang and I join the guys for a set.
Meg’s boyfriend, Drew, picked her up separately tonight, and though they arrived not long after Sammy and I, Meg arrived with a filthy big hickey on the base of her neck and a pissed off scowl on her face. She’s been somewhat cold toward him the last couple hours, but come ten p.m. she’s warming up and he’s prying fresh smiles from her. Fucking asshole.
Sammy and I sway slowly on the dance floor as Luc sings Sammy’s song for me, and though I sing it in her ear too, all three of us smile wide as he serenades her on my behalf.
She lays her cheek against my chest and lets out a deep contented sigh as her arms tighten around me.
“Are you having a nice time, Ricci?”
She nods against me lazily. “I’m having an amazing time. I’m getting hungry again though.”
“Why didn’t you eat all of your dinner, silly girl?”
She snickers. “It was garlicky.”
“And?”
“I don’t like garlic.”
“You don’t like garlic? Are you crazy?”
She laughs softly as we spin and sway. “It gives me a stomach ache every time, so I just avoid it.”
“Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to this? Are you secretly a vampire and you can’t expose your true identity?”
“You caught me,” she laughs. “The sun also burns me… in the summer.”
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” My hands slide down her back and around the curve of her ass, and I squeeze harder than I intended, but when her breath catches and her eyes lift to mine, I can’t stop my lips dropping to hers. She’s my other half. My soulmate. We’re in love, and teenagers or forty-year olds, if I have her in my arms, I’m going to kiss her.
Her tongue moves past her lips and dances with mine, and Luc’s lyrics completely fade into the background as her hands move around my neck and her breasts press against my chest. She’s wearing heels tonight, making her taller than normal, so her mouth is so much closer to mine without her having to stretch so tall. Her non-garlicky breath invades my senses, and her long silky hair tickles my hands as I continue to knead her ass. She lets out tiny little moans of pleasure as we continue to sway, and despite my best efforts, my erection grows against her stomach, turning steely hard as she purposely presses closer against me.
“Turner!” My head snaps up instantly as my math teacher slams his hand on my shoulder. His eyes flick between mine and Sammy’s, and he shakes his head sternly. “No. This is a school function, not a rave. Quit it, or you’ll both get detention.”
My head falls and my dick deflates, but Sammy laughs softly, biting her knuckle as she nods. “Yes sir.”
“Don’t let me catch you again.”
“No sir.” Her giggles detract any sincerity she tries to convey, but Mr. Godfrey shakes his head and walks away to stop the next horny students, and Sammy’s fingers come to my jaw. “Hey Sam?”
My head lifts from our feet, and I meet her sassy eyes. “Yes, Ricci?”
“Wanna get out of here?”
“You’re done?”
“I’m done with this place. But I thought maybe you and I could go hang out somewhere else… alone.” She bites her lip nervously, but her eyes never leave mine. I hold her face tighter, and my heart jumps with nerves and my dick twitches against the zip of my pants painfully. “We’re about to graduate…”
I nod softly and my eyes narrow. “Uh-huh.”
“We’re not babies, Sam.”
“No… we’re not.”
She huffs out an adorable breath. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”
I step in as close as I can until our bodies touch from thigh to chest. “Yeah, I am. I’m not moving from this spot until I know exactly what you want from me. I’m not fucking us up over miscommunication.”
She lets out a fortifying breath, then her large eyes meet mine again. “I thought maybe we could stay together… Like together, together. All night… I thought, well, I thought I might be ready for us to spend the night together.”
“You think… or you know?”
She frowns. “Why are you making this so damn difficult, Samuel? I wanna have sex with you, okay? I wanna try, and I wanna do it with you, the guy who swears eternal love, but doesn’t seem all that keen right now. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been bullshitting all along, because a lot of other guys would have done it when I first asked where you were staying tonight.”
“You don’t think I want it?” I press my dick into her stomach. “You think I don’t want you? Are you crazy?”
“So stop making me say all the cringey words, and let’s get out of here.”
I lean down and drop a long, wet kiss on her lips. “I just wanted to be sure. This is a big deal, Ricci. This isn’t just a one-night stand. And this isn’t just sex. This is your virginity, and it’s our first time. It needs to be something we’ll both look back on and smile.”
“You’re still a virgin, right?”
My head snaps back. “Yes. You are too, right?”
She snickers as her anger ebbs away and her body relaxes against mine. “Yeah, I am. I swear.”
“And you’re ready for this? Has your soda been spiked? Is this a spur of the moment decision?”
She smiles and her lips lift up to the side, then she digs around in my coat pocket. She pulls out a key card that I never put there, and she holds it between us. “We already have a room booked. You’ve been holding the key for hours. This isn’t spur of the moment. This is something I want to do with you. Something I’d never give to anyone else.”
I take her hand and spin on the spot. Sammy’s giggles are loud and fun as I drag her across the dance floor and past the guys. Luc hip thrusts obnoxiously as he sings, and I almost stop on the spot when I spot Marc’s glare and bruised eyes. Luc shakes his head and nods his chin toward the door to keep me moving. Marc’s okay, and they’ll tell me tomorrow. I just don’t know what’s up with Marc lately, but he’s a good guy. He’s still standing. He’ll be there to talk tomorrow.
We pass the girls, and Meg pokes her tongue into her cheek. She’s crude as shit, but Sammy cackles as we pass and crash out of the ballroom double doors.
Sammy then takes the lead and drags me toward the elevators.