by Liz Botts
“So do you,” I replied, though I couldn’t help but notice how hard Rory’s suit tried to be hipster. The pants were just the tiniest bit too short, and his bright yellow and black argyle socks showed above his shiny brown oxford shoes.
I climbed into the passenger side, with Jake shutting the door before folding himself into the back seat. When I protested that he’d have more room up front, he’d laughed and said, “I don’t trust you to sit back here with Mary Beth without you killing her or maiming her at the very least.”
He had a point.
When we pulled up in front of Mary Beth’s house, Rory let out a low whistle, and it was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping. The house was more of a mansion, and sat well back from the road surrounded by trees. Estate might have been a better description of the land. When I squinted through the gathering twilight I could see horses off to one side of the house. No wonder the girl acted the way she did, not only did she think she was entitled, in her life she was actually entitled.
“I’ll just run up and get her,” Jake broke the silence.
“So,” Rory began as Jake slammed his door shut, “you and Jake are just friends aren’t you?”
I laughed. “Seriously? Don’t be so cliché. Yes, Jake and I are just friends. I mean, I’ve known the guy since we were little kids.”
“He just seems, I don’t know, really protective of you. If looks could kill…” Rory left off with a shrug. He tapped the steering wheel out of tune. This new moodiness didn’t suit him.
“Look, if you’re going to be like this all night, just drop us off and leave.”
Rory’s eyes widened as he turned to look at me. “Sorry. No, I want to go. I want to hang out with you tonight. It’ll be fun, right?”
“Sure.” I settled back into my seat feeling sulky. Being with a guy like Rory was naturally different than being with a high school boy, and I knew I was out of my depth. We sat in silence, though, until the back door opened, startling both of us.
Mary Beth climbed into the car, glanced at me with such a look of disdain that I actually shivered. Then she caught sight of Rory, and her expression changed. The corners of her mouth lifted, and she held out her hand. “I’m Mary Beth Johnson, and you are?”
Rory shot me an amused look before taking Mary Beth’s hand. “Rory. I’m Allison’s date.”
“Oh,” Mary Beth said as she scooted over so that Jake could get in the car too.
I caught Jake’s eye, and he gave me a one shoulder shrug that I couldn’t interpret.
When we walked into the Grand Ballroom at the convention center downtown, I was immediately struck by the music pulsating through the space. If pressed I would have described it as tiki music, but only because tiki torches were lit all around the perimeter of the space.
Mary Beth nodded, clearly impressed. “I wonder how they got permission to have that much open fire in this space.”
“What’s their theme?” I asked. I knew it had to be something tropical, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, and as Mary Beth had drilled into my head, if I couldn’t tell when I walked in then it wasn’t a good theme.
“I think it must be Hawaiian Nights, but I’ll have to look at their program to be sure. Strike one for this theme. Remember that.” Mary Beth pulled out her phone, and snapped a picture.
“I kind of like it,” Jake said, just loud enough for me to hear.
I wondered what he liked about it, but before I could ask, Mary Beth pulled him away into the crowd. Mr. Carson was already there, standing by the punch bowl. I wondered if we needed to check in with him or not. Rory wrapped an arm around my waist, distracting me from any practical thoughts.
“This is kind of trippy,” he whispered. “I didn’t even go to my own prom when I was in high school.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged against my back as he wrapped his arms more snuggly around my waist. “No good reason, I guess. Just no one to go with.”
“That’s kind of sad. Well, try to enjoy this one.” I patted his hand.
Kids started to arrive in droves, and I felt awkward and strange not knowing anyone. I still wasn’t exactly sure how Mr. Carson had gotten us invited, though I had a strange feeling that Mary Beth had had something to do with it. Rory and I moved toward the refreshment table. When I saw the spread of appetizers and cookies, I realized that there wouldn’t be a dinner. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the table.
“What are you doing?” Rory asked.
