Sighing, I glanced over Connor’s shoulder to find Allie smiling. She nodded eagerly, and I knew I’d been well and truly trapped.
“Oh, fine.”
Connor smiled, and Allie squealed with delight. “Yay! Hurry and take pictures, Mom, so we don’t miss our reservation.”
Mrs. Brown had taken our pictures and sent us on our way. Dinner had been lovely. Connor and Allie tried their best to include me in their conversations and were better than usual at accomplishing it even for their obvious infatuation with each other.
I’d had butterflies, enough to choke me, as we walked into the dance. I shouldn’t have let Allie talk me into this. Now, I would spend the whole evening watching from the sidelines, like I was now, as couples danced around me.
Ding!
My phone chimed from the clutch purse I held in my hand. Shrugging, I decided I didn’t have anything better to do, so I retrieved it and opened the message.
My breath caught in my throat. I glanced at the picture in the message from Dylan then frantically around the room before studying the picture more closely.
It was him. A selfie no less. Dylan smiling that sexy smirk of his, dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo. Was he taunting me?
Dylan: Turn around. The far door.
Heart thundering, I slowly swiveled on my high heel. My eyes searched for the entrance to the large room, past the laughing couples and tables with battery operated candles glowing on them.
My eyes met his just as my phone dinged again in my hand. Dragging my eyes from the vision he made, I read the new text.
Dylan: May I have this dance?
Dylan: And all the rest?
My fingers trembled too violently to respond via text. Instead, I lifted my head and, catching his gaze once more, nodded.
A broad smile curved his lips as he made his way toward me. I stood still, waiting. I watched as he wove between tables and people, my thoughts consumed with my feelings for him. Gone was my hatred of his appealing good looks. Gone was my loathing of the crooked smile forever curving his lush lips that begged for my kiss. Gone was the dislike of his disheveled dark hair. Instead, all I felt was love. Admiration. Hope.
“You look beautiful, Eden.” Eden. Not Ed.
I opened my mouth to thank him, but the words abandoned me. I smiled.
Dylan glanced down at my hand. “You got your flowers. Do you like them?”
Gasping, I lifted my wrist to examine them anew. “You?”
Dylan’s smile turned sly. “You didn’t think Connor picked those for you, did you?”
Come to think of it. No. But having no other explanation, I’d accepted what appeared to be true.
“But how?”
Dylan lifted his chin. I looked behind me to see Allie and Connor both grinning from ear to ear. Of course.
“Allie set this up?” It all made sense now. The hair. Makeup. Tricking me into my dress and shoes.
“Allie helped.”
I lifted a brow.
“Okay, I helped. Allie orchestrated. Connor obeyed orders,” Dylan conceded with a grin. “Are you mad,” he asked, slipping his arms around my waist.
Was I? I lifted my hands to his arms just above his elbows. It wasn’t enough. Running them up his biceps and over his shoulders, I linked them behind his neck. I could have told him no. That I wasn’t upset. But I decided to show him instead.
Growling deep in his throat, Dylan accepted my kiss and took it over. His powerful arms held me close as his lips passed over mine again and again.
Whimpering as he pulled away, I rose on my toes to keep the connection. His lips curved into a smile. He kissed me once more. Softly. Slowly.
And then we danced.
Epilogue
Dylan
I’d like to say it was all smooth sailing from there. But with Eden that wasn’t often the way of things. For such a small package, she sure knew how to rustle up a storm. But for the most part, my life had become bliss. Because of her.
Eden graduated high school and that made me feel less like an old man. I continued working for Derrick. I decided to take some construction management classes part-time at State and while I didn’t love the school part, the information was proving invaluable and ultimately, I knew I’d be glad I’d done it.
Eden kept her job at Judy’s salon while enrolling in cosmetology school. I reluctantly became one of her many guinea pigs. My hair had never been cut so much and my work roughened hands had rounded nails that often sported examples of her nail art. Yeah, I was pretty whipped.
