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Nobody saw.
He was careful, and I only wished he’d be that careful with my heart.
We took photos by the white-blossomed tree. Tara and Josh. Me and Nolan. Tara and her parents, together and singular. Josh offered to take one of all four of us, and my pulse palpitated when Reed came up beside me while I squished my body against Tara’s on my right. His arm wrapped around me, palm landing on Tara’s shoulder, and his scent overpowered the spring blooms. Heady, woodsy, and clean. I swore I felt his heartbeats escalate as our bodies pressed together and his heat seeped under the fabric of my dress, sizzling my skin.
“All set!” Josh lowered the camera.
We parted. I swished a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and smoothed down my dress as the breeze tried and failed to push him out of my stratosphere.
Before we piled into the limo waiting outside, I grabbed my own camera to capture the night. Tara snatched her purse, her snow-white heels clicking against the floor as she sashayed to the entryway. Whitney said goodbye with tears in her eyes, and Reed stood off to the side, leaning against the staircase railing.
Our eyes caught briefly; his blazing, mine yearning.
I sent a smile to them both.
Reed called out to us before we filtered out the door. “Call me if you need a ride home.”
He glanced at Tara first, but his gaze lingered on me.
“Don’t wait by the phone or anything,” Tara dismissed with an eye roll, smiling brightly before disappearing outside.
I swallowed. “We will.”
He nodded once.
Whitney waved us off.
And I strolled out into the sunlight with my date.
If there was one thing I was looking forward to tonight, it was dancing.
It had been too long.
The closest I’d come to dancing lately were my training sessions with Reed, and I’d told him as much. After all, there was rhythm, balance, motion. Music played in the way our bodies moved and limbs tangled, while melodies infused our breaths and unsaid words.
Still, I wanted a dance floor. Disco lights. My favorite songs spilling from giant speakers while Tara and I laughed the night away and reveled in the carefree atmosphere.
So, when the limo stopped in front of a house miles away from the Prom, my intuition pitched. Anxiety churned as I took in the unfamiliar two-story home.
Glancing across the seats at Tara, I frowned. “Who else are we picking up?”
She sent me a mischief-laced grin. “Nobody. This is where we’re going.”
“What?”
“C’mon, Hals. Prom is boring. Eric is having a huge house party instead.”
I blinked at her, my heart sinking. I didn’t want to go to a house party. There would be nothing but drinking and sex, and I wanted nothing to do with that type of fun.
I’d had my fill of watching other people drink. I’d grown tired of promiscuous sex to numb my pain. This was the last thing I wanted to do.
“I don’t want to go,” I said. “Can you take me back?”
“Halley, this is going to be a blast.”
“I don’t want to. Please, Tara, take me back.”
She nibbled on her shimmer-glossed lip, her eyes shining with confliction. “Halley…we don’t need to stay long, okay? I promised some of my friends I’d be here. But we can leave early. I promise. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” She sent me a soft smile. “I really wanted to have a fun night with you. We’ve been so busy with school lately.”