Page 125 of Old Habits

Chapter 32

Jovie

We walk into the high school and I hold my breath.

The earth trembles with the sound of thumping drums, piano keys, and brass. Either that or tiny earthquakes have taken hold of my nerves and refuse to let go.

Music echoes down the hallway from the gym and I feel my stride shorten with each step.

Will notices and slows down to hook his arm around mine. It soothes me but as we pass through the beaded curtain into the gymnasium, I close my eyes.

Two hours ago, this place was empty. Tables lined the walls with pure white tablecloths. Red and blue cups stacked near a mountain of ice and fruit punch. Buckets of chocolate kisses. Patriotic decorations around a dance floor. Peaceful, quiet, and perfect. A real feather in the party planning committee’s cap.

But none of that will matter to those who despise me.

And they’re all probably here.

“Hi, Jovie!”

I open my eyes on Natalie’s smiling face. She holds a cigarette box in her arms, hanging around her neck with a thick strap wrapped. Her halter dress is white with a blue sash wrapped around her waist. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell of the World War II era.

“Hey…” I greet.

“Oh, my gosh! You look gorgeous!” She stares at my dress and slaps Will in the arm. “And you. Very handsome.”

“Thank you,” he says. “You look like you’re having fun.”

She raises her voice to combat the music. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages!”

I scan the room over her shoulder. Nearly three-hundred said they’d show up and by my estimation, about half of them have so far. Most people shimmy around the dance floor, limbs flailing wildly to keep up with the music’s quick beat.

I gulp.

“Well, I have to keep mingling or Sara will scold me,” Natalie says, raising her box to Will. “Candy cigarette?”

He grins and snatches a tiny carton from inside. “Don’t mind if I do.”

She twists around and walks in the other direction, squeezing back into the crowd from whence she came.

Will pinches a candy stick between his lips and swings out in front of me. “Now, see here, madam,” he says, his voice tainted with an old city accent. “How’s about we turn that frown into an O…”

I snatch the wobbling cigarette from his mouth. “Don’t do that.”

“Jovie…” He tilts his head in amusement. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I bite the tip off the cigarette but instantly regret it as the cheap, chalk-like candy stains my tongue. “Ack…”

Will leans down to look me in the eye. “Just ignore them.”

I raise a brow. Of course, he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “I’m trying,” I say.

He slides his arms around me. “Look at me,” he says. “Do I look worried?”

My lips move up on their own. “No.”

“You guys did a great job with this.”

“Yeah?”