I was the best man at Josh’s wedding that fall, and Eden was Allie’s Maid of Honor two years later.
“You made a beautiful maid, Ed,” I whispered in her ear as we danced at Allie and Connor’s reception, the bride and groom swaying not five feet away. We’d all become even better friends over the years which was why I didn’t feel guilty for what I was about to do.
“You look pretty amazing yourself.” Eden’s eyes danced as they roved over my face. I could have been born a hunchback and that would have been okay with me, but for the sake of the appreciation of the woman I loved. I was glad I born with the features I knew she loved.
I kissed her. I couldn’t help it. She was too tempting. I must have lost myself more than I thought because a few moments later a sharp elbow hit my ribs. Lifting my lips from my girl’s, I found both Connor and Allie glaring at me. They were worthy co-conspirators. Grinning, I maneuvered Eden to the center of the dancefloor. I watched as Connor signaled to the DJ who lowered the sound of the music and directed a spotlight to be shone on us.
Eyes wide, Eden glanced around. “Dylan,” she whispered urgently. “What is going on?”
Releasing her, I knelt on my good knee before her.
“Oh, my gosh. What are you doing?” Her hands came up to her cheeks, a smile she couldn’t contain baring her teeth.
“As beautiful of a maid as you make today, Ed, I think you’d make an even more beautiful bride. My bride.”
She gasped, and tears sparkled in her dark eyes.
“I’ve loved you as long as I can remember, Eden. Will you please, finally be mine forever? Will you marry me?” I waited.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She threw her arms around me and I let go of the breath I’d been holding as the cheers of our friends and family erupted around us.
“I don’t hate you, Dill,” she whispered in my ear. It was our joke, our way of saying ‘I love you’ and reminding ourselves of a time when it was easier not to love. Or at least that’s what we’d tried to tell ourselves.
“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me, Ed,” I laughed just before my lips claimed hers once more.
The End
Author’ Note
I’m honored that you would take the time to read Eden and Dylan’s story. If you enjoyed The Perks of Hating You, I would sincerely appreciate a review online. Author’s love to hear from readers! Please, if you have a complaint about an aspect of the book’s formatting or editing, contact me at [email protected] as opposed to leaving a negative review. I am always working to improve where necessary and those negative comments remain even when authors update to make corrections.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
You can find me on Facebook at Stephanie Street-Author
My blog at http://stephaniestreetauthor.blogspot.com/
Or email at [email protected]
Keep reading for peeks of Perks of Dating You, Save Me, and Us at the Beach (available on Amazon).
The Perks of Dating You
Allie
There he was. Connor Sanders. All six feet four inches, broad shouldered, rock hard muscled, starting quarterback of him. As he walked toward me (well, not toward me, but in my direction), bright blue eyes smiling at all the beautiful, popular girls dripping from his arms, my heart sank down to my toes. Because if I was a GPS with Connor as my target, I really wish I knew how to program a new destination, because there
was no way Connor Sanders was ever going to look at me as anything-
“Hey, Allie.”
“Oh. Hey, Connor.”
-as anything more than his best friend. Standing there, while the single hottest guy at my high school made his way to his first period AP Chemistry class, I had to wonder if fate was being kind or cruel to plunk two-year-old Connor, who would grow up to be the absolute best at everything and beautiful to boot, next to newborn little me who would grow up to be the plainest Jane in three counties. Don’t get me wrong, Connor was an amazing best friend. That’s where fate was kind. But the chances of friendship turning to something more- well, let’s just say if I ever were to meet fate- it would be with a throat punch.
“I don’t know how you can stand it.”
I turned my head just enough to see my other best friend, and pretty much my only female friend, Eden Crenshaw, standing beside me shoulder to shoulder. Her cute pixie face was characteristically scrunched with a look of disgust as we continued to Connor Stalk, watching as he and his rippling muscles led his harem around the corner. Eden has known about my crush on Connor almost as long as I have.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, although I already knew. The school year may be new, but this conversation was not. I turned down the hall toward my first period class. We have it together, so I knew she would follow, bringing her explanation with her.