“You heard Mary Beth in the car, we have to document everything.” Rory laughed as I clicked three more pictures. “Stop laughing. This is for a grade, and I need that class to graduate.”
I had no idea where to go next, but as long as I had my phone out, I felt like I was documenting things, reporting. I could do that. News was news, and I would look at it as presenting said news to my class. Surrounded by students I didn’t know made it a lot easier to blend in to anonymity. I grabbed Rory’s arm, tugged him through the thickening crowd, and found the photographer area.
“Wow, people actually spend money on this?” Rory surveyed the scene before us with barely concealed contempt.
The photographer was set up in a corner of the ballroom with a layout that was supposed to look like the beach. A tiki hut with a straw roof was part of the props. My favorite part was the giant faux moon suspended from the ceiling. I understood what they were going for but the effect was tacky. I took some pictures, and then the photographer noticed us.
“Ready for your close up?” He held up his camera, and gestured to the set before him.
If I squinted really hard the set almost looked pretty, so I just shrugged before glancing up at Rory. Behind his glasses, his eyes were shiny with excitement. He had said that he’d missed his prom, so I supposed this was his chance to make up the experience.
Sure enough, Rory grabbed my hand, and tugged me in front of the photographer. I squirmed a little at the thought of having my picture taken in this ridiculous dress. I knew it was pretty, but since it was Brooke’s, I didn’t feel like myself at all. To have that immortalized didn’t sound like the best plan, but Rory was so excited.
“Where do you want us?” he called to the photographer, who proceeded to point out the various marks on the floor where we could choose to stand.
Because the dance had just begun, there wasn’t a line for the photographer, and Rory had the chance to mull over the perfect location. Finally he decided that hunching down behind the tiki hut so that it looked like we were inside of the tiny structure. Annoyance bit at my heels as I followed him across the uneven flooring that was supposed to look like sand. Clearly Rory had not considered how hard this endeavor would be in my flowy dress and heels.
Once we were jammed down behind the cardboard cut-out, our arms resting on the faux bar, the photographer began snapping pictures so quickly that I never knew where to look or when to smile. I was sure the pictures would be awful, but whenever I glanced at Rory, the grin on his face made it clear to me that he was having a great time.
When we stumbled away, I nearly crashed right into Jake and Mary Beth. As he steadied me, Mary Beth shot daggers at me, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “So that looks like fun,” Jake commented, tipping his head toward the photographer. I could hear the barely concealed mocking in his voice, and it made me want to punch him in the arm.
“It was. Aren’t you two going to check it out?” I angled my next comment directly at Mary Beth. “It seems like you guys would want to see every aspect of this prom in action?”
Mary Beth’s eyes widened, and then she grabbed Jake’s hand before he could say anything else. She stalked toward the unsuspecting photographer as Jake glowered at us. Rory put his arm around my waist and drew me back toward the refreshment table. Just once I glanced back at Jake and Mary Beth, and I could have sworn that I felt his eyes, but I dismissed that idea. Besides even if he was still glaring in my direction, it served him right for making fun
of me.
The night passed in a blur of punch and dancing to bad music. Rory redefined the term “wandering hands” during all of the slow dances, and I had to wonder if he was trying to be a cliché of a guy from a John Hughes movie. After I had moved his hand off my rear for the fifth time in one dance, I huffed out an irritated breath, and stepped out of his arms.
“Look, Rory, I didn’t come here to get groped all night.” I put my hand on my hip, and cursed the fact that the dress made me look softer than I normally was.
Rory laughed, and pulled me back into his arms. “You don’t mean that. I’m just playing the role you invited me here to play.”
My temples throbbed as annoyance coursed through my veins. Reminding him that he had volunteered to be my date for the evening seemed pointless. Whatever character he had in his head seemed to have taken over his common sense. I wasn’t sure I liked whoever this guy was that I was seeing tonight.
