Out Of The Ashes

by Diana Gardin

I stared dolefully at the dresses, resenting all the cut-outs, plunging necklines, and short hemlines assaulting my eyes. “Ugh. Why do I have to show so much skin? Can’t I just wear a habit and be done with it?”

  Maven laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Paige. If I had your body, I’d just walk around in a bikini all day.”

  Maven was a curvy beauty with blond hair and All-American good looks. Her pretty face even boasted a perfect pair of dimples that appeared with every facial expression change.

  “And if I had your body, I wouldn’t be so stressed out about picking out one of these skimpy dresses,” I sighed.

  “Color?” Tima asked again.

  She was all business when it came to shopping for a formal event. No nonsense.

  “We decided to do teal,” I said. “Compliments both of our eye colors.”

  She pulled two dresses down and handed them to me. “These come in teal. Let’s try these on, ladies!”

  “Yes, Shopping-Nazi!” Gillian saluted Tima formally.

  Tima glared at her. “Not funny, Gillian. We will be the best-dressed group of girls at this thing. Rob is counting on me.”

  Gillian rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t give a flying biscuit about what Drew thinks of my dress. I don’t even know how it happened that I agreed to go with him. I must have been drunk.”

  “You were,” I said helpfully. “He asked you at Matchstick’s the other night, remember?”

  “I love this one,” Maven said dreamily, holding a hot pink number with silver rhinestone straps at arm’s length.

  “Clement is going to want to tear it right off me.”

  Clement was Maven’s long-time boyfriend, a teammate of Clay’s.

  “I agree,” I told her. “Hot pink is totally your color.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Tima said, all business. “Dressing rooms, everyone. Hit it!”

  After trying on what felt like hundreds of dresses at various lengths and multiple colors of the rainbow, we all miraculously decided on one to purchase. Heading home in Maven’s Jeep, we discussed the upcoming event.

  “It was nice of the guys to order a limo so we could all go together,” Tima commented.

  Now that we were out of the store, she was back to her sweet self. The Shopping Nazi was nowhere to be found.

  “I’ve never been in a limo,” I admitted.

  “No?” Maven gasped, glancing in the rearview mirror at where I was sitting in the backseat. “Never? What about prom?”

  I must have blushed, trying to figure out how to answer. “I didn’t go to prom. I was in the hospital.”

  Gillian reached over and squeezed my hand from her seat beside me.

  “Oh, honey,” said Maven. “I’m sorry. I forgot. I’m an idiot.”

  “No, you’re not,” I said. “It feels like forever ago now. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Well,” said Gillian. “Tomorrow night is going to be amazingly wonderful. It will be even better than our stupid prom was.”

  “How would you know?” I said, smiling affectionately at her. “You didn’t go to Prom, either. You were sitting in my hospital room with me.”

  Twenty-Six

  Clay

  I just stared at my phone, dumbfounded. I read the text again and again hoping it would change, morph into something different.

  Pete: Heads up, dude. I asked Hannah Davis to go to the formal with me.

  I muttered a curse and threw the phone down on my bed. Why would Pete do this to me? He was a friend, a fellow senior on the team. He knew exactly what I’d been though with Hannah and what she was doing to my relationship now. And he was bringing her to the formal anyway. I grabbed my phone again and typed furiously.

  Clay: Come on, dude. Don’t do this to me.

  Pete: Sorry. She’s kind of irresistible.

  I threw my phone again, growling.

  Whatever. We could get through a night with Hannah. I couldn’t let it ruin this event for Paige and me.

  I pulled my tux out of the hanging garment bag and arranged the pieces on my bed. I undressed quickly, wrapped a towel around my waist and headed out of my bedroom and across the hall to the bathroom.

  “If it ain’t Clayer the Player,” Rob’s voice teased me just before I went in.

  “I don’t answer to that name anymore,” I answered, smirking.

  “You ready to kill it on the dance floor tonight?” he asked, demonstrating a little two-step on the worn hallway carpeting.

  “Please. I’ll dance circles around your little two-step,” I scoffed.

  “You forget something very important,” Rob said, rubbing the stubble gathering on his chin.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re racially challenged,” he said, grinning widely.

  “Screw you,” I tossed over my shoulder as I entered the bathroom to shower.

