Devious (8 page)

The
ride to the Quail Mountain Country Club, the location of the prom, was quiet,
too quiet.  It was a constant reminder that I had screwed up my relationship
with the one person whom I adored the most.  It was a constant reminder that I
sucked at relationships, a point that she was well aware of initially, a point
that she probably wished she had considered more carefully. 

I
pulled into the front of the building, allowing the valet to park the car. 
After Dara wrapped her slender hand around my elbow, I escorted her into the
building.  Her heels tapped across the marble floor of the lobby.  I’d been
here many times with my parents, but Dara’s eyes were wide as she gazed at the
massive chandelier glittering above our heads.  The silvery accents on her
dress and in her hair twinkled in response.  As we passed a huge, ornate
column, she reached out and trailed her fingertips across it, appreciating the
intricacy of the design.

The
soft, green gown flowed around her feet with each step.  Damn, she was
beautiful.  I was freaking lucky to have her on my arm tonight, and I watched
as several guys from school allowed their gaze to follow her as she strolled
by.  I protectively placed my free hand over her hand as it rested on my arm,
wanting to send a message to these guys that she was mine.  I needed her to be
mine.

The
fact that she didn’t jerk away from my touch was a good sign.  Maybe it was
because she was distracted with the magnificence of the club, maybe it was
because she didn’t mind.  Either way, I’d take it.

When
we entered the ballroom, the lights were dim, and the melody of a slow song
filled the air.  She waved to her friends as we joined the crowd that had
formed around the dance floor.  Rows of cushioned folding chairs lined the
textured walls, which were dappled with beams of light.

I
needed to have her in my arms.  Like now.  I’d missed holding her close over
the last couple of days. 

She
angled toward some of her friends who were sitting in the chairs.  I stopped
walking, and she turned toward me, surprised.  “Dance with me,” I said.

“I
don’t want to dance.”

I
held her gaze, and then bent low, speaking in her ear over the music.  “But I
do.”

“I
don’t care what you want.”

“You
want me to beg?” I asked in her ear before I gently nipped her lobe.

“No.”

“Every
princess needs to dance with her Prince Charming.”

“Well,
when you find him, send him to me.  I’ll be waiting over there.”  She pointed
to an empty seat by Chloe.

“Oh,
look.  Here he is now.  Come on, princess.  If I don’t dance with you right
now, I’ll turn into a frog.”

“You
already have.”  She let go of my elbow.

I
grabbed her hand and tugged her gently toward the dance floor.  “Then I’d
better earn a kiss.”

She
tried to pull out of my grasp, but I held firm, and she quickly gave in,
following me as I wove around clinging couples until I found a vacant spot on
the dance floor.

I
pulled her close, my palms pressing against her lower back, her body molding
into mine.  I considered myself triumphant when she willingly clasped her
fingers around my neck and leaned into my chest.  It was a small win.  I knew
my redemption would take time, but to have her touching me on her own accord
was a start.

“You
look damn sexy,” I whispered in her ear.

She
laid her head on my shoulder, cuddling into my neck.  “Thank you.”

I
leaned my cheek gently against her head.  I closed my eyes, enjoying her in my
arms as we swayed to the music.

“Have
you lost interest in me?”  Her voice was so soft that I barely heard it.

My
eyes flipped open, and I lifted my head, staring at her with concern.  “No,
Dara.  I love you.  My moment of insanity had nothing to do with you.”  Guilt
consumed me.  The last thing I wanted her to think was that my screw-up had
anything to do with her.

I
pulled her close again, squeezing her in my embrace, afraid that if I let her
go, she’d scamper away like prey evading the predator. 

Fortunately
for me, the next song was a slow one, as well.  I wasn’t ready to relinquish my
hold on her.  Mike and Crimson made their way out to the dance floor, finding a
spot not far from us.

I
brushed my lips against Dara’s temple, but when I tilted her face toward mine
for a kiss, she pulled away.  Well, hell.  It sucked that I had ruined our
prom.  It appeared that she really was going to make me earn that kiss.

I
was game, and while I wasn’t usually very patient where girls were concerned,
Dara was the exception.  She was worth the wait.

When
the song ended, I walked her back to the chair where Chloe sat.  I left her
chatting while I went to get a drink.  I returned with two glasses of pineapple
punch and dropped into the chair next to her.

Handing
one cup to her, I took a huge swig of the other one.  The room was warm, and I set
my glass on the floor while I peeled off my jacket and draped it across the
back of my chair.  I picked the cup back up and drained the remaining liquid.

“It’s
hot in here,” I said to her over the beat of the music.

She
turned away from Chloe and faced me.  “I feel fine.”

“You
look nice, Stone,” Chloe told me as she leaned forward and peered at me from
her chair on the other side of Dara.

I
shot her a grin.  “Thanks, Chloe.  You look good, too.”  Chloe wasn’t as
beautiful as Dara, but she was pretty.  She was one of those eternally happy
people who always smiled and made anyone feel like an old friend.  At the
beginning of the school year, she was one of the first people who made me feel
welcome.  While most of Dara’s friends were still in hopes of Dara and Chance
getting back together, Chloe accepted our relationship with no questions asked.

Things
had gotten better since then, but I would never be as popular as Chance at
Quail Mountain High, not that shit like that mattered to me. 

“Isn’t
this exciting?” Chloe beamed.  “I can’t wait to find out who won Prom King and
Queen!”

I
bent low and whispered in Dara’s ear, “I’m going to get some air.  You wanna
come?”

“You
go ahead, and I’ll stay here with Chloe.”

“Okay.” 
I pushed myself out of the chair and walked out the double doors that led to a
patio at the back of the building. 

