Double Threats Forever (29 page)

Josh jumps in front of us with a groan. “Why don’t you both go?”

“Holy shit!” I yell at the top of my lungs while Keesh screams, “Oh my god!”

And then the tears come before I can hold them back. Two faces look back at us from the inside of the limousine.

Jon and … Alex.

Both guys jump down from the super stretch Excursion, and right into our arms.

“Surprise!” Alex says as I wrap my arms around his neck and sink into his hold. “Don’t cry, babe. You look too beautiful to have tears.”

“I’m too happy,” I whimper into his neck. “I can’t help it. You’re the best.”

“All right, already. Surprise, surprise! Now, can we go take the pictures so we can get this party started,” Josh says, pushing Keesh back so he can hug his friend. She playfully tries to punch him, but then she just grins as she watches the two best friends share their moment.

We’re about a hundred shots deep in poses when Andi starts yelling and waving her hands in the air.

“Dude, I forgot something,” she shouts, running away from us and into the house.

“What’s with her?” Josh asks.

Travis shrugs, his hands up and palms to the air.

“I got it! I got it!” she’s waving a something in the air. It looks like a paddle. “Dude, he can’t miss everything.” She holds up a portrait she drew of Ben. Looks just like him, from every detail of his mischievous grin to his sky blue eyes. “It’s a Flat Ben!”

“Dude, you’re silly,” Travis says, holding his arms out to his girl.

“Who wants to hold him? Meg?” She passes Ben—his face drawn to scale and glued onto a paint stick—to me, and round two of the photo shoot continues.

“Only Andi,” Alex whispers in my ear.

I chuckle. “I know. It’s kinda cool. Funny,” I say, holding Ben’s face to Alex’s for a shot. “But cool.”

“He’ll get a kick out of it.”

And this is true. I wish he was here so I could see him crack up at the gesture. Where ever he is, I hope he’s smiling just like he is in his picture.

After a thousand more pictures—okay, maybe not that many but it sure seemed like it—our parents see us off as we all climb into the limo and drive away. Despite the long photo shoot, they seemed like they couldn’t wait to get rid of us. In fact, they didn’t even wait for us to leave. All the dad’s had already popped open a beer and some of the moms were sipping margaritas.

I guess the apples don’t fall far from the trees.

Chapter 29

We don’t waste any time getting to the dance floor. Josh even brings out Flat Ben to dance with him and his date, Carly. Her name suits her. She’s always happy, and peppy. She hasn’t stopped smiling since she got to my house. Hasn’t said much, but she’s smiling.

With phones in our hands, we dance, stopping often to take pictures of each other. We pass Ben along so he gets into shots with each of us.

I can’t take my eyes off my girls. They look beautiful. I thought they were stunning the day we went shopping but with their hair all pulled up, curled, straightened, twisted, and braided, they could be working a runway. Absolute perfection.

Andi is wearing her dress with the confidence of a Victoria Secret model. We traded in her poofy, short, party dress for a yellow sheath gown. She looks like Kate Hudson in that one rom-com with the guy from Magic Mike. The only thing she’s missing is the giant diamond.

“Hey, Trav, what do you think of the dress we picked for your woman?”

He wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Are you guys trying to kill me? I can’t even touch her without getting a boner. Thanks!”

Alex and I crack up at his honesty. “Andi,” I shout over the music, “I guess we picked the perfect dress.”

She gives me the thumbs up as she turns around and backs up her booty into her boyfriend’s lap. She winks at me, as he groans, trying to hold her hips at a distance.

The song slows and I embrace the opportunity to hold my man close.

“You having fun?” I ask, soaking in his stare.

His eyes zero in on my lips. “Absolutely.” He drops a kiss to my mouth. “It’s nice to see some of my old teachers. And see some familiar faces.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

“How long are you here?”

“I’m leaving in the morning.”

My bottom lips juts out in a pout. “I miss you already.”

“Don’t. I’m right here.” His hands slowly trail up my back until they tangle in my hair. He drops another kiss to my lips, to my cheeks, and then to my neck. “Did I tell you how amazing you look tonight?”

“Um yeah,” I manage to say through a whimper. “Many times.”

“This gown is perfect for you. And that slit … let’s just say, I’m pulling a Travis right now.”

My hands slide to his back and I pull him closer to me. “Yes, you are,” I say, rubbing myself against his hardness.

“Babe, don’t do that. You’re gonna make me embarrass myself.” He laughs as he puts some space between us. Just enough so we’re not touching, but not so much he’s putting on a show.

“Okay. Some other time.”

“Definitely,” he says with a wink.

Once again, I settle in close to him as the slow rhythm of the song continues and the singer pours out words of love.

In moments like this, my breath hitches, and my heart skips a beat. Being in Alex’s arms, the scent of his cologne mixed with his minty gum tingles my nose and makes me lightheaded with want. This is perfect. For now. In just a month, he’ll be all mine. For good.

When the song finishes, he says, “How about a drink?”

I nod and he leads the way to a table lined with cups, water dispensers, and iced tea and lemonade fountains.

“How come these things are never spiked like they are in the movies?” I ask him, as he pours me a drink.

“Probably because you’d all get expelled if you tried it.” The familiar voice puts a smile on my face.

“Mrs. Fuller, it was just a question. I’d never consider drinking spiked punch,” I say, as I turn around to face her.

“Mmm hmm,” she murmurs. “Hey, Alex. Nice to see you here. This must have been a surprise.”

He gives her a hug. “Nice to see you too. Yeah, it was. You look very nice tonight.”

“Thanks. Have a good night, you two. You look perfect together.” She winks at me as she walks away.

