Wishing for the umpteenth time that I never asked her to this stupid dance, I follow her inside. The gym is dimly lit with crepe paper strewn crudely from the ceiling. A DJ stands in the corner playing music that is so before our time, while couples dance in the middle of the gym.
Sonya’s friends skitter in behind us, laughing and chatting. I wonder if Toby is as annoyed with the whole scene as I am.
“Hey, you made it.” Mav comes up behind me, his date Lauren by his side. She wears a floor length black dress that swims around her feet as she walks, giving the impression that she’s floating. Mav leans over and whispers in my ear, “So, did Sonya tell you about the party afterward? My older brother was able to get a keg and everything.”
That must be what Sonya was talking about in the car while I was tuning her out. I shake my head. “Nah, man, I can’t make it. Gotta be home by curfew.”
“What? C’mon, you’re always such a party pooper,” Sonya interrupts our conversation. She sticks out her lips in a pout. “When I told you about it in the car you said that you wanted to go.”
“I’m sorry, but the old man’ll kill me,” I say with a laugh. Only the truth is , I’m not joking.
“But I wanna go.” Sonya casts her eyes downward.
Seriously, does she think her little whiny act is going to work?
“If daddy’s boy here won’t take you, I will.” Mav winks at Sonya. I glance at his date, feeling sorry for her. Her face drains of color as she takes in the exchange. Way to go, Mav.
Sonya notices too, but it only seems to buoy her mood. “I’d love that.” She turns to me, her lips pursed. “You don’t mind, do you, Tripp.”
“No, it’s fine. Whatever.” I can’t keep the venom out of my voice.
“Don’t be jealous. You still have me all to yourself right now.” Yanking on my arm, she draws me to her. “Dance with me.”
I want to tell her that I’m not jealous. I want to tell her that I’m happy to unload her on Mav, because I don’t want to be here with her anyway. But I don’t. Instead, I wrap my arms around her waist and allow her to rest her head against my chest. Her fingers dance up my chest and rest on my shoulders. It’s a slow song, and Sonya moves sensually to the music, pressing her waist into me. Despite my best efforts, she succeeds in turning me on. When she lifts her head to peer up at me, I want to kiss her. So I lower my face, pressing my lips against hers. Her chalky lipstick sticks to my lips and tastes like soap. My mind wanders to the sweet smell of Hadley’s watermelon gloss. Imagining that she’s in my arms, I kiss back with vigor. However, I know it’s not her, and pretty soon I’m sickened by the whole thing. I pull away from Sonya, and she immediately wipes her mouth with her hand.
Watching her, I realize that no matter how hard I try to like her, she’ll never be the one. None of these girls here are. But I have a feeling that the right one is closer than I ever imagined.
ELEVEN
HADLEY
O n Monday everyone wants to share their experiences from the dance every chance they get. There's absolutely nowhere I can go to hide from the stories. It was bad enough that my Facebook newsfeed was assaulted with dance pictures all weekend, but now I have to hear about it at school. I’m more than grateful when the final bell rings and Paige and I race out to her car.
“It’s pretty sad that no one has anything real going for them besides a silly dance, huh?” Paige says as she turns the key in the ignition.
“Yeah.” I lean my head against the seat , allowing a long stream of air to flow past my lips. I don’t have the energy to come up with something witty back. The truth is, I don’t know what big things Paige and I have going for us at the moment.
Paige must sense my darkening mood, because she keeps quiet as she pulls out of the parking lot. She cranks up the radio and a loud hip hop beat fills the car. I savor the feeling
Sonya’s friends skitter in behind us, laughing and chatting. I wonder if Toby is as annoyed with the whole scene as I am.
“Hey, you made it.” Mav comes up behind me, his date Lauren by his side. She wears a floor length black dress that swims around her feet as she walks, giving the impression that she’s floating. Mav leans over and whispers in my ear, “So, did Sonya tell you about the party afterward? My older brother was able to get a keg and everything.”
That must be what Sonya was talking about in the car while I was tuning her out. I shake my head. “Nah, man, I can’t make it. Gotta be home by curfew.”
“What? C’mon, you’re always such a party pooper,” Sonya interrupts our conversation. She sticks out her lips in a pout. “When I told you about it in the car you said that you wanted to go.”
“I’m sorry, but the old man’ll kill me,” I say with a laugh. Only the truth is , I’m not joking.
“But I wanna go.” Sonya casts her eyes downward.
Seriously, does she think her little whiny act is going to work?
“If daddy’s boy here won’t take you, I will.” Mav winks at Sonya. I glance at his date, feeling sorry for her. Her face drains of color as she takes in the exchange. Way to go, Mav.
Sonya notices too, but it only seems to buoy her mood. “I’d love that.” She turns to me, her lips pursed. “You don’t mind, do you, Tripp.”
“No, it’s fine. Whatever.” I can’t keep the venom out of my voice.
“Don’t be jealous. You still have me all to yourself right now.” Yanking on my arm, she draws me to her. “Dance with me.”
I want to tell her that I’m not jealous. I want to tell her that I’m happy to unload her on Mav, because I don’t want to be here with her anyway. But I don’t. Instead, I wrap my arms around her waist and allow her to rest her head against my chest. Her fingers dance up my chest and rest on my shoulders. It’s a slow song, and Sonya moves sensually to the music, pressing her waist into me. Despite my best efforts, she succeeds in turning me on. When she lifts her head to peer up at me, I want to kiss her. So I lower my face, pressing my lips against hers. Her chalky lipstick sticks to my lips and tastes like soap. My mind wanders to the sweet smell of Hadley’s watermelon gloss. Imagining that she’s in my arms, I kiss back with vigor. However, I know it’s not her, and pretty soon I’m sickened by the whole thing. I pull away from Sonya, and she immediately wipes her mouth with her hand.
Watching her, I realize that no matter how hard I try to like her, she’ll never be the one. None of these girls here are. But I have a feeling that the right one is closer than I ever imagined.
ELEVEN
HADLEY
O n Monday everyone wants to share their experiences from the dance every chance they get. There's absolutely nowhere I can go to hide from the stories. It was bad enough that my Facebook newsfeed was assaulted with dance pictures all weekend, but now I have to hear about it at school. I’m more than grateful when the final bell rings and Paige and I race out to her car.
“It’s pretty sad that no one has anything real going for them besides a silly dance, huh?” Paige says as she turns the key in the ignition.
“Yeah.” I lean my head against the seat , allowing a long stream of air to flow past my lips. I don’t have the energy to come up with something witty back. The truth is, I don’t know what big things Paige and I have going for us at the moment.
Paige must sense my darkening mood, because she keeps quiet as she pulls out of the parking lot. She cranks up the radio and a loud hip hop beat fills the car. I savor the feeling
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