“What did he mean?” she asked.
“Nah, nothing. He’s just messing around,” Knox said, opening another beer. “You enjoying your time home?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised how good it feels to be back,” she said, leaning back in the chair. She looked across the yard at a teenage couple laying together in a hammock, staring at their interlocked fingers as if they were a painting on a wall. And as the young lovers turned to look into each other’s eyes, Bria remembered the fire that burned through her when she was their age. That feeling of absolute assuredness, that the guy she was with was her soulmate. She had been wrong, of course, a number of times, but in those exact moments, it felt so right. And that feeling was real, if fleeting.
“I remember those days,” Knox said, also looking at the hammock couple. “The good old days. You were around a lot more, then.”
She turned to look at him. She could tell he was slipping across the line between buzzed and drunk.
“Well, I’m here now,” she said. He let his head sink down toward her, resting it ever so gently on her shoulder. Her stomach flipped.
“I miss you, Bria,” he said.
“Miss me? I’m right here,” she said with a nervous giggle, her chest throbbing.
“No, no no,” he said, waving his hand in the air, “I miss you a lot. All the time.”
She didn’t say a word. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say to that. She knew what she wanted to say. But not what she was supposed to say. Instead, she let her fingers pet his hair once, before bringing her hands back toward her lap. All these years, she had missed him, too. And she knew he was drunk, but she also knew that his drunk words were sober thoughts. At least that’s what that mug at the Hallmark store said.
Another hour or so passed, and people started packing up their things. Bria knew if she let her guard down some, she could sit here with Knox around this fire for hours. But she knew it was time to go.
“Come on,” she said, nudging his head gently, “I’ll drive you home.”
“I’m actually staying at my parents’ this weekend. I’m watching the dog while they are away,” he said. She nodded, standing up.
When they got to the Knoxvilles’ house, a wave of nostalgia came over her. She hadn’t pulled into this driveway in so long. As she put the car in park, he stumbled a bit getting out.
“Do you need help?” she asked.
“No, no,” he said, waving her off. But as she watched him wobble, she took the keys out of the ignition and walked around to the other side, throwing his arm over her shoulders. As they walked around to the back of the house, he laughed. She hadn’t noticed quite how much he’d had to drink at the party.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I’m just thinking about all the times you’ve helped me get into bed,” he said with a goofy smile. She smiled back.
“Yeah, I’m a pro at it, now,” she said, pushing open the sliding glass door and leading him down the hall. She couldn’t believe how drunk he was. In fact, she was actually wondering how much of it might be an act. “Okay, there ya go,” she said, flopping him down on the bed. Just as she went to stand up, he grabbed her arms, and they both froze, their faces inches apart.
“I miss you, Bria,” he said again. She swiveled his legs up onto the bed, and brushed through his hair with her fingers once more.
“Shh, goodnight, Knox,” she said.
The next morning, she woke up to a text from him.
Hey. Thx for driving me home last nite. Also, sry if I said anything weird. I haven’t drank that much in a while lol
She looked up at the ceiling, as if the perfect response would be written there. She sighed.
Oh, no worries. You didn’t say anything weird at all.
FOURTEEN
Then, Bria’s Senior Prom
“I can’t believe my little baby is going to her senior prom!” Mari said over Skype. Bria laughed and rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, about that. I don’t know if I want to go,” she said. Ever since Mari and Knox and the rest of the friends she had grown so close with had graduated, high school hadn’t really been the same for Bria. She had a group of friends her own grade, but they didn’t have the same connection. Actually, Bria had been feeling pretty lonely at school. She was glad Knox was still around town.
“What? Why?” Mari asked, looking genuinely concerned. “Oh, B. You have to go. It’s your senior prom! You never get that back. Who cares if you don’t have a date? Go with the girls. It’s just a night where you get to dress up, and look gorgeous, and dance. Who doesn’t love that?”
Mari had a point. Bria did like dressing up occasionally, and she did love to dance. But, with her friends gone, it felt like she had no one worth sharing it with. It felt easier, and probably more fun, to skip it.
