Chapter 37
Ari
I walk into the gymnasium for the homecoming dance, and immediately, I’m transported back a decade.
The place looks completely different than it does during school.
Twinkle lights hang from the rafters. The basketball hoops have been raised.
Students dance beneath strips of white crepe paper while music pulses through the room.
I borrowed another dress from Landrie. The fabric is a deep-wine color, somewhere between burgundy and plum, and it skims my body all the way to my ankles. The neckline is simple. The silhouette is simple, but I don’t feel simple in it.
My hair is swept into a loose knot at the nape of my neck, pinned up in a way that somehow looks effortless despite taking entirely too much work.
Soft pieces have escaped around my face, curling against my cheeks and neck.
The style leaves my shoulders bare and makes me feel more polished.
Not like the woman who spent the morning watching a barn get built while eating several donuts.
Wade stands near the entrance, talking to Mr. Heath.
His gaze lifts to me, and the conversation dies mid-sentence.
Mr. Heath keeps talking, but I can tell Wade doesn’t hear a word.
For one glorious moment, he just stares.
Slowly, his eyes travel from my shoes to my dress then back to my face. And the look he gives me nearly knocks the wind out of me. His hand lifts, fingers brushing past his hair, stopping on the nape of his neck and pausing there like he’s seeing something impossible.
There’s a subtle head shake.
Then he starts walking straight toward me.
The closer he gets, the worse my heartbeat becomes.
“You look...” He stops. Another head shake. Tries again. “You look incredible.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks. “Thank you.”
His eyes lower briefly as if he physically cannot stop looking.
“It’s just a dress.”
“Yeah,” he breathes out, “but you’re wearing it. So…” His words die, and even that feels like a compliment.
“I’ve never chaperoned a dance. What’s the gist?”
Wade smiles. “Just to spend as much time with me as possible.”
“And the students?”
“They can fend for themselves.” I laugh as he nods toward the refreshment table. “Actually, I always hang out over there.”
“That’s where I’ll hang out too.”
We walk over, turning so we face the students. Across the gym, Ashtyn Ellis is attached to a senior boy like Velcro. The poor kid doesn’t stand a chance.
I’ve noticed all week throughout the fall festival that Ashtyn hasn’t been hanging around Wade as much. Or if she has, I haven’t noticed.
“I think you’ve officially been replaced.”
“Thank goodness.” He immediately relaxes. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
“For what?” I stare at his outstretched hand.
“The bet. You won.”
Understanding dawns. “Oh.”
He shakes my hand dramatically. “Congratulations, Miss Langford. You’ve successfully cured my inappropriate student-crush problem.”
“I think it’s too early to call a winner.”
“Oh?”
“My mom might be coming around.”
His smile widens. “Really?”
“Maybe. And we still have a few days until Landrie’s wedding.”
“So you’re saying there’s still time?”
“I’m saying don’t get lazy on me now, Stevenson.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
And somewhere, deep inside, I hope he means it.
We spend the next hour watching kids dance to fast songs and commenting on surprising couples. Then a slow song finally plays. The entire gym shifts. Students pair off. Lights soften.
Wade steps in front of me with his hand out. “Miss Langford, may I have this dance?”
My heart immediately says yes. The rest of me follows by placing my hand in his. He leads me out to the fringe of the floor. One hand goes to my waist. The other holds mine. We begin slowly moving together like we’ve done this before, which is funny because we haven’t.
“First time,” I say.
His brows lift.
“At a dance together.” I shrug, trying to act indifferent. “I never got the honor of being your date in high school.”
“I was planning on asking you to the senior prom.”
“No, you weren't.”
“I absolutely was, but Wesley Henderson asked you before I could.”
My eyes narrow. “I don’t know if I believe you. You dated pretty much every girl in high school except me. If you wanted to ask me to a dance, you could’ve. You had years of opportunities.”
“I promise, I wanted to ask you.” His eyes look annoyingly sincere.
“I mean”—I shrug, but it feels forced—“it wasn’t exactly my favorite thing.”
His brows furrow as if he doesn’t entirely understand.
“Watching you date every girl in town while pretending it didn’t bother me. I spent a lot of years assuming I wasn’t your type.”
“I couldn’t date you.” His expression changes into something serious as his hand tightens slightly at my waist. Everything about him feels different suddenly. “I couldn’t date you because you meant so much to me. You meant more to me than one date, one dance, or one fleeting kiss.”
The words steal the air from my lungs.
“You were the one girl I couldn’t treat casually.” His voice drops lower. “I knew what would happen if I went after you.”
“What?” The word escapes on a breath.
“I’d fall.” The honesty behind his eyes feels important. “And if I fell for you, that would’ve been it. I would never be able to go back.”
I forget how to breathe because, for years, I’ve believed the exact opposite about why Wade never wanted me.
That I wasn’t good enough for him. That I didn’t matter enough.
And now he’s standing here, telling me the reason was because I mattered too much to him.
I can’t wrap my head around what that means to me. How much that info heals a part of me that’s been hurt all these years.
Almost unconsciously, I move closer. His arm tightens around my waist, enough to make the space between us disappear.
I lift my hands, hooking them around his neck.
My cheek brushes his as we sway together, and suddenly, I’m aware of everything.
The steady rise and fall of his chest. The warmth of his hand spread across my back. The faint scent of his cologne.
His thumb drifts back and forth in a slow, absentminded stroke, and every pass sends another wave of awareness through me. Around us, students laugh and music plays, but it all fades into background noise. My entire world zooms in on the man holding me.
I can feel his grip through the thin fabric of my dress. Feel the way his body shifts with mine. Every time I breathe in, I catch another hint of his scent. I feel his breath near my temple, and my pulse refuses to calm.
The craziest part is how this feels like where I’m supposed to be. Like Wade’s arms are home. Like all those years apart somehow led us here.
I tilt my head slightly, and my nose brushes the side of his jaw. His hand flexes against my back. Not much. Just enough to tell me he noticed too.
Neither of us says a word. A dangerous silence hangs between us. One where both of us know exactly what we’re thinking. What we want.
Tension fills my chest.
Heartbeats intensify.
The song ends.
Slowly, we both pull back, lips almost brushing along the way, sending a spike of chills down my body.
For a second, we just stand there, staring.
Wade looks like he wants to skip to the end credits.
The same desire pulses through me too.
He grabs my hand and, without saying anything, leads me off the dance floor, away from everyone else.
And I go without any hesitation.