by Blair Holden
Steadying myself, I place one hand on his shoulder and interlink the other with his. Even though we’ve been rehearsing for days, the novelty of the experience never wears off. My skin still tingles, little bolts of electricity still dart through the length of my arm, and my waist, where his free hand is placed, feels like it’s been seared.
People, mostly women from my mother’s gardening club, gush all around us as we sway on the dance floor. Ballroom dancing isn’t the most exciting form of the activity but it’s so very beautiful to experience that I have a newfound love for it. It’s intricate, delicate, and just so . . . romantic. There’s no overbearing music, no wild dance moves, just two people moving in sync.
I blush when I think of another activity that sounds similar.
“Ready for our big move?” he whispers in my ear and I stop a whimper from escaping my lips. I nod, feeling completely dazed. He’s never struck me as the type who’d be good at something like slow dancing. The way I used to think about him always portrayed him as someone who wasn’t ashamed to grind the house down at some club. I’ve always known he’s a skilled dancer and even the part of me that was terrorized by him wanted to be that girl who gets swept off her feet when the music played.
The music picks up its tempo as Cole lifts me off the ground by the waist and twirls me around. Gone are the fears of being dropped that I had for a very long time. Now I smile widely as people gush all around us. I forget about the watching eyes as I concentrate on the person holding me. I realize that after all this time, after fifteen years of knowing this boy, I finally trust him. Even if he’s a narcissistic pig.
Our dance hasn’t even ended but people are already clapping and hollering for us. I recognize Megan’s voice cutting the crowd’s. She’s probably yelling her lungs off since this is her fantasy being played out. She’s always wanted a moment like this and for Alex’s sake I hope he knows how to dance as well as his best friend.
Cole’s eyes never leave mine as he lowers me to the ground. I’m taken aback when I notice he’s mouthing the words, which just doubles the effect. My knees start to buckle and it would be darn embarrassing to fall on my butt in front of all these people. He notices my trembling and places both hands on my waist as I twine my arms around his neck.
“Good?” he simply asks as he presses his forehead against mine.
I close my eyes and swallow deeply. This jittering, this shaking, this urge to want everyone else in the room to suddenly vanish is as foreign as it is strong. I’m not completely crazy when it comes to these feelings, I had them for Jay for as long as I can remember, but somehow these seem . . . stronger. Cole, of all the people who could cause my heart to do these Olympic-gold-medal-worthy somersaults, it’s Cole.
“Perfect,” I whisper, opening my eyes.
Suddenly he lets go of my waist and places his hand on my lower back and straightens up. He interlinks our hands and begins lowering me to the ground. Having seen Nicole just being dropped, my fears are stronger than ever. However, he doesn’t even give me a chance to stop him before I am inches from the floor. He lets me stay that way for about five seconds before pulling me back up and twirling me around with one hand.
When everyone starts cheering and clapping again he lets go of my body only to hold my hand. We take a bow as he can’t help but yell over the thunderous applause. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do a dip.” He winks at a scowling Henry and a red-faced Nicole.
I could honestly say that that moment alone made my night.
Still holding my hand, he leads me off the dance floor. Since we’re the last couple of the competition to perform, all the contestants can now disperse and do whatever the heck they want. I for one want at least a gallon of water since my throat feels drier than the Sahara. Rushing to the drinks table, I gulp down large amounts of the only thing available to drink—a funny-looking fruit punch.
“What did I tell you about eating at parties?” Cole questions, trying to snatch my paper cup from me. I smack his hand away, needing the cool liquid to flow down my throat.
“You know that thing’s probably been spiked, right?”
I almost cough out said punch as I realize that he probably is right, but not before gulping down a good few mouthfuls.
“Is not!” I retaliate oh so maturely but throw my cup away just in case. If the questionable alcohol hasn’t already entered my system, I don’t want to improve my chances.