As
the sun sank below the oak-covered mountaintops and illuminated puffy, white
clouds, hues of pink and yellow streaked the sky, and it reminded me of a
pitcher of Granny’s pink lemonade.

“I
see I’m not the only one who wanted to escape.”

I
turned at the sound of Jess’s voice and leaned against the stone wall that
enclosed the patio.  “I’m not escaping.  Just getting some air.”

“That’s
too bad,” she said, closing the distance between us as she walked seductively
toward me in a tight, sequined gown that was the same color as my motorcycle
and just as glossy.

“I
hear the two of you broke up,” she said, resting her hip against the wall.

“For
now.”

I
watched her shiny red lips as she spoke.  “Why don’t you save me a dance?”

Uh-uh. 
Jess was the last person I needed to be around if I was going to prove to Dara
that she was the only one for me. 

I
just looked at her.

“You
really are in love with her, aren’t you?”

I
looked back at the sky as blackness began to envelop it.  “I can’t explain it,
Jess.  I know I don’t deserve her, but damn it….”

“Then
you’d better do whatever it takes to hold on to her, Stone.”

I
thought about her words as I stared at the stars sprinkled across the heavens.

She
pushed off the wall.  “Well, if you change your mind about the dance, come and
find me.”

I
watched the sky turn to an inky black, and then I went to find Dara.

She
was sitting right where I left her, watching the other couples dance.  I
spotted Chloe on the dance floor with her date, and when I reached the row of
chairs where Dara waited, I held my hand out to her.  With a wave of my
fingertips, I motioned for her to come to me, and she did.

We
hadn’t been on the dance floor long when Mrs.Tucker, the assistant principal,
spoke into the microphone, stating that it was time to announce the Prom King
and Queen.

Students
cleared from the center of the dance floor, awaiting the winners.

Mrs.
Tucker opened the envelope in her hand and pulled out a card.  She breathed
into the microphone.  “And this year’s Quail Mountain High Prom King is…Chance
Murray.”

Students
erupted in an explosion of claps and shouts of approval.  When the noise died
down, Mrs. Tucker continued, “And the Prom Queen is…Dara Golding.”

Shit.

I
hadn’t voted for Dara.  Not because I didn’t want her to win.  I knew there was
no chance in hell I would ever be voted Prom King, and the announcement just
proved who I suspected would be.  I didn’t vote for Dara because I couldn’t
stand the thought of her being in his arms.  And I knew what was expected of
the Prom King and Queen.

More
shouting and shrill whistles filled the room as Dara left my side without so
much as glancing my way and joined Chance in the center of the crowd.  I
swallowed the lump of disapproval that lodged in my throat.  And I saw the way
he looked at her.  What red-blooded teenage male wouldn’t look at her like that? 
She was beautiful, both inside and out.  And I was totally in love with her, and
now everything was screwed up, possibly beyond repair. 

I
watched as they were each crowned and given a sash.  And it sucked.  I knew
what was coming, and as a portent of it, the crowd started chanting, “Kiss,
kiss, kiss….”

Chance
turned toward her, and I had the overwhelming urge to rush the scene and shove
him away from her.  She was mine.

I
saw them whispering to each other, and then he lowered his head toward her.  I
spun around and stormed away from the crowd, away from Dara and Chance, away
from the kiss that was probably happening even now.  There was no way in hell I
was going to look back.  I crammed two fingers into the edge of my collar and
tugged.  I couldn’t breathe.

I
gulped the crisp, night air in my lungs as I rushed onto the patio.  Rage
roiled through my veins, and I wanted to bury my fist into the towering pillars
that supported the overhanging roof.  My barely-controlled fury burned through
my body, fury that he was kissing my girl, fury that I had screwed up our
relationship, fury that I couldn’t seem to keep her from slipping through my
fingers.

I
ran my hands through my hair, wishing that I knew what to do, that I knew some
way to officially make her mine once again.  Damn it.  Had I made her want to
run back to Chance?

Dara

After
I finished the obligatory dance, I scanned the room for Stone but saw no sign
of him.  As I glanced from face to face to face on the dance floor, Crimson
walked up beside me and took me by the arm. 

“He
flew out of the room like Satan was nipping at his backside,” she whispered,
her eyes wide while she waited for my response.

“Didn’t
he see the kiss?”

“Nope. 
He left before the kiss.”

I
didn’t know what I had expected.  Maybe I had wanted Stone to be jealous.  If
he had shown some emotion, then it would have affirmed that he really cared
about me, at least on some level.

I
had half-expected him to rush toward us before the kiss, his face contorted in
anger and hurt.  In some sick and twisted way, I supposed that I had wanted him
to hurt the way that he had hurt me.  In all honesty, it would’ve served him
right.

But
when I stood beside Chance on the dance floor in my chiffon dress and sparkles,
I had to admit that I loved Stone enough that I didn’t want him to hurt.  Pain
was already part of life, and he and I had endured our share already.

“He
went toward the patio.”  Crimson nudged me.  “You should go find him.”

“I
don’t know if I want to.”

“Dara,
you forget who you’re talking to.  Hello, it’s me, your best friend.  I know
you want to, and I also know he wants you to.”

I
snapped my head around to look at her.  “He said that?”

“He
didn’t have to.  It’s more than a little obvious.”

I
took a step forward and stopped, unsure of what I should do. 

Crimson
nudged me again.  “Go.”

Mike
approached us and handed Crimson a glass of punch.  “You want me to get you
one, Dara?”

Crimson
grabbed his arm.  “She has Stone for that.  Come on, Mike.  Let’s go sit down
for a minute before they play another slow song.”

She
gracefully swept Mike away and left me standing alone.