“I think Allison would rather dance with me now.” Jake inserted himself between Rory and me so effortlessly I would have sworn he’d been practicing. Before Rory could protest, Jake had moved us onto the middle of the dance floor. I momentarily flashed back to dancing in Gram’s barn the day before, and wondered what was coming over me. This was just my best friend. I did not want to become some simpering caricature of the girl who fell in love with her best friend who just happened to be the boy next door. There was nothing original about.
And yet…I didn’t dare look up at Jake because the emotions warring in my chest would show in my eyes. Of that I was certain. I wished things hadn’t gotten so complicated between us, or that I could just diffuse the weird tension with some smartly placed, well-timed old fogeyism to make Jake laugh. His arm tightened around my back, almost as if by reflex, pulling me closer as if to protect me. Maybe he could read my thoughts.
“You know that guy is a creep, right?” Jake sounded angry, and I looked up at him in surprise.
“Rory’s nice. I like him. He likes me. You don’t even know him.” I knew as soon as I spoke that I’d said the wrong thing. Jake’s face fell into a pout I’d seen dozens of times over the years, and I knew that I’d hurt his feelings. Instead of backing off, though, I pressed on. “Besides what do you care? You came with Mary Beth, and if Rory’s a creep, then Mary Beth is the queen of creeps.”
Jake rolled his eyes at me. “You’re just jealous of Mary Beth, which is absurd, but true. And the only reason you are with that Rory guy is because he’s older and you think he’ll help you get ahead at work.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stopped dancing. I took a step away from Jake, and just stared up with him, the ugliness of his words not even registering at the moment. “How could you say that?” My words came out in a squeak.
“Just saying the truth like I see it.” Jake balled up his fists at his sides as he looked down at me.
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to keep them away so Jake wouldn’t see how much he’d hurt me. “You’re a jerk.” My words lacked conviction, but I could tell by the expression on Jake’s face that they met their mark. “Don’t talk to me.”
I waved him off as I pushed through the crowd to find Rory. Maybe I could fake an illness, and convince Mr. Carson that I should be allowed to leave early. Disgust filled me when I saw Rory standing by the punch bowl talking to some blond girl with long legs and a short skirt. Despite her grown up look, the girl seemed way too young to even be at prom. All guys were the same: lewd jerks.
With my tears threatening to spill over I ran out of the ballroom into the lobby of the convention center. There was a wedding in one of the other ballrooms, and some meeting of balding, middle aged men in suits. Neither seemed like the appropriate place to hide so I turned down a narrow hall from which I could the clatter of dishes.
I pressed myself into a small alcove, and closed my eyes as tears leaked down my cheeks. The sound of footsteps made me hold my breath. When the person stopped in front of me, I squinted up into the dark, only to heave out a sigh. “Jake. What are you doing here?”
Jake shook his head, and reached out toward me. I tried to ignore the hurt expression on his face when I flinched. Why did I care about his feelings after the way he had treated me? Still I let him put his hands on my elbows, and rock me gently back and forth.
“I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have said that stuff. It’s just,” he paused, and his hands tightened on my arms, “you can do so much better than that guy. I want you to be happy, that’s all. Forgive me?”
I wiped the dampness away from my cheeks, took a deep shaky breath, and said, “Sure, I guess. I appreciate that you care about me, Jake, but I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions. I think you need to back off a little.”
We both stood there, Jake still holding on to me, and me hugging myself, and all I felt was an incredible numbness spreading through my body. I shook my head to fend off the horrible thought that Jake and I weren’t actually friends anymore. That someone who could say such awful things to me wasn’t worth keeping in my life. I could barely wrap my head around the thought because life without Jake made me feel so incredibly sad that I felt the hole of grief opening in me like a yawning chasm that I did not want to fall into.
“We should go back to the dance. Rory and Mary Beth will wonder where we are.” And I pulled away from Jake before he could say anything else.
