#Awestruck (A #Lovestruck Novel)

by Sariah Wilson

  He released me and set me back on the ground, but I didn’t let go. I wanted to be close to him.

  “When I asked you about your plans this week, there was something I forgot to ask.” He kissed my forehead softly, and I sighed.

  “What did you want to ask me?”

  “I wanted to ask you if you’d go to the reunion with me.”

  “Really?” I squealed. Just when I’d thought this day couldn’t possibly get any better. “Yes! I mean, who didn’t have a fantasy of showing up to a high school party on the arm of the quarterback?”

  “I never did.”

  That made me laugh and tighten my arms around him. “So arrogant.”

  “Maybe. But I feel like this is a topic we should spend more time exploring.”

  “Your inflated ego?”

  “Fantasies,” he answered with a wicked grin. “Specifically yours.”

  “Shut up,” I told him, but even I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

  I was going to the ball with Prince Charming.

  My life was pretty awesome at the moment.

  I should have remembered that when you believed everything in your life was perfect, that was the moment the universe liked to cut your legs out from underneath you.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It ended up being easier than I’d expected to decorate for the reunion. The hotel did most of the work with the tables, chairs, and tablecloths. Aubrey and I, along with a handful of volunteers, came in to finish up the details. Balloons in the school colors, red and black, some strung lights, the floral centerpieces. All tastefully subdued and in line with Aubrey’s ultimate vision for the best reunion ever.

  When I got back home, I called my younger sister to come over. Rory had already offered to lend me a dress that she’d said “will look amazing on you because it looks amazing on me,” and stuck around to help me get ready. It was a royal-blue cocktail dress that I thought would clash with our hair color, but she was right. It looked amazing when I put it on.

  “It makes your skin glow,” Rory said, going through my lipsticks to find a good color. And it didn’t wash out my hair. If anything, it made it seem an even deeper red.

  The dress was tight, as Rory was a bit shorter and smaller than me. I probably wouldn’t be able to breathe, but it was a small price to pay. It was bare on one shoulder and had a cutout in the short sleeve on the other. “Whatever you paid for this dress, it was worth it,” I told her as she helped zip me into it. There was a cute diamanté belt around the waist that I hadn’t noticed before.

  “Really suck it in,” she told me, and I pulled in my stomach, holding my breath, and she managed to get the zipper all the way to the top. We both exhaled when we saw that it would fit. I added a pair of black open-toe high heels, again loving that I could wear these with Evan and still be shorter next to him.

  “Are you worried about seeing all your former tormentors tonight?” Rory asked as I slipped my shoes on.

  “Not really. I should probably be having, like, PTSD flashbacks or something, but all those years of therapy did do me some good. I’m not going to allow any of those kids to have any control over me or my life. I’m going to go enjoy myself, and they don’t get a say in whether or not I have a good time.” I had put most of that high school trauma behind me, and part of that was due to Evan. How protective he was of me, how much he believed in me. I didn’t have anything to fear from any of those people.

  They couldn’t touch me.

  “Have fun. But not too much fun because Evan’s not into that,” Rory teased, kissing me on the cheek. “I’m going to get out of here before he shows up. Unless you need a chaperone. And you might once he sees you in that dress.”

  “Get out of here,” I told her, listening to her laugh all the way to the front door. There was a knock about thirty seconds later, and I figured she’d forgotten something.

  “Rory, what—” My voice cut off when I saw that it was Evan.

  Who was staring at me like I was the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

  He looked amazing—I loved him in semi-formalwear. So clean-cut and sexy. Tonight he had on his dark-gray tailored suit and a tie that looked surprisingly close to the color of my dress. Like we were about to go to prom. My teenage self gasped in excitement. Then I wondered if Rory had sent him a text.

  “Wow,” he finally breathed. “You look so hot that I’m afraid I’m going to burn my fingers if I touch you. You are stunning.”

  “Back at you.”