“It’s next week. I don’t even have a dress,” she said.
“Well, promise me you’ll think about it,” Mari said.
“Okay, I promise.”
But, she didn’t. She had made up her mind. No prom for her.
The next Saturday rolled around, and as expected, everyone in town was going nuts over the dance. The parents in the PTA were planting signs all over the place, the local junkyard delivered a beat-up old car to the front of the school to show kids what happens when you drink and drive. You know, cheerful things.
“Aw, sweetie. I wish you would have gone,” Louise said, washing a pan in the sink.
“Yeah. After all, your mother was my prom date,” Joe said, putting his arms around her waist. Her parents were so adorably disgusting.
“Sorry to disappoint ya, guys,” Bria said, standing up from the table, when all of a sudden, there was a knock at her front door.
“I’ll get it,” Sam said, running toward the door. “Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed when she opened it.
“We’re here to get this prom party started,” Bria heard Mari say, and her knees buckled.
“Mari!” she cried, running to the door and jumping on her. Mari had an armful of dresses in one hand, and a curling iron in the other. Behind her stood Johnny Ridges, football stud from Centerville, dressed in a tux and holding out a corsage.
“We weren’t sure which dress you were going to go with,” Johnny said, “so we picked out a white corsage. Should go with any of them.”
“Wha. . . what?” she asked, utterly confused.
“I brought over some of my old dresses, and I brought you a date,” she said, holding her hand out to Johnny and smiling. “Johnny’s sister goes to UCLA, and funnily enough, we met during freshman year. We were talking about people we know from back home. She said her brother went to Centerville and knew a bunch of Dalesville people. I said my best friend needed a date, and bingo.”
Johnny gave her a sweet smile. He was really, very dreamy.
“Guys. . .”
“I couldn’t let you miss this, B,” Mari said.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked him. “I mean, you’ve been graduated for two years.”
“Of course,” he said, a kind smile on his lips. “I’m happy to be the lucky guy that gets to take you to prom.” Bria felt herself blush, and she couldn’t help but smile back..
“Oh, this is just the sweetest thing,” she heard her mother say.
“Okay, let’s get this going,” Mari said, shoving Bria toward the steps.
“I can’t believe you convinced him to do this,” Bria said, holding her eyebrows up while Mari applied purple eyeshadow to match the dress that Bria had chosen.
“Convinced him?” Mari said. “Psh, there was no convincing. I just called him and said I had this idea, and he said he loved it. I mean, Johnny was Mr. Social Butterfly. He’s like Knox. He has a ton of friends at Dalesville. Plus, I was signing him up to spend four hours with you, which I’m sure he didn’t mind.”
“Why? He doesn’t even know me.” Bria said.
“Doesn’t matter. He said he met you once, and he’s thought you were cute e
ver since. He’s apparently a frequent flyer of your Facebook page,” Mari said. Johnny had friended her shortly after Knox’s accident. But she hadn’t really given it a second thought.
“Now hold still.”
Marisol added the final touches, and one more thick layer of hairspray before they made their way downstairs. And when she got to the bottom, she saw Johnny perk up.
“Well,” he said, “looks like everyone’s going to be jealous of me.”
Bria expected the ride to the dance to be excruciatingly awkward. But it wasn’t. Johnny was a perfect gentleman, telling her over and over again how amazing she looked. And when they got to the dance, she couldn’t help but enjoy how everybody’s eyes were drawn to them as Johnny held her hand.
“Hey, Bria,” Courtney Blake said, taking her ticket. Aside from being the soccer star, and seemingly, a supermodel, she was also student council president. Because of course she was.
“Hey, Courtney. You look great,” Fake Bria said, with an ultra-fake smile.
“Oh, stop, you’re sweet,” she said, “you, too. Hey, Johnny,” she said, wiggling her fingers at him like an idiot. “What are you doing in our neck of the woods?”
“Oh, ya know, just came to escort this pretty lady to her senior prom,” he said, placing his hand on the small of Bria’s back. She smiled back at him.