“Don’t worry; they won’t use the strong stuff. Kids these days are too worried about authority.” He rolls his eyes like he’s disappointed that someone hadn’t emptied a whole bottle of Jack Daniel’s into the punch.
“Well you certainly never had a problem like that, did you, Stone?”
That’s not my sarcastic comment. I realize this just in time to see Travis walking over toward us, ignoring the curious looks he’s getting from all the nosy lowlifes around us. The heavily Botox-injected women begin whispering among themselves. Just showing up at an event like this is difficult enough for him; he doesn’t need the gossiping hags adding to his troubles.
“Travis,” I squeal, running past Cole, who’d suddenly backed away, and hug my brother. He’s dressed up after God knows how long. Even though his suit’s a little looser than it used to be two years ago, he still looks immaculate and I know every pair of female eyes is glued to him right now.
“I thought you ditched me,” I say, pulling away and he chuckles.
“You thought I’d let you go through this on your own?” He looks pointedly in the direction of our parents.
“Mom was going to change your song, you know.”
I tilt my head to the side, confused. “What?”
“She thought you’d impress the judges more if you used something more current. I had to talk her out of doing that. Then Dad thought it was a good idea to chat up Dartmouth’s dean of admissions for you. Don’t worry though, I handled that too.”
He winks at me and the tight knot of worry that had formed in my stomach after hearing the word Dartmouth quickly disappeared. My father is a Dartmouth graduate and is more loyal to his school than he’s ever been to his wife. We’ve avoided talking about the topic for long but it’s senior year and I need to tell him that I want to go to Brown.
I hug him again, thankful now more than ever that old Travis is back. “You’re the best brother ever.”
“You can thank me with a dance.” He tugs at my hand, leading me toward the now-crowded dance floor. I look over my shoulder, to see Cole drinking Coke from a can he’s obviously brought with him. He winks at me and I smile back. Though the smile disappears when Travis notices the look we’re sharing and glares at Cole. For a minute, the two are involved in an intense staring match but it’s Cole who gives up first and walks away, an angry look on his face.
“What was that about?” I ask Travis as we begin dancing. People are now unashamedly rooted to their spots and staring at us like we’re prancing around naked. My brother is obviously uncomfortable; they need to learn to mind their own business before I teach them how to.
“Nothing.”
“No, not nothing. Why were you guys looking at each like that?”
“Just because.” He grits his teeth and looks everywhere but at me. His eyes seem to lock onto something, making his eyes widen comically but before I can see what or who has caught his attention, he looks away and moves us away from the spot.
“Come on, Trav, I thought you were okay with him now.”
I think about his behavior the night Cole had dropped me off, the same night he’d met his mystery girl. He hadn’t seemed too opposed to the idea of my spending time with my ex-tormenter. He actually seemed pleased about the fact that we were getting along, so what is with the mood swing?
“He needs to start thinking about what he’s getting you into. You think I don’t know the shit Nicole puts you through?”
“I don’t understand.” I lower my voice and am hoping he does too before my mom has a heart a
ttack.
“Look, if it were up to me then I’d say that you were better off without either of the Stone brothers. One has no balls and the other’s just going to get you into trouble.”
“I know what I’m getting myself into,” I say, a little more harshly than I’d intended. “He has his fangirls and probably some criminal charges but he’s been the best friend I could ever ask for. It’s weird, I get it, but I want to make this work.”
He tips his head to the side, studying me. Looking at me seriously for a while, his face breaks out into a huge grin, which takes me by surprise. What is with his erratic behavior today? Did he just walk into the event after downing a whole bottle?
“Hear that, Jason, best friends. Now you can stop following her like a sick puppy.”
Oh My God. No, he did not just say that to whom I think he just said that to. Too horrified to move a muscle, I stand there allowing my brother to walk right past me, no doubt shoving into Jay in the process.
“Wow, he really hates me, doesn’t he?” Jay asks as he steps in to take Travis’s place. I look at my feet, shuffling them, not very successfully though in my deathtrap heels.