  ~**~

  “Babe, you look beautiful,” I whispered in Paige’s ear after helping her into the limo.

  “Thank you,” she said, beaming at me.

  “It’s my goal in life to put that smile there.” I tapped her lips gently with the tip of my index finger.

  “Promise?” she whispered.

  I leaned into her, inhaling the scent of her floral perfume. “Always.”

  She shivered, and I desperately wish we weren’t sitting in a limo with two other couples.

  “Ew, you two,” Gillian chided.

  She and Drew were technically sitting next to each other, although they were pointing all parts of their bodies as far away from the other as possible. Rob and Tima, on the other hand, looked very cozy. He even had one arm slung over her slender shoulders. I shot him a look, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged in return, winking at me with a genuine smile.

  “Later,” I promised Paige. I kissed her neck discreetly. “Much more of this later.”

  “Damn right,” she answered.

  I looked at her quickly in surprise. She giggled.

  We arrived at the lodge where the formal was taking place. I climbed out of the limo and reached a hand out for Paige. After I helped her out, we stared up at the monstrous building made entirely of weathered stone.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Paige breathed. “Like a castle.”

  “If that’s a castle, then you’re a princess,” I answered.

  I really, truly only had eyes for her. Her beauty transcended any architectural glory the building in front of us had to offer. She was wearing a flowing teal dress that matched my tie and Chucks to a T. One shoulder was bare, while the other boasted sheer blue fabric ruffling delicately in the breeze. Her silver earrings cascaded down, almost touching her small shoulders. I bent and kissed her there, wishing desperately I could peel the dress off, one gorgeous limb exposed at a time.

  Her lips curved into the tender smile she reserved just for me and took my hand.

  “Shall we?” she asked.

  “We shall.”

  The six of us entered the building and followed hanging signs down a hallway lined with knotty wood paneling, directing us to the cavernous room reserved for the formal. Drew, Rob, and I greeted our fellow soccer players with pounds and high fives, while the girls ran off to powder their noses or whatever packs of girls do in bathrooms.

  The room was huge, with towering ceilings made of rich wood and exposed beams. A gigantic chandelier hung from the center, composed entirely of deer antlers. Intimate round tables for six littered the floor haphazardly with glowing centerpieces of candles floating in mason jars. The delicate wood chairs were covered in gold ribbon, which matched the tablecloths, and accents of burnt orange exploded around the room in unexpected bursts. The effect was magnificent, grand.

  I scanned the room and found Pete almost immediately. He was taller than the rest of us, and his bald shiny head stood out in the crowd. I zeroed in on his russet-haired date and groaned. He really had brought her.

  I steered Rob and Drew to the farthest table away from Pete and Hannah.

  “Help me k
eep her away from Paige,” I hissed to them.

  “Done,” Rob answered solemnly.

  Drew nodded.

  When the girls returned from their restroom hijinks, I pulled a chair encased with a large gold ribbon tied in a bow out for Paige. She sat, lifting her dinner menu and scanning the choices.

  “What looks good?” I asked her.

  “Um, I think I’ll have salmon,” she said.

  “Sounds good,” I replied, leaving my menu on the table.

  “But you didn’t even look!”

  “Doesn’t matter. If you say it looks good, it must be.”

  I leaned over and, not able to help myself, tasted her lips. “I want my dessert first.”

  She pulled back, her skin flushing pink. “No. Dinner and dancing. That’s what you promised this night would hold.”

  “Damn,” I muttered.

  I did promise her that. I sorely regretted it now.

  “But I don’t mind giving you a sneak peek,” she whispered into my ear, this time causing shivers to race up and down my spine.

  I looked at her, one eyebrow quirked.

  Under the table, she placed my hand onto her thigh. She hitched up the long dress she was wearing and ran my hand along her leg until I reached the crease where her thigh met her hip. I caressed her, registering the fact there was no barrier between her skin and my hand.

  “Paige Hill,” I croaked, my voice strangled. “You’re not wearing underwear.”

  She shook her head slowly, my special smile teasing her lips. “Nope. And I want you to think about the fact that I’m not wearing anything under this dress. All night. Until you can get me home to rip it off of me.”

