Chapter Twenty #2
After my face hurt from smiling for so long, we bid goodbye to our families and I escorted El, arm in arm, to my beat-up Toyota Celica.
Covered in dents and scratches, with nearly two-hundred-thousand miles on it and going on its fifteenth birthday, the piece of shit car was hardly worth anything.
At this point, I barely fit into it anyway, and if it lasted a few more years, it would be passed down to Jade.
Regardless of how tawdry it was, El didn’t seem to mind one single bit that this was what we were showing up to prom in. If I’d had the money, a limo would’ve been waiting outside for us instead.
Guiding El to the passenger side, I opened her door.
Disbelief creased her features, accompanied with a smile. “You’re opening my door for me?”
“I wanna make sure you have the best prom experience,” I assured her.
And princesses don’t open doors for themselves.
The sweet giggle she let out fucked with something inside my chest, and it lightly burned.
I shook it off. Rounding the car to the driver’s side, I could feel a bead of sweat forming along my hairline, and I was tempted to throw my suit jacket off.
For a casual spring day in Illinois, one would think it wouldn’t be possible for the sun to be beating down with such force. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we woke up in Florida.
Unfortunately for me, my raggedy Celica’s air conditioning was close to being broken altogether, and we rode the whole way there with the windows entirely down.
Every few minutes, I caught a glimpse of El, shining like a spotlight was cast directly on her.
“I’m sorry we’re showing up in my shitty car,” I said through a chuckle.
“Matt,” she smiled, “I don’t care what we show up in. Today is perfect.”
Fuck, there it was again.
Chaos in my chest.
The prom was at a nice country club in town, and as we walked inside, a banner hung overhead reading Party at Gatsby’s.
The entire place looked like it was straight out of The Great Gatsby movie, decked out in black and gold. I held back the curse words that desperately wanted to escape when I saw a photobooth tucked away in the corner of the room, knowing damn well El would drag me there later.
After retrieving our prom tickets from her small, silver clutch and handing them in, El’s heels pitter-pattered against the tile, straight into the arms of Hadley.
A tall, lean guy with blonde hair stood behind her. Must be her date. He didn’t look like what I assumed her type was. Then again, the only guy I ever envisioned her with was Gavin, but that ship sailed long ago.
I stepped towards the girls. “Um, hello? Were you gonna say hi to me?” I teased.
“Matt!” Hadley squealed, drawing me in for a loose hug. “Of course, I was.”
Outside of the cliché prom experiences seen in movies, I had no idea how prom worked. I was just following the girls.
After more photos, both inside the country club and outside, we found our seats for dinner.
I didn’t even know dinner at prom was a thing.
My plate was cleared in minutes, beyond faster than the rest of the group.
They called prom court up. The urge to stand up and complain was nibbling at me. Why the hell wasn’t El on prom court? She was the most beautiful girl at this school, smartest too. Not to mention her talent as a dancer.
It made no sense to me until I realized the court was made up of seniors only.
No doubt El would be standing up there next year.
Once they announced king and queen, music swirled through the speakers.
Bodies piled onto the dance floor at a rapid rate, and nothing looked more unpleasant in my life. As more and more people abandoned their tables, I could see the longing behind El’s eyes to join them.
I promised her the best prom experience, and I meant it.
Draping my suit jacket over the back of my chair, I stood, holding my hand out to El without a word.
She stared at it for a moment as sheer disbelief struck on her face once again.
“C’mon,” I finally said, my voice coming out as a gravelly plea. “Dance with me.”
I surely hadn’t changed my mind about going to my own prom, but if I was going to have one prom experience in my life, I was glad that it was here with her.
Dopamine soared through my brain when her delicate hand landed in my rough, calloused one. I gave it a small squeeze, solely because I had the opportunity to.
Even though I had a July birthday and was one of the youngest people in our grade, I still towered over everyone else on the dance floor.
It wasn’t hard to catch a glimpse of the guy who was the reason I was here in the first place, and I glared darkly at the back of his head, hoping to burn a hole in it.
He made El cry. An angel. A princess. My best friend.
He did that to her. And if it wouldn’t ruin her night, I’d trudge right over and run my fist along his jaw.
“I love this song!” El cheered over the music, snapping me out of my sinister trance. It was like she controlled a switch that regulated my emotions.
Just like that, I was locked in on her and nothing else.
The song was slow, and cluelessly, I glanced around at all the other couples.
Slow dancing. Fantastic. Hopefully, I don’t suck at it.
Fingertips curling around her waist, I felt my adrenaline bursting astronomically through my veins, a high so unimaginable that it probably should’ve killed me.
I hadn’t felt this since I kissed her when we were fourteen.
When the words began, I finally recognized the song. “Young & Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey filled the room, and the strobe lights stilled to a white dim.
El’s eyes sparkled like diamonds, her arms circled around the back of my neck. Flashing me a perfect smile that nearly sent me to my knees, she had no idea what she was doing to me right now.
It was unbelievable how anything on this planet could be that fucking beautiful.
We swayed in sync, and I soaked up every millisecond, dreading the moment that I wouldn’t have an excuse to touch her like this anymore.
Reaching behind my neck, I brought her wrist down, catching the hint of confusion she showed before following my lead as I gave her a slow spin.
A small laugh came from her glossed lips, and I tugged her closer.
I wanted to dip her. I wanted to kiss her.
But I wasn’t sure how much I could get away with.
Carefully and effortlessly, my planted hand took up most of her back, guiding her towards the floor.
I held her in a dip, my face inches from hers. Her lips parted, wet and teasing. There was something so delightfully dangerous about this moment.
What would happen if I just went for it?
Hazel irises peering up at me, I tried reading them.
Curiosity was definitely there, but there was something else swimming in them. I couldn’t tell if the sliver of desire I was seeing was real or if I just so desperately wanted it to be that my mind was making shit up.
For whatever reason, I brought her back up, missing my opportunity and immediately regretting it.
The regret lingered the rest of the night. And honestly? It never went away.