In situations like these I do what I do best. This time it’s a Britney Spears throwback. I mutter the lyrics about doing it again through my teeth, hoping he doesn’t hear me. I don’t need to embarrass myself even further in front of him.
“What?” He strains his ear as he takes a step closer.
I laugh nervously before shrugging. “Don’t take Travis seriously, he’s just being his stupid, overprotective self.”
Placing one of my hands on his shoulder, Jay guides the other to clasp into his. I look around for either Cole or Nicole, not knowing who would react worse. Even though I’ve dreamt about dancing with him for as long as I’ve known him, this is quite awkward. The anger I had toward him for demeaning my brother has faded into disappointment. I know I should be more forgiving but I couldn’t do that; had it been anyone else but Travis I would be kinder, but he chose the wrong person.
“He thinks I’m a coward who hurt you. I don’t blame him because it’s true.” He laughs bitterly as we sway together.
“Jay, no . . . It’s not like that.”
“I’m an idiot, the biggest asshole on the planet. I had no right to say all those things about Cole to you; clearly it’s none of my business anymore.” The bitterness never leaves his voice as his eyes bore into mine.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I strung you along for too long. I knew about your crush and shouldn’t have encouraged you. I’m sorry that I broke your heart.”
Wait just a minute. The little piece of donkey poop, is he feeling sorry for me? Does he think that I’ve been shattered and broken because he chose my slut of an ex-best friend over me? Well, maybe that had been the case a month ago but now . . .
The most magical thing happens next. The calm ballroom music changes and instead Gloria Gaynor’s breakup anthem blasts around the room. It’s so appropriate for the moment and the look on Jay’s face is priceless. I barely hold back a laugh and my eye catches Beth’s and I see her glaring at the back of Jay’s head. I think, in this very moment I’ve found someone who’s as furious at him as I am.
Patting his chest, I smile serenely at him. “You did,” I sigh theatrically as we move onto the middle of the floor. If I’m going to do this, I might as well put out a show right in front of his girlfriend.
The rather prophetic lyrics of “I Will Survive” give me the strength I need to nip this right in the bud. Jay’s still looking at me like he’s afraid I’ll have a meltdown any second. Oh, there is going to be a meltdown, just not mine.
“But then I realized something. I realized that I knew this really hot guy, the hottest I’ve ever seen, and instead of going after him I was wasting my time over you. Frankly, and I really don’t mean to offend you, but you’re not that good looking.” His eyes widen but he doesn’t do anything that might attract attention. We’re smack-dab in the middle of the crowded building and he’d need to watch his step.
The song is so spot-on; it’s actually freaking me out. Is this how Beth spends her time, making a playlist for my life? Anyway, getting back to ripping Jay’s Bieber-sized ego into shreds.
“I think I’m better off now. Of course, I understand your concern, Cole is well, he’s Cole, but there’s something so undeniably sexy about bad boys, don’t you think? Who can resist them?”
His jaw drops to the floor, his eyes threaten to bulge out as I push him away. I don’t know where this courage or the urge to be provocative is coming from but I’m relishing it. Perhaps the punch really was spiked, oh well, who cares.
“Tessa, are you . . . are you drunk?” he asks in utter astonishment.
I place a finger on my lip and pretend to think. “Mayyybe,” I giggle. This is so much fun, why haven’t I gotten drunk before? It feels like I have this visa to say or do anything I want without fearing the consequences.
“Holy . . .” He runs a hand through his hair and looks around, as if for help. He’s being so silly. I don’t need help. I’m perfectly fine, just feeling a little more brave than usual.
I skip past him and go to where Cole’s standing with a bunch of cackling hyenas around him, of the female variety. I frown at the sight; he’s looking way too friendly for my liking as he is allowing one of them to run her hand up and down his arm suggestively. He is not flirting with someone else while he’s my partner. That must violate the laws of beauty pageants everywhere. I stalk toward him, pushing through the scantily clad STD poster child women until we’re face-to-face. Amusement is written all over his face as he takes another swig from his flask.
