Chapter 29
I think my heart stops when I see Elizabeth standing on the staircase, looking absolutely stunning in her red dress.
The tiny red flowers in her hair make her look like a forest fairy, and the deep red color of her dress contrasts with her green eyes, creating an unusual effect as if she had actual glittering emeralds twinkling like stars in her eyes.
I have to hand it to Jayson. He really stepped up for Elizabeth this time.
When he first came to me about all of us taking her to prom, I didn’t know what to say.
Julien and I planned to go anyway, of course, because we wanted to be there for her.
Jay said all he wanted was for her to be happy, and he knew that Jules and I being a part of her prom experience would do that.
The thought of getting to hold her close tonight, take her in my arms, even if it’s just for one dance, makes all the years of waiting worth it.
For tonight, I can pretend that she’s mine. Hold her like she’s mine.
The bus pulls up to the hotel where our school prom is being held.
Hotel bellmen greet each arriving vehicle to help the passengers out.
Since our high school isn't that big, our school holds both junior and senior proms at the same time, so there are a lot of limos and luxury sedans pulled up under the overhang that leads to the hotel lobby. As soon as we step off the bus, we hear Elizabeth’s name being shouted.
Two girls I recognize from school rush over and hug her.
“You look so fab!” one girl tells her. I think her name is Beth.
Keith and Davis, two of our school’s varsity offensive linemen I know, walk over to stand with the girls.
I learn the other girl’s name is Celeste.
We walk inside the hotel and check in with the school parent volunteer at a table in the front lobby.
After marking off each of our names from a list, our hands are stamped with a dye that will shine under a black light.
“What is he doing here?” Jayson grumbles next to me.
I look in the direction he’s glaring and automatically shift my body in front of Elizabeth’s. My fists clenching in preparation for a fight.
Julien comes to my side. “Chill, man. Not tonight. Tonight’s about Liz.”
Luckily, Elizabeth is still talking with Beth and Celeste and is oblivious to the two people looming our way, cocky smirks plastered on their faces.
“Isn’t this sweet? Elizabeth finally got her wish for a threesome.”
Elizabeth stops talking mid-sentence when she hears Maria’s voice, and I feel her tense up behind me. Her eyes go wide with surprise when she turns around and sees that Maria is plastered against Marshall
“We aren’t doing this tonight,” I tell Maria.
Marshall is smart enough to realize this time he is way outnumbered and keeps his mouth closed.
It’s not only me, Jayson, and Julien, but also Keith and Davis standing with us, creating an impenetrable wall of “don’t mess with us” attitude.
Marshall mumbles something to Maria and jerks her away, but her eyes remain locked on Elizabeth.
“Well, this night just took a turn,” Elizabeth says.
“Nope. Not going to let that happen, princess. This night is about you and we will make darn sure that it’s a night to remember,” Jayson promises, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck until she giggles.
I guess that’s one way to keep her distracted.
“Come on. I want first dance with my gorgeous girlfriend.” Careful of her dress, he lifts her up and carries her into the hotel ballroom.
“Elizabeth is never alone tonight,” I say to Julien.
I have a bad feeling that Maria will try and pull something and I will not let that happen. Her bringing Marshall here as her prom date ups that probability.
“Not for a second,” Julien confirms
The hotel ballroom is decorated with different replicas of tourist attractions from around the world.
A lit up twenty-foot Eiffel Tower stands at one wall, London’s Tower Bridge at another.
Mini skyscrapers that represent the New York City skyline span across the third wall.
A water wall is set up in the middle of the ballroom that says Niagara Falls next to it.
Photographers are stationed at each one, ready to take photographs.
“Babe, you guys did such a great job,” Davis says loudly to Celeste so she can hear him over the thumping bass of the music.
“You did this?”
“Not just me, but yeah. I’m on the prom committee, along with Beth.”
“Nice!” Julien shouts.
Beth laughs. “You would never believe what Samantha wanted to do—a cowboy theme with a mechanical bull.”
Celeste rolls her eyes. “She wants anything she can ride, if you know what I mean.”
“Celeste!”
“You know I’m right.”
Elizabeth and Jayson leave the dance floor and she rushes over to me and pulls my arms. “Your turn, big guy. Want to dance?” she asks me.
Jayson tilts his head in a small nod at me, so I know it’s okay with him. “I’ll go grab us something to drink. Come on, Jules. I can use the extra hands.”
Dancing isn’t my thing, but I’ll suck it up and look like a fool for Elizabeth for one night. She links her pinky with mine and walks us into the middle of the dance floor. As soon as she turns around and I take her into my arms, the lights dim and the DJ plays “Helium” by Sia.
“Ryder?” she inflects, her voice trembling slightly.
And just like that, everything around us stills and falls away.
In her heels, Elizabeth and I are almost eye to eye.
As the lyrics of the song begin, something shifts between us.
Like opposite magnetic poles, we come together, inch by slow inch.