“I love that teacher. You should see her and Mr. Fuller together. They’re so cute. I’m so glad she got rid of that slime ball. And their baby … I stare at pictures of him every day in class. He’s adorable.”

Alex doesn’t respond so I glance up at him and he’s staring at me with a big grin on his face.

“What?” I ask.

He bends down and nuzzles into my neck, grazing my skin with his lips. He pecks a kiss to my cheek before he straightens and says, “I’ve been waiting to take you to your senior prom since you were in ninth grade. I’m just happy the time’s finally here. It’s just like I’d imagined it. I love you.”

Our eyes meet first, wet with emotion, and then our lips follow for a gentle kiss.

With my hand on the side of his face, I tell him, “I love you too, Alex.”

We both let out a content sigh. We watch the dance floor, hand in hand, with my head resting on his shoulder.

“Should we get back out there before they call out a search party?” he asks.

Alex takes my empty cup from my hands and tosses it in the trash along with his. With his hand pressed to the small of my back, I start to move toward my friends. Until Amy comes into view.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder. “Let’s say hi, okay. I want you to meet Brody.”

Alex nods.

Amy and Brody are standing at the edge of the dance floor chatting away. Her head falls back with laughter and I feel a sudden rush of happiness for her. And him. They look genuinely happy together, lost in each other’s eyes, with smiles stretching across their faces.

“Hey, guys!” I shout as we get closer.

They both turn to look at me. Both of them glance up at Alex behind me.

For a beat, they’re still and then Amy flashes a faint smile. “Hey, Meg … Alex. You guys having a good time?”

I open my arms to hug her and she takes my offer of friendship. “Totally. You? Has the Brodster shown you his moves yet?”

She laughs. “Oh yeah.” And then she pumps her hips back and forth. “If this is what you call dancing.”

His face lights up like Rudolph. Then, he holds out his hand to Alex. “Hi, you must be Alex. I’m Brody. It’s nice to finally meet the person responsible for Meg’s perpetual smile.”

Alex takes his hand. “And it’s nice to meet the guy responsible for getting her through chem, physics, and calc.” He turns to me, “Did I miss anything else, babe?”

I land a soft punch on his shoulder. “Oh, now we’re the funny guy.”

He rubs his arm like I’ve just hit him with a sledgehammer, but follows his pain with a chuckle. “Hey, we were about to join the rest of the gang out there. Wanna come?”

The couple eyes each other with a shrug.

“Come on,” I tell them, grabbing Brody’s sleeve. He follows me while Amy and Alex trail right behind us.

“Hey, Amy. I’m really glad you and Megan have patched things up,” I hear him tell her.

“Me too.” She pauses. “I’m sorry I got in the way for the two of you. I’m really happy you’re together now.”

“No worries. That’s all in the past. What matters to me is my future with her.”

“You’re a good guy, Alex Aguilar.”

I turn around to chime in. “That’s what I’m always telling him.”

We’re all heading toward my backyard when Josh stops me. “Hey, I’ll be right back. I gotta get my Cinderella home before she turns into a pumpkin.”

“Dumbass, Cinderella didn’t turn into a pumpkin. Her ride did.”

“Well, whatever. I gotta get her home by midnight or my coach is gonna kick my ass.”

Our parents are still going hard when we crash the party. They have a beer pong table set up. There are red plastic cups littering the tables. And the music is fairly loud, for an adult party.

“Mind if we join you?” Jon calls out, getting their attention. “I’m home and I’m ready to party.”

Dad raises his beer to my friend. “Come on in, kids. Did you have a good time?”

I kick off my shoes and toss them under a table before shuffling over to my dad. I hang my arms around his waist. “Yes. We did. My feet are killing me though.”

“So you don’t want to dance anymore?” He pulls a remote from his pocket and increases the volume on the stereo.

“Give me that.” I snatch it from his hands and change the song to some Pitbull. “Now we’re talking.”

For the rest of the night and early morning, both parents and kids hang out. Chatting, dancing, telling jokes, roasting marshmallows. And passing Flat Ben around to take some creative pictures. Some naughty. Some nice.

The night couldn’t get any better.

Chapter 30

“How was it?” Dad asks when Mom and I get home from Andi’s art show.

My mom drops her purse on the counter and I head for the fridge. “It was amazing,” she says. “It’s too bad you missed it. She has such a talent. In twenty years, we’re going to be saying we knew her when.”

Dad’s brows rise.

“This was just practice for her. When she gets to art school, she’s going to be expected to do shows like this all the time. It will be part of her degree. By the time she’s a senior, she’ll have a show of her own with multiple pieces on display.”

“That’s interesting. I’ve never known anyone who went to art school. So what was it like tonight?”

“Nothing like what I expected, that’s for sure,” I tell him, reaching for a bottle of water. I’d never been to an art exhibition before. Mr. Gelson transformed an entire building into a makeshift museum to show off all of his students’ work. If you’d never walked the halls before, you would have never known otherwise. Framed art, canvases, sculptures, murals, you name it, covered the walls on both floors.

Andi’s piece was showcased on the second level at the end of a hallway, with lighting that she and Travis rigged so it had this cool glow to it.

“She paints, right?” Dad asks. “What was the painting of?”

A smile creeps across my mouth, and mom’s eyes lower. I knew she was embarrassed by it.

“What? What was it?” Dad asks again.

My mom is obviously not going to say anything. “She painted a portrait of the guys.” I tell him.

“That’s cool. I bet they’re flattered. I’d love to see it.”

Mom spits out her water.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” My dad laughs. “Why are you acting all weird?”