“What, did you get bored of Jay Jay already?” His eyes may have humor in them but his voice is so icy that I’m surprised I haven’t gotten frostbite by now. What’s his problem now?
“He was being an idiot; I put him in his place,” I mutter, feeling a little hurt that he talked to me like that in front of his groupies. They must think I’m as pathetic as they are.
He looks taken aback by my response and snatches his arm away from the girl who’d nearly been dry-humping it.
“You two had a fight?” He seems interested now.
“Yes, I told him I thought he was ugly. Does that make you happy?”
His face lights up in an instant and I feel at ease. I don’t like it when he’s mad at me, it just feels wrong and too painful to handle these days.
“Absolutely.” He grabs my hand and pulls me to his side. The groupies are glaring now but beginning to disperse since they’ve noticed that they’ve lost his attention. Together, we walk to the middle of the stage where my mom’s calling out for all the participants. Apparently it’s time to deliver the verdict. I roll my eyes at my fellow contestants, who’ve started to hyperventilate. For Christ’s sake, it’s not Miss Universe we’ve got going on in here, calm the fudge down.
Feeling a little woozy as we line up in front of the judge’s podium, I grab Cole’s hand for support. Nicole is on the verge of hysteria from what I can see and Henry looks like he’s in pain. Poor guy, Nicole must be digging her nails into his flesh. I’ve sat by her through enough horror films to know what she does when she’s scared or nervous.
Mom starts to drone on and on about the importance of being a responsible citizen. My eyes are drooping and I feel like I need to curl up in my bed and sleep through the next century. Resting my head on Cole’s shoulder, I try making myself comfortable and am nearly successful before being shaken thoroughly.
“Get up, shortcake, you won!”
Huh? What does winning have to do with the double cheeseburger I’m inhaling at Rusty’s? Why is Cole even here? Doesn’t he have practice?
“Come on, wake up.”
I moan at his persistence before lifting my eyelids. The gala, yes the stupid gala, is still going on. I’m being led by Cole as people clap around us. Megan intercepts us on the way and traps me into a big hug.
>
“I knew it! I knew you’d win.” Alex pulls her away as I give her a lazy smile in return. Yup, I am so drunk. Stumbling I walk after Cole, who makes sure I don’t fall face-first. Seeing the stern look on my mother’s face is a little sobering. I think she suspects and I hope I don’t reek of alcohol. I’m not even sure what is it that I drank but it sure wasn’t something light.
“This year’s Miss Farrow Hill is Tessa O’Connell,” she says loudly and I try to think of what sober Tessa would do right now. Right, she’d blush because of all the attention and then shrug her way into the background, letting someone else steal her thunder. Well not today.
As they put a sparkling tiara, which I know is a fake, on my head I grin widely and start waving at the people. I stumble just a little, before grabbing the mike from my mom’s hand.
Clearing my throat, I approach the podium and address the people of my land.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, my parents,” I gesture to where they’re standing on stage, “my lovely brother,” Travis hollers as I mention him and the crowd bursts out laughing. “I would like to thank my friends, Beth, you’re the best DJ we’ve ever had. Seriously, the last one played music that shouldn’t have survived past the Middle Ages.” People chuckle again and so do I. “Megan, you’re the best. You’re like my personal cheerleader. Alexander, take care of her or I’ll go all Jackie Chan on your butt.”
He shouts something which sounds like, “I will,” but I’ve already started talking again. “Cassandra, I love you, you are such a cool person,” I gush and the lady in question, who is present on stage, kisses my cheek, laughing too.
“Lastly, I want to thank Cole, my buddy, my pal. He’s so awesome and he’s a fantastic dancer, ladies. If you want his number . . .”
“Okay, that’s enough, Tessie.” I pout as Cole pries the mike from my hand and gives it to my mother. She announces the end of the evening but people are allowed to stay for an hour or so to enjoy the music and the food.