“Oh, nice,” Courtney said. Just then, hands snuck around Courtney’s waist. “There you are,” she said to Knox, as he gave her a little squeeze. Bria felt her heart sink.
“Knox?”
“B,” he said, in a shocked whisper, looking from her to Johnny. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go to prom.” He stepped back ever so slightly from Courtney.
“What are you doing here?” She wanted to play it casual. She wanted to keep it easy. She didn’t want to show how absolutely devastated she was, knowing that he was at her senior prom, with someone else.
“I uh―”
“Well, since I went with him to his senior prom, we thought it would be fitting if he came with me to mine,” Courtney said, slipping her arm around his back and smiling up at him. He smiled back briefly, but never took his eyes off Bria. We. We thought it was fitting. And she had to go and remind Bria about the fact that he took another sophomore to his senior prom, instead of her.
“What are you doing here, Ridges?” Knox finally managed to ask.
“He’s with me,” Bria said, staring back at Knox with fire in her eyes.
“Well, my shift at the table is done. Let’s go inside. You guys have fun!” Courtney said, walking toward the dance hall, and tugging Knox along behind her. Bria watched as Knox turned back to look at her once more, remorse all over his face.
Bria was surprised at how many people knew Johnny at Dalesville High. Everywhere she turned, someone else was coming up to hug him, or shake his hand. But she liked that through it all he stayed there, with her.
Some of Bria’s friends waved them over to the dance floor as they walked in, and Johnny happily stepped in behind her Bria, rubbing up on her quite a bit as the song got faster. Finally, a slow song came on, and she spun around to wrap her arms around his neck.
“I know I’ve already said this,” he said, whispering, “but you really do look beautiful tonight.”
She blushed, grateful the lights were out in the dance hall.
“Thank you, Johnny,” she said. “And thank you so much for agreeing to come.” He smirked.
“You kidding me? When I found out that you were the friend Mari was talking about, it was no questions asked.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Why is that?”
“Well, I guess I’ve sort of had a little crush on you ever since I met you that time at the hospital.” Blushed again. Thank God for darkness.
After a few more dances, Johnny excused himself to get them drinks.
Bria sat down at a table by herself, putting her feet up on the chair across from her. Suddenly, the song came on.
“Now, I’ve had the time of my life,” Bill Medley sang over the speakers. She couldn’t help but look around aimlessly. This was their song. When her mother introduced her to Dirty Dancing in eighth grade, she fell in love. She memorized parts of the final dance, and she was pretty sure she had a sexual awakening the first time she saw Patrick Swayze without a shirt. Her obsession with the movie lasted years.
Bria had made Knox do the lift with her so many times, that she could probably give Baby a run for her money. Just as the music got going, she saw him, making a b-line for her through the crowded dance floor. He stopped when he reached her, sticking his hand out.
“What are you doing?” she asked, arms crossed. He wasn’t getting off that easy.
“It’s our song.”
“Well, I have a date. And so do you,” she said, trying desperately to stand her ground, although she could feel it slipping out from her under her when she saw him smile.
“Come on,” he said, leaning in. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Oh my God. She almost couldn’t take that level of corny. But part of her was desperate to take his hand. So she did. And just as Johnny was returning with their drinks, Knox pulled her onto the dance floor, twirling her around and pulling her into him without missing a beat. She was still mad, and she knew he could feel it.
“Are we going to attempt the lift?” he asked her.
“In this dress? Probably not a good idea,” she said, without cracking a smile. He twirled her out, then twirled her back in to him as the crowd cheered them on.
“I should have asked you,” he said.
And she looked up at him, just as the part of the song comes on where Patrick Swayze lip syncs to Jennifer Grey. Bria had rewound and rewatched that part a hundred times. And just like in the movie, he guided her arms around his neck, singing the words to her perfectly. And she couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. Damn it, he was too good.
“Mind if I cut in?” Johnny asked, awkwardly. She jumped back.