“Kayla! That’s what I’m talking about. How can you just stand by and let her hang all over your man like that?”
My man. I could only wish. But alas, Connor was not my man. He was Kayla’s man, at least he had been for the last six weeks.
“We’ve been over this a thousand times, Eden, Connor is not my man. We are just friends. He’s with Kayla,” I recited the facts, knowing Connor didn’t see me as anything more than his best friend at best, little sister at worst. However, Eden was determined Connor secretly pined for me and was too afraid to admit his feelings.
“Well, he could be yours if you would just man up and make a move on him.”
“Eden!” I giggled. I couldn’t help it. Eden definitely had a way with words.
“I’m serious. One of these days while you’re in your room shooting zombies in that dumb video game you’re always playing, just lean in and lay one on him.” She punctuated her advice with a loud kissing noise.
“And send him screaming from the room and my life? Not going to happen. ‘Friends’ is better than nothing.” And that was true. Believe me, I’ve played the scenario in my head since I was eleven and Connor was thirteen and pretty much already looked like a grown man. I dreamed of one day gazing deeply into his blue, blue eyes and declaring my undying love for him.
Those kinds of dreams always ended one of two ways. A) Connor gazing at me with pity burning in his gorgeous eyes before telling me I was more little sister material than make out material. Our friendship turns awkward and uncomfortable and Connor starts hanging out at JJ’s house instead of mine to get his video game fix. Or B) Connor asks what has taken me so long to fess up to my real feelings and pulls me into his arms for a five hour make out session, completely undisturbed because my mom would never believe we were anything more than just friends.
‘B’ would be amazing- toe-curling, life-altering, the fulfillment of my every dream A-MAZE-ING. On the other hand, ‘A’(my heart stuttered in my chest just thinking about ‘A’)- A would be unendurable, leading me to curl up into a tiny ball of misery in my room, never to come out until I was an old woman and my life had been taken over by the five hundred and twenty-seven cats my mom had sent in one by one to cheer me up. No, making a move, as Eden so eloquently put it, was out of the question. Being doomed to eternal friendship with Connor was worth my silence, if speaking up meant losing him completely.
“If you say so. I just don’t understand how you can spend hour after hour every Saturday afternoon with Mr. Hottie McHotness and not just tell him how you feel.”
“If declarations of love are so easy, why haven’t you made one yourself?” I asked, staring pointedly, because there, at 2 o’clock, was Micah Porter, the only guy in school who could make Eden’s black little heart go pitter patter.
“I’ve told you, I’m going to be a nun.”
“You sound convincing, but the drool dripping down your chin gives you away.” Eden dragged her gaze from the back of Micah’s head long enough to stick her tongue out at me.
“I can’t help my biological reaction to a beautiful man,” Eden said, stalking Micah with her eyes again as we passed his locker, turning away only when threatened with looking like a scene from The Exorcist.
“Biology. Right. It has nothing to do with the fact that Micah is a skater. And he’s super smart. And he is really nice. Did I mention, he’s hot?” I teased, bumping her hip with mine as we reached our classroom.
“He really is,” Eden sighed, dropping dramatically into a seat in the back row of our physics class. “It doesn’t matter. You know I’ve sworn off guys until college. No more high school drama for me.”
“Some friend you are, leaving me to suffer all by myself.” I said the words lightly, but my heart pinched at Eden’s words, worried. Eden didn’t like to talk about it, but something happened to her last year. I didn’t know what exactly, but after that Eden vowed to live out the remainder of our high school career sans boys.
I missed whatever quip Eden might have come back with, however, because Mr. Richardson, our physics teacher, just walked into the room and immediately launched into his lecture on Newton’s Laws. So much for easing into junior year.
Chapter Two
Connor
Tweeet!
Coach Reno’s whistle pierced the air seconds before his booming voice. “Defense! Five burmas! I don't care if you're puking your guts out, everybody finishes.”