Chapter Eleven
After we dropped Mary Beth off at her house, Rory headed back to my neighborhood. Jake loomed in the back; a big, hulking shadow of disapproval. When we pulled into my driveway, Rory draped his arm across the back of my seat.
“Listen, some of my friends are having a party, do you want to run in and change? Then you could come with me.” He fingered the spaghetti straps of my dress as he spoke. The implication was clear to me, and even though it made me uncomfortable, my anger at Jake made me want to do something kind of reckless.
“Sure, I’ll be right back.” I scooted out of the car, and slammed the door. I was halfway up my front walk when Jake emerged from the car.
“Allison, you aren’t serious are you? Going to a party with that guy? Who knows what kind of stuff will be going on there. I can’t let you do it.” He leaned against the chain link fence that surrounded our front yard.
I spun around on the bottom step. “And what are you going to do about it, Jake? It’s none of your business. Go home.”
When I got in the house, I stomped up the stairs, anger radiating off of me in waves. When I passed Brooke in the hallway she leapt aside with a muttered curse, and I just ignored her. Who did Jake think he was anyway? I was eighteen years old. In less than five months I would be fully enmeshed in college. If I wanted to go to a grown-up party why shouldn’t I? It couldn’t be any worse than the lame high school shindigs I’d been to.
Besides, I trusted Rory. He wouldn’t take me anyplace that wasn’t suitable for someone my age. It would be fun to meet his friends. That seemed like such a couple-y thing to do. I yanked off the blue dress, and let it slump in a small heap on the floor. In one last fit of annoyance I kicked the dress under my bed. I grabbed jeans and a button down shirt from my closet, and threw them on.
“Mom? I’m heading out with a friend from work. I’ll be home by one.” I grabbed my purse and a jacket from the hook by the door. When I emerged into the dark night, Jake was still leaning against the fence with the saddest look on his face. Tugging on the jacket, I forced myself to ignore him as I made my way back to Rory’s SUV.
“Does your friend want to come with us?” Rory asked, glancing over his shoulder at Jake.
“No. Just drive.” I clutched my purse to my chest as we pulled out onto my street. As Jake and my house faded behind us I let out a sigh of relief. “So where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Rory said with a grin, as he pushed his foot down on the accelerator.
When he pulled up to the old factory building I felt my pulse pick up as a wave of fear washed over
me. The whole vibe gave off a serial killer hang out, which did not do much for my nerves. Then I realized that this building was one of the recently converted spaces downtown that had been turned from a hazard to a haven. I had heard from some people at the station that these condos were extremely high end, which I read to mean expensive.
“So who lives here?” I asked, peering up at the building.
“An ex of mine. Don’t worry, you’ll love her. She’s great.” Rory reached across the center console, and patted my knee. At first it seemed like he was comforting me, but then his hand came to rest dangerously high on my thigh.
The moment didn’t last long as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. That movement distracted Rory enough that he removed his hand, and climbed out. I took a deep breath to calm my still racing nerves. When I’d started dating Rory I’d known he was older and more experienced. I was no prude, but I’d never gotten farther than kissing with a boy before, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to go there. I doubted he wanted to hear that I had always thought I’d be in a committed relationship, maybe even married before going all the way. Still, I told myself not to worry about that tonight. Nothing would happen at a party with his adult friends. It would be sophisticated.
I followed Rory up a flight of stairs that had been redone to expose the interior brick walls. Despite the shabby appearance of the space, I could tell it was all brand new. The smell of freshly cut wood still hung in the air, so faint that I might have been imagining it. He knocked at a one of two doors on the third floor. I quickly calculated how big the condo must be based on the enormity of the exterior, and I decided that whoever this ex was she must have some serious money.
“Rory! I can’t believe you came! Is this the new girl? I can’t believe you brought her. Iona will freak!” A leggy blond who reminded me of the girl from earlier threw her arms around Rory as she pulled him into the apartment, leaving me to follow. I closed the door softly, trying not to listen to the girl‘s babbling or Rory’s sultry responses.