  He stepped through the front door and put his hands on my waist, gripping me tightly. “Are you sure we can’t skip the reunion and just stay here?”

  “Do you want Aubrey to issue death warrants for the both of us? I have to do whatever menial tasks she has planned, and you are the star attraction. We have to be there.”

  He nuzzled my neck. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”

  If he kept doing that, he definitely would. “No. We have to go.”

  With an exaggerated sigh, he let go and took my hand. On the car ride over, I told him all about Aubrey’s excessive attention to detail when it came to the decorations. “Like, they’re balloons and Christmas lights. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “I can’t wait to see it.”

  I couldn’t wait to walk into the reunion on Evan’s arm. If Aubrey had allowed it, I might have even worn a custom T-shirt that said HERE WITH EVAN DAWSON.

  And when we arrived at the reunion, it was every bit as awesome as I’d imagined it would be. We stopped at the registration table to get name tags for both of us, which seemed silly for him. Like everybody at the reunion wouldn’t know exactly who he was. The two women running the table gave me a whole lot of side-eye, as if they couldn’t figure out why I was the one there with Evan.

  Living well really was the best kind of revenge.

  Aubrey had left a name tag for me, and I stuck it onto my dress. When we went into the ballroom, Evan nodded. “You guys did a good job. It looks nice.”

  “Don’t let my sister hear you say that. It can’t be just nice. It’s the best reunion ever. Make sure you say that to her. At least five or six times. I need to check on the food real fast. Will you find somewhere for us to sit?”

  “Yep.” He kissed me hard and fast, and he left me breathless for more.

  The food table looked fine; I didn’t know why Aubrey wanted me to monitor it. The catering staff were doing an excellent job of keeping the trays filled and the punch bowl topped off. I picked up a pair of tongs to move them over a couple of inches. It was the only thing I could think to do so that I could tell Aubrey I had helped.

  “Ashton, you clean up nicely.”

  I turned my head and nearly dropped the tongs I was holding. It was Rand from work. “What are you doing here?”

  He had on a name tag that said Archie Abrams. “Oh, you know. Just came by to say hi to the old gang. Is your fiancé, Evan Dawson, here? I’d love to chat with him. Brenda filled me in on the specifics of your relationship. Your pretty boy doesn’t know, does he?”

  Just like that, my life literally flashed before my eyes. This was it. I was done. Rand would expose me, and Evan would hate me.

  I’d been living in denial that this day of reckoning would come, and now it was here.

  “That you only dated him in order to get dirt on him? I should get my phone out. I’d love to film his reaction.”

  “Stop it,” I hissed at him. “What do you want?”

  “Well, since you turned out to be such a terrible reporter, I’m here to get the story you couldn’t. I figured talking to Evan’s old high school friends would be the best place to start. Somebody here has to have the inside scoop.”

  I couldn’t let him talk to Evan. Rand would ruin everything. “What will it take to make you leave?”

  “How about you going on the record saying you’ve slept with your fiancé?”

  “I haven’t.”

  H
e let out a bark of laughter. “Right. No wonder Brenda wanted to replace you. You’re not even a very good liar.”

  “Just go,” I said.

  He seemed to be considering this. “Pass. And you can stop your scared-bunny routine. I’m not going to out you tonight and make a scene. I want people to talk to me, so I need to fly under the radar. I’ll mind my business, and you mind yours.” He walked away with a smirk. How had I ever liked hanging out with him? Such an ambitious, sneaky jerk.

  I made my way back over to Evan, not sure if I could trust in what Rand had said. I could absolutely see him torpedoing me just to get Evan’s reaction shot. It would be a good runner-up story once Rand realized that Evan was exactly who he said he was.

  “Let’s dance,” I said, pulling Evan out onto the dance floor with me. The song was a slow one, and I wrapped myself up in his embrace, letting him be my shield against the rest of the world.