The huge defensive linemen, faces already purple from exertion, groaned collectively as they all headed to the imaginary trail leading all around the school campus that has been dubbed a ‘burma’.
“Conditioning.” Coach’s voice carried to the defense as they ran, heads hanging low. “You guys look like you haven’t left your mama’s couch all summer. Offense! To the line!” This new proclamation was met with no less groaning from my teammates on offense. “One hundred yard suicides!”
Lining up in the end zone, I crouched into my stance, deciding for the thousandth time I hated our head coach.
Tweeet!
I was just as frustrated with my team. This was my senior year. My last chance to catch the attention of the scouts from State. I needed that scholarship. I’ve worked my ass off all summer conditioning, doing drills, and studying film. If these dipshits didn’t get their act together, no way we were winning the State Championship this year. And I needed to win.
Glancing at the water table, my gaze landed on Allie. Just the sight of her sympathetic smile as she caught my eye, settled something deep inside me. Until she turned that bright smile of hers on Jared Maxwell, the water boy and the only guy on the team I hadn’t yet threatened with bodily harm if he dared to mess with Allie.
Of course, Jared was a freshman and weighed one fifteen soaking wet. I swear, the guy’s voice hadn’t even changed yet. I could probably forgo my usual speech, the one that kept Allie safe from asshole jocks like my teammates. I really didn’t think Jared was a threat.
“Dude, this sucks.” My best friend on the team, JJ Coleman grimaced as he headed back to the end zone from the twenty-five yard line. I was already at the thirty-five, a sure sign that all my hard work over the summer had paid off. JJ, on the other hand, spent the summer drinking and partying. He was paying for it now. I couldn’t afford to lose focus.
“Suck it up, man.” I harassed JJ, passing him again.
“Enough small talk, Sanders!” Coach Reno shouted, reinforcing my earlier conclusion that he was not my favorite person, not because he was a tough coach, I didn't mind hard work. No, I didn't like him because he was an ass.
I glan
ced at Allie again. She faced the field, the corners of her mouth lifted in a smirk as our eyes met again. She knew exactly how I felt about the coach.
Jared caught my attention again, too, looking overly enthusiastic when Allie laughed at something he said and suddenly couldn’t remember when exactly I became so damn protective of the girl next door.
It was nothing new, I supposed. I’ve been helping Allie out of scrapes since we were kids. Like that time I knocked out Billy Prescott’s front tooth for locking Allie in the shed during a game of hide and seek. It still pissed me off thinking about it. It helped that I was bigger than most of the other kids around our age (Thanks to genetics. But I’d also had to repeat first grade because of some virus I picked up on a humanitarian trip to South America when I was six, putting me one grade ahead of Allie instead of two.) I guess it was her freshman year when I realized how much Allie was going to need looking after. It all started when she signed up to be the student athletic trainer for football. At first, I thought it would be awesome, right? My best friend hanging out at football. And it was until it wasn’t.
The first week of summer practice, Allie was the hottest topic in the locker room. For the first time, I was exposed to how other guys looked at my best friend and it was Not. Cool. Everything came to a head when I went to find Allie after practice to give her a ride home only to find Travis Jacobs, a senior and the school’s biggest douche giving Allie a hard time.
I would never forget the relief on her face when she saw me walk in that room or the sudden, explosive rage that had me yanking Travis around by his collar, slamming him into the wall and threatening his future childbearing opportunities if I ever saw him messing with Allie again.
I probably could have handled that situation better. Typically, sophomores threatening seniors didn’t end well for the little guy, but I wasn’t that little. I even stole the starting quarterback position from Travis. After that no one messed with Allie in the training room, or anywhere else for that matter. Rumors started that Allie was my girlfriend. But I squelched those, too, by asking out Danielle Masters, a junior and one of the most popular girls in school. It didn't take long for everyone to believe I wasn't interested in Allie and some of them even forgot we were friends. What a bunch of idiots.
The Perks of Hating You ( Perks Book 2) Page 20