I bring our linked hand up to press right over my heart.
She places her other hand flat against my upper arm where it meets my shoulder.
My free hand curves around her hip to hold her in place.
Her sweet breath puffs against the side of my face when she rests her cheek against mine, and she sighs.
This moment. This girl. This is everything.
“Do you feel it, Ryder?” she whispers, her words a warm flutter against my cheek. My fingers grip her hip harder.
“I do.”
She shakes her head in confusion. “Will it always be like this between us?”
I don’t know how to answer her. Because for me, the answer is yes.
Yes, to the invisible power that seems to inevitably bring us colliding back to one another.
Yes, to the love we have for one another but never act on.
Yes, to the overwhelming emotions that punch me in the gut every time I see her or hear her voice. Yes to it all.
The music fades, and Julien taps me on the shoulder. “My turn,” he says, and I reluctantly release Elizabeth and leave her with Julien. Jayson hands me a bottle of water when I reach him.
“She having a good time?”
“Yeah.” I look around to see where Maria and Marshall are. I spot them at the Eiffel Tower with Jacinda, Samantha, and their dates.
“Do you mind if I steal Liz later for a bit? Julien’s okay with it,” Jay says to me.
Do I want to know? I mean, we are in a hotel, so of course my mind goes to the obvious conclusion that he has reserved a room just for the two of them.
Jayson sees the look on my face. “Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no. And if it was, it's none of your business. Besides, I don’t do clichéd.”
“Clichéd?”
“Yeah, the whole ‘have sex on prom night in a hotel room’ cliché. You forget, I have a reputation to uphold when it comes to wooing my girl. If I started doing normal stuff like that, Elizabeth would break up with me.”
“You do have the whole romance and wooing thing down,” I admit and wish it was me doing the wooing with Elizabeth.
Jayson's cocky side comes out when he replies, “Yes, I do. And tonight, I will continue with that tradition. That’s why I need Liz for a bit. So, would you mind?
“Not at all. Like you said. This night is for her.”
For the next two hours, we dance and hang out.
Davis, Keith, Beth, and Celeste join us.
No matter what, we never leave Elizabeth’s side.
If she goes to the restroom, Beth and Celeste go with her.
Me and the guys keep a constant watch on where Maria and Marshall are.
The girls have fun pulling us to the different world displays for pictures.
We do goofy pictures at Tower Bridge, and group pictures at Niagara Falls and the New York City skyline.
At the Eiffel Tower, Julien takes Elizabeth in his arms and dips her.
The photographer gets the perfect shot of them.
She’s bent in his arms, their noses almost touching.
Julien says something to her, and she tips her head back laughing.
Her silky blond tresses flow out and down over his forearm.
Absolutely breathtaking. I’m definitely ordering a copy of that one.
Once Julien is finished, Elizabeth waves me over.
“How do you want to do this? Where should I stand?” I ask her. She worries her bottom lip, then reaches for my hand.
“I want it just like how we were when we danced. I want to capture that moment.”
Elizabeth tucks her hand against my chest next to where my heart is pounding staccato beats because she’s touching me again.
Holding my larger hand in hers, she wraps my fingers around her waist. As if in slow motion, she reaches her left hand up and glides her fingertips along my neck and stops when her thumb curls under where my jaw meets my ear.
“Thank you, Ryder, for tonight. You guys have given me the perfect prom.”
She pushes up on her tiptoes and softly kisses me on the cheek. Jayson and Julien are looking at us. Julien with a quizzical expression, and Jayson with a semi-scowl.
Next, Julien and Jayson take some photos with each other for their parents. Elizabeth stands next to the photographer, wanting to see the shots as he takes them.
“They really are identical twins,” the photographer says to her, looking at his camera display. “If they didn’t have different haircuts, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart, would you?”
Elizabeth gives him a questioning look. She’s been able to easily tell them apart since she was six years old, and they dressed the same.
“Come here, princess,” Jayson calls her over.
He gives a shrill whistle with his fingers and a few people stop to see what’s going on. Jay pulls her in front of him, takes both of her hands in his, and stands there grinning at her.
“Um, Jayson, aren’t we going to do photos?”
He grins wider. “Wait for it.”
The DJ cuts off the music abruptly. The couples on the dance floor look around, trying to figure out if something happened. The lights dim again, and a woman’s crooning voice starts singing. Elizabeth’s eyes go wide.
“That’s our song! Oh my God!”
I recognize it now once she says that. It’s Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” The song Elizabeth sung just for Jayson. And then, to our shock and astonishment—and my horror—Jayson drops down on one knee.
“What is he doing?” Julien and I both yell out at the same time.
“Jayson, what are you doing?” Elizabeth exclaims.
No one is dancing anymore. Everyone in the ballroom has stopped what they are doing and are watching the scene unfold in front of the fake Eiffel Tower.
This can’t be happening.
The photographer is having a field day clicking as fast as he can to take as many shots of what’s going down in front of us.