His Eyes by Renee Carter

something about wearing red that made me feel beautiful. Ahna was right; this was it.
    While I pulled on a pair of red heels, there was a knock at my bedroom door. Ahna pushed it open with her foot. She was armed with a curling iron in one hand and an eyeliner pencil in the other. She held them in the air and proclaimed, “When I get done, Tristan won’t be able to take his ey—er, mind off of you.”
    * * *
    As I drove up to the Edmunds’ gate, I saw that it was open. The déjà vu made my stomach twist with nervous nausea. Pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I pulled into the driveway. I immediately had to swerve when a woman carrying a serving platter walked in front of my car. Slamming on the brakes, I realized that the drive was jam-packed with white vans that had Platinum Catering silk-screened on their sides. I inched my Camry as close to the entrance as possible, double parking next to one of the vans.
    I stepped out of my car, doing a little hopscotch when one of my heels became lodged in the cobblestone. Great. I bent over, slowly working my shoe loose, and heard a low whistle. I jerked my head up to see Chris standing on the top of the steps next to Tristan. Pervy little boy. He leaned toward his brother, whispering loudly, “Trist, she looks really pretty!”
    My cheeks burned and Tristan gave his brother a smack on the back of the head. “Shut up! She can hear you!”
    “Oh.” Chris looked down at his feet while rubbing his head.
    I gave my foot one hard jerk and my shoe came free. I clicked my way up the stairs and stopped next to Tristan. “Hey. What’s all this about?”
    Tristan was dressed in a white dress shirt, black tie, and pants. These were covered with a traditional black robe. Complete with his dark sunglasses, he looked like he had wandered off of a photo shoot. He held his graduation cap in one hand and brushed the other through his hair. “Mother’s throwing a post-graduation party,” he turned his head toward me, “for the school board members.”
    Oh. The people she’d paid off. I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. “Okay, well, we’d better get going. Wouldn’t want to be late.”
    He gave a short laugh. “No, that can’t lead to anything good.”
    While I guided Tristan to my car, Chris said in a sing-song voice, “Have fun!”
    I rolled my eyes and climbed into the driver’s side. “Yeah, see you there, kid!”
    “This is going to be good,” Tristan said sarcastically as he swung the car door shut.
    “I take it you’re not excited?” I looked over to see him pulling at his tie. “Graduation is one of those ‘Big Things’ in life you’re supposed to remember forever.”
    “I thought births, weddings, and funerals pretty much covered it.”
    After maneuvering carefully around the caterers, I pulled safely back onto the road and hit the gas. I asked, “Are you speaking from personal experience?”
    “Well, I saw both Chris and Marly right after they were born—check. I was a groomsman at my uncle’s second wedding—check. And the funeral,” he paused and his voice lost some of its edge, “that hit pretty close home. I mean, burying your father...you don’t forget that.”
    I licked my dry lips and said quietly, “That must have been awful.”
    Tristan shifted in his seat. “I’ve had better days.”
    I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Tristan had a knack for using his sarcasm to avoid talking about tough stuff. But then again, I did too, so I wasn’t about to call him on it. I silently pulled into Clarence’s parking lot an entire ten minutes early. The lot was full of expensive, polished vehicles. Luckily, I found a tiny space near the sidewalk that the Hummers and Suburbans couldn’t dream of fitting in, while my Camry did just fine.
    I walked around my car, while Tristan climbed out of his side. When he took my arm, I asked coyly, “So, no more arm around the waist?”
    He frowned and said shortly, “I don’t think anyone’s