  I was going to have to tell him. I’d hoped I could slink away from ISEN and pretend that Brenda’s story and my involvement with it had never happened. But I was beginning to realize that it might not be possible. I had to warn him what Brenda, and now Rand, were up to.

  Evan had an away game this weekend. I’d tell him on Monday, when he came over to hang out after practice. I wouldn’t want him distracted for the game.

  That would give me a few days to build up my courage and figure out how to tell him.

  Aubrey danced up alongside us with Justin and yelled, “What do you think of the reunion?”

  “Best reunion ever!” Evan and I responded at the same time, laughing as we did so. Aubrey didn’t seem to notice. She just gave us a satisfied nod and returned her attention to her husband.

  After we’d danced to both fast and slow songs, Evan asked, “Do you want to get something to drink?”

  I nodded and followed him to the refreshments. Which were still operating just fine without me. He poured me a glass first and handed it to me.

  I had just raised it to my lips when a man approached us, putting his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Dawson! How have you been?”

  “Piz?”

  Aaron Piznarski, Evan’s best friend in high school, stood there with his arms open, ready to hug Evan. People like me always tell themselves in high school that the jocks and cheerleaders would get fat and/or bald, but Piz was still in shape and had all of his hair. And that cocky smirk I’d always hated.

  Evan shook his hand instead and gave him an appraising look. “Do you remember Ashton Bailey?”

  Piz’s eyes flicked over me, and I didn’t see any recognition. “No. Should I?”

  “We used to hang out at her house. She’s Aubrey’s little sister?”

  That blank stare continued, and he frowned slightly. “I remember being over at Aubrey’s, but not her family.”

  It was odd to stand there with the man who was responsible for my teenage trauma. I’d been mocked, humiliated, and ostracized, and he couldn’t even remember who I was.

  My pain and I were totally insignificant to him.

  He held out his hand to me. “I’m Aaron. Everyone calls me Piz.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to shake his hand and instead took a step behind Evan, letting him be a barrier between me and his former best friend. I should have been laying into Piz, forcing him to face what he’d done. Here I’d thought I was totally over all my issues and problems, and instead I was cowering instead of confronting him.

  And Evan seemed completely tuned in to how I was feeling. “She knows who you are. And instead of introducing yourself, I think you should probably apologize to her.”

  “For what, man?”

  “For hurting her. For making fun of her and being cruel. You bullied her and humiliated her when we were seniors. How can you have forgotten that?” he asked. It made me wonder how many other girls Piz had tormented, given that he couldn’t place me.

  “I’m sorry?” It sounded more like a question than an actual apology. And it didn’t mean anything because he obviously only said it because Evan had told him to. “What exactly did I do?”

  Evan rattled off a quick list of what Piz had done to me, and I saw the recognition the second it finally dawned on his face.

  Then his reaction was not what I had expected. I’d thought he might apologize. Tell me he’d grown and matured and regretted how he’d treated me. Instead, he said, “Oh right! You’re Stalker! Look at you. From not to hot in just ten years. Too bad I didn’t lock you down in high school. Although,” he said with a gross, suggestive leer, “you could come home with me, and we could make up for lost time.”

  I drew in a sharp breath. It was like Evan was always such a gentleman to me that I’d forgotten men could be this way. Crude and vomit-inducing. Disgust slithered through my intestines. I felt tainted just by standing near him.

  “Are you serious?” Evan’s face turned dark. My hand was on his arm, and I felt his muscles tightening, saw his right hand clench into a fist.

  He was going to punch Piz. I set my cup of punch down on the table.

  Not that Piz deserved saving, but I stepped in between the two men right after Evan shoved Piz. “It doesn’t matter. Let it go,” I told him.

  The veins on Evan’s neck strained, as if it was taking everything he had to hold back. I could only imagine how much professional trouble he’d be in if he hit somebody at a high school reunion. He didn’t need to be fined tens of thousands of dollars because of some male-pattern dumbness. I put both of my hands on his shoulders. “Come with me. Let’s go out into the hallway.”

