34. Alice
34
Alice
“ P eople are looking,” I whisper to Will. I don’t hold his hand or touch him in any way. But then, I’m in a tiara, and he looks like Eric from Disney’s Little Mermaid .
We match.
Sort of.
Why did I let him talk me into this? We should have, at the very least, come in a half hour apart from one another.
I pull in a breath when Sandy from accounting leans over to Mason, her lips moving but her eyes on me.
“People are whispering,” I hiss.
“Ignore them,” Will says.
“I can’t ignore them. They’re looking at me.”
He moves until he’s standing right in front of me, blocking my view of Sandy and Mason. “Yes, you can. Look at the decorations. Look at everyone else in costume. Ignore their eyes, their lips, and just be present.”
“Be present,” I repeat with a nod. I can do that. I can be present.
“I’m going to grab you a drink.”
“Okay. I’m going to stand here and be present.”
Will smirks, glancing my way once more before he’s off. Most of the gawking eyes follow him, which I am completely okay with. And he thought no one would notice him. He might as well be Godzilla walking into a tea party.
“You came,” says a voice at my back.
I spin in my altered dress to Theo. “Oh, hey. Yeah.”
“And you’re a princess?” he sneers. “That’s funny.”
I lift one shoulder and own it . “Well, nobody here wants to let go of the gag, so I’m going with it.”
He snorts. “Nice crown.”
I swallow and study Theo’s costume for one second. “Are you a?—”
“Referee. Do you know what that is, princess ?”
“Yeah,” I say. Theo makes it so easy to dislike him. “I know what a ref is.”
“You brought Will? I thought you didn’t want a date.”
“Will and I are friends.” It’s the truth. He was my friend before I knew how much I’d enjoy kissing him. But the half-truth still makes my heart race.
“What’s he wearing?”
I cough. “Mr. Darcy!” I spout, my cheeks warming.
“Mr. Who?” Theo does not look impressed.
“It’s a book character.” Technically Will said he looked like Darcy, not Prince Charming. So, if I’m a princess, then he’s Darcy. Because we are not in matching costumes.
“You know being friends with Will doesn’t automatically put you in good graces with Billy.”
I scowl, replaying his words. Does he think I hang out with Will to get to Billy? Gross. I wouldn’t do that. “Who said it did?”
He sips from his drink—something strong, I can smell it. “I’m just saying that’s not gonna help you.”
“Take his word for it,” Will says, walking up from behind us. “Theo knows. It’s never helped him before—that’s for sure.”
“Good one,” Theo says, pointing at Will. “So, you two are here together.”
“We’re here as friends, yes.” Will hands me a glass of bubbly liquid and sips from his own. “Didn’t you come with Mateo?”
Another breathy huff filters through Theo’s lips. “Yeah. Not exactly the same.”
“Why not? Friend.” He points to me. “Friend.” He points to himself. “It’s not as if you made Alice feel welcome. She certainly can’t call you a friend.”
Theo’s jaw clenches. “You’re right, boss .” The word is condescending on his lips. “You always are. It makes me wonder what Billy hears—Will Henley’s opinion or what’s actually happening.”
“Believe me,” Will says,“ he hears both. He hears everything .”
Theo swallows. “And you’re what, the prince to her princess?”
“Mr. Darcy, actually.” I hold up one finger. “Remember? Pride and Prejudice .”
“Alice,” Will says, turning to me and shutting Theo out. “Billy appreciates your hard work—he asked me to make sure you had fun tonight,” he says, glancing from me to Theo and back again. “So, dance?”
Nerves twitch inside my body. “Okay.”
Will takes the drink from my hand and passes both our glasses off to Theo just before taking my hand and leading me onto the nearly dead dancefloor.
He wraps one arm around my back, his other taking my hand in his. Splaying his fingers over the small of my back, Will holds me in his arms at a respectable distance.
“Is that true?”
“What?” he says, peering down at me.
“Billy asked you to make sure I had fun tonight?”
“No, Alice. Billy didn’t ask me to do anything. I’m here because I want to be.”
I give one small nod, my heart thumping. “You’re really good at lying, Will.”
Will sputters a laugh. “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”
“It’s appalling,” I say, staring up at him. “And impressive.”
“The appalling part of this night is how incredible you look in that Frankenstein dress, and yet I’m not allowed to hold you any closer than this.”
I grin. “We don’t have to stay long. You’re smart to stay a proper distance away from me. But I find it pretty appalling too.”
W e don’t dance again. We go our separate ways, chitchat with others at Billy’s party, and then meet back up in the parking lot one hour later.
“How was it?” I say as I slide over the leather seats of Will’s baby blue. “As awful as you thought?”
“Worse. I was right to never go all this time. That was my first Billy party and my last.”
I laugh. “It wasn’t that bad. I met a few people from other departments. And none of them called me princess.”
“Yeah, your department is a bit of a testosterone overload.”
I smirk. “You started it. And you know it.”
“I did,” he says, frowning, though I’m kidding. “I may never forgive myself for it.”
“Everyone said they watched the fireworks from the beach. We have an hour. Do you want to grab food?”
“Yes,” Will says. “But we aren’t going to the beach. I’ve got a private spot for us.”
My insides turn to Jell-O.
Yes, private sounds perfect.
We stop by a burger joint, and Will orders for both of us—a double for him and a veggie burger for me.
I watch him and think back to three months ago. I was living with my mother, working for my father, and if I’m being honest with myself, I wasn’t thriving. I wasn’t unhappy, but I wasn’t living my best life. Had Zoe and Will never showed up to Amanda’s wedding, would I ever have realized that?
The way that I feel now—working, studying, giving this job my all, and talking, laughing, swooning over my friend—sometimes I feel like maybe I hadn’t been living at all until now. Not the way that I should have been—at least for the last few years.
“What are you thinking about?” Will asks. He peers over at me from the driver’s seat, and I realize I’ve been staring at him.
“I’m thinking I should send Boone a thank-you card. Or maybe a box of chocolates.”
“Boone?” he says. I’m not sure I’ve ever said the name out loud.
“Mom’s boyfriend. If not for him, I’d still be at home, living with my mother. He talked her into leaving, which left me open to do what I wanted. I’d been so stagnant without even realizing it.”
“I wouldn’t say stagnant,” he says, reaching for my hand.
How have I lived so long without this hand in mine?
“You didn’t know any different. You were working. You’d gone to school. It’s not as if you were sitting at home, lazy.”
“No.” I nibble on my lip. “But I certainly wasn’t living life to the fullest.”
“And now you are?” he says, brows lifting.
“I think so.”
Will lifts my hand to his mouth and presses a soft kiss to my fingers.
J-E-L-L-O.