  I groaned, kneading the soft, supple skin of her thigh. I leaned my forehead against hers. “What are you doing to me, woman?”

  “I hope I’m doing all the right things.”

  “Oh, you are,” I assured her. “In all the right ways.”

  Paige

  As we ate dinner, I fed bits of salmon to Clay, who I’d made change his order to braised short-ribs so we could share. Both meals were delicious, and the room was so beautiful that I found myself wishing this night would never end. I’d never done something like this. How could one night of tragedy rob a person of so many good things? It was baffling.

  But now I had Clay, and I was experiencing life with a gusto I’d never thought possible since I recovered. I was so thankful for him and his love.

  I glanced over at him from under my eyelashes. He was holding his fork halfway to his mouth, talking to Drew animatedly about their favorite college football teams.

  “No way dude,” he was saying emphatically. “Ohio State goes all the way this year. Guaranteed.”

  “You’re high,” Drew replied. “There’s no way the Big Ten can compete with the SEC.”

  A hand clutched my arm and I averted my eyes from Clay and Drew to see Tima staring at me on my other side. Her eyes were wide, and the curly tendrils of her hair trembled as she tilted her head to one side.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Did you know Hannah was here?”

  My stomach dropped a few inches. “No. Where is she?” I craned my neck, searching the room.

  “I don’t know. She came with Pete. I heard that girl Brynn in the bathroom talking…I think Hannah has some kind of evil scientist scheme going on. You need to watch your back.”

  The table had gone quiet and when I checked on Clay, his eyes were locked on mine.

  “What kind of plan?” he demanded.

  Tima shook her head. “Could be anything with Hannah involved. We just need to look out for Paige tonight, that’s all. She won’t try anything with all of us around.”

  “You don’t know Hannah like I do,” Clay replied flatly.

  He took my hand and stood. “Let’s go.”

  I opened my mouth to protest.

  “No, Clay!” Gillian exclaimed. “This is such a special night for her. She stays. We’ll look out for her. I promise.”

  The hesitation in Clay’s eyes as he looked at me gave me hope. His expression was so tortured; I squeezed his hand to reassure him. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “Please, Clay,” I pleaded. “I want to stay. I’m not afraid of Hannah.”

  That was a lie, but I really didn’t want to leave. Tonight was so perfect.

  His resolve crumbled. Chunks of it fall from his demeanor as he smiled down at me. “Alright. We stay. But if things start going south…”

  “We’re out of here. I got it.” I stared up at him, hoping he could see in my eyes how grateful I was that we were staying.

  He kissed my forehead. “I’m not letting her do anything else to you, Paige. I will protect you.”

  “I know.”

  We heard the DJ then, asking the room if we were ready to rock. We all answered in the affirmative, and a thunderous beat filled the space.

  Clay glanced at me, his blue eyes glowing like topaz. “Do you want to dance?”

  “Of course.”

  He took my hand and led me out to the parquet dance floor. We danced to the popular pop track, and then another. Rob and Tima joined us on the next one, and on the song after that Drew and Gillian appeared reluctantly on the dance floor.

  The slower strains of a ballad wafted through the space and Clay pulled me in close.

  “This is heaven, I think,” I murmured.

  He leaned down to kiss me sweetly.

  “If we’re in heaven, I hope the big guy doesn’t send us back for another round,” he said. “I just want to stay here with you.”

  I sighed, closing my eyes and laying my head on his shoulder.

  I was thinking again about how perfect the night was when the lights flickered and the room was plunged into darkness.

  Twenty-Seven

  Paige

  I’m not afraid of the dark, I never have been. Not even on the nights I spent alone in the cold white hospital room and the burn center that was always filled with the aroma of death. I actually welcomed the blackness, because it hid my ugly. But this dark was so sudden, so unexpected, that I felt a flutter of nerves deep in my belly.

  A flicker of light grabbed my attention in a far corner of the room. Clay and Tima squeezed my hands tightly as it bobbed closer and closer to where we stood.

  When it was about fifteen feet away, I was able to make out a server in a white shirt and black slacks carrying a platter with a candlelit cupcake sitting atop it.

  I sighed with relief. Clay had obviously arranged a surprise. It wasn’t my birthday, but I’d take it.