  And cool off, because he needed it.

  “What is your problem?” Piz asked, apparently not realizing how close he was to a beatdown.

  “You’re my problem!” Evan retorted.

  I pushed against Evan lightly, but it was literally like trying to move a wall. I tried again to get him to listen. “If you hit this idiot, you are going to ruin Aubrey’s reunion, and then she’ll kill us both, and she knows how to get away with murder. She went to law school.”

  The tension in his shoulders relaxed slightly, and he nodded. I took him by the hand, intending to lead him away.

  “Yeah, run along. Listen to your stupid girlfriend.” Piz didn’t actually say girlfriend, although I wished he had instead of his other word choice, because that’s when Evan almost went nuclear.

  Evan reached out and again shoved Piz with his free hand. Then some choice and colorful words were exchanged, and it wasn’t until I said, “Evan, please,” that he finally broke things off and went out with me into a quiet hallway.

  He started pacing, the fury still evident in every line of his face. “Can you believe that guy? How was I ever friends with him? If he thinks he’s going to insult the woman I love, he’s got another—”

  “Wait, what?” I couldn’t breathe. All the oxygen had left the planet, and I was going to suffocate.

  In that moment, Evan realized what he had said. The anger left him as he crossed over to take both of my hands in his.

  “The woman you love?” I repeated, still unable to believe he’d said it. “That’s me, right?”

  “Of course that’s you. I know I haven’t said it yet, and that probably wasn’t the best way, but I do love you.” He let out a self-conscious laugh. “I’ve never said that to anyone I wasn’t related to before.”

  Which made it more special. I’d said it once before to another man, but I shouldn’t have. Because what I’d felt for him seriously paled in comparison with what I felt for Evan.

  I had to tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him I loved him until I’d been completely honest with him.

  Even though telling him about Brenda and the story might mean I’d never get to say those three words to him.

  I was worried it might hurt his feelings when I didn’t say it back, but now that he’d turned the faucet on, he didn’t seem to want to stop talking.

  “When you got sick, I realized how serious my feelings were for you. That I was in lov
e with you, and something bad happening to you was the worst thing I could imagine.” He let out a deep breath. “There’s been something about you from the very beginning. Some spark that I couldn’t look away from. Some invisible thread that keeps tugging me closer and closer to you.”

  My heart turned completely liquid, melting its way through my body, filling me with a heady warmth. Even though I’d been fighting it at the time, the same was true for me. Always had been where Evan was concerned. There was something about him that kept me coming back even when I didn’t want to.

  Like my heart had always known what my head was too stupid to figure out.

  “And it’s more than just loving you, Ashton. I want to build a life with you. I can’t imagine a future without you in it.”

  The shock of his words hit me like a bucket of ice water. “What . . . what are you saying?”

  Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

  “This isn’t really the place or time,” Evan said. “I don’t know if you see us like that, too, but we can talk about it later.”

  Right. Later. Later we would discuss if we had a future and whether or not we should get married. That was where this was going, right?

  A future we wouldn’t have when I told him everything. The idea of finally spilling my guts made me start to hyperventilate.

  I did the only thing I could do. Distract and change the subject. “You were going to punch somebody for me.”

  “I’d punch a hundred guys for you.”

  “Aw . . . that would so land you in prison.”

  He laughed and kissed me.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said. We’d put in our time, and I didn’t want Evan to go back into that ballroom and lay Piz out.

  I also didn’t want to share him anymore that evening. I wanted to stay in the happy little bubble of “I love you” for as long as I possibly could.

  “Let’s go,” he agreed. We ended up going into a fast-food place in our very nice outfits and getting a couple of hamburger meals with chocolate shakes. We had to leave when he started to draw attention, but it took about fifteen minutes. Like nobody could believe that Evan Dawson would descend from the heavens to mingle with mere mortals.