“Oh, no, of course not,” she said, letting go of Knox and stepping closer to him.
“Here’s your drink,” he said, handing her a cup of punch. She screwed her face all up and pursed her lips.
“Did you spike this?” she asked. Knox took a step toward them.
“I thought we could make it a little more fun,” Johnny said.
“Dude,” Knox said, giving Johnny a disgusted look. “Bria, you don’t have to drink that.”
She looked over at him. She hated when he made her feel like a child. And she could feel Johnny seething as he glared at Knox. The rivalry was still strong with these two. She looked at Knox, tilted her head back, and downed the glass in one gulp. She handed the cup back to Johnny.
“Fill ‘er up,” she said. Johnny smiled, pulling out a silver canteen from his suit pocket. Knox tilted his head back, and slowly slipped away to find Courtney, who was sulking at their table with her band of faithful followers crowded around her.
As the night came to a close, droves of people were leaving the building.
“Hey,” Kayla Krauss said as she passed them, “you guys coming to post-prom?”
Bria’s head was pounding.
“If Bria’s up to it,” Johnny said, slipping his arm around her waist again. “I should have gone a little easier on the punch.”
“Aww, try not to miss it,” Courtney said, with Knox on her tail, “it’s going to be a blast.” Knox paused as he walked by their table, but said nothing. He held his tux jacket over his shoulder, and hung his head as he walked by.
The room was spinning slowly and Bria had a pounding headache, but she could see that she and Johnny were one of just a few couples left.
“Wanna get out of here? I just gotta grab my suit coat,” Johnny said. Bria nodded.
As they made their way out of the dance hall and toward the coat closet, Johnny held her up. To be honest, she didn’t really need him to hold her, but she kind of liked the attention; she liked being taken care of.
> “Come on, Bria, just a little closer,” he said, leading her to the coat closet.
“Thanks,” she said, as he practically carried her across the floor.
“Don’t thank me,” he said, “I’m so sorry that you’re trashed at your senior prom. I shouldn’t have added so much vodka.” She smiled.
“Aren’t you supposed to get trashed at your senior prom?” she asked. He smiled at her. And then, out of nowhere, she felt herself push him up against the wall inside the coat closet. Then she felt herself kissing him hard, her tongue exploring his, her fingers running through his hair. He stopped her, pulling her off for a moment.
“Bria, we don’t have to. . .”
But she shot down his attempt at being a gentleman as she threw herself back onto him, closing the closet door with her foot. Johnny reached over and turned the lock. The temperature in the closet was rising, but she didn’t care. She felt him tugging at her hair and her dress, and she could tell how badly he wanted it. She reached down, pulling up her dress, above her knees—knock, knock, knock.
“Occupied,” Johnny said, holding the door shut.
“It’s a fucking coat closet,” she could hear Knox say from the other side. “You can’t occupy a coat closet. Open the fucking door.”
“Fuck off, Knox,” Johnny said.
“B?” Knox called. “Ridges, open the fucking door! She’s drunk.”
Johnny looked at her, waiting for her to intervene. She let him pound for a few moments, just as her heart was. Finally, she spoke.
“I’m fine, Knox,” she said. “Leave us alone.” Then there was nothing but silence on the other side of the door. Her heart sank, but she didn’t dwell. She leapt back onto Johnny, pulling up her dress again. He lay her down on the floor, fumbling with the condom he had kept in his suit pocket all night.
Her first time lasted two minutes and twelve seconds. She only knew because she actually counted every single second that went by, Johnny moving on top of her, Bria wincing in uncomfortable, foreign pain. As Johnny moaned and groaned and grunted, she made noises that she deemed appropriate to convince him that the pleasure was mutual. But the truth was, when he was done and finally rolled off of her, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. And then, an uncontrollable wave of sadness. This was not how her first time was supposed to be. On her back in a coat closet, giving it up to a guy she barely knew. It should have been with someone who cared about her. Someone she cared about. It should have been with . . . no, never mind.
It Goes Without Saying Page 10
