His lips softened with a hint of a smile as if he could read her thoughts. Taking her hand in his, he led her to a corner of the dance floor and took her in his arms. For the first time in what felt like forever, she let go. No Cameron, no whispers, no guilt—only him. For once, she simply held his gaze, letting the connection between them surpass everything else.
It was dark when they made it to the beach. The moon was high in the sky and shimmered off the black waves. With her hand in his, Gavin guided her down the wooden boardwalk and over the grassy sand dune. In the distance a bright orange light blazed like a guiding light in the dark. The bonfire, a tradition of every senior class, was the highlight of prom. With only the senior class in attendance they had the entire beach to themselves.
The closer they got the louder it got. Music pulsated through the air punctuated by excited screams and shouts.
"Looks like this is going to be interesting." Gavin’s statement was dry, his gaze intent as he scanned the crowd. "Drink nothing. Not even bottled water."
Ebony bit back a smile and tried to school her face into an innocent expression. "Aww it's prom. Come on, I planned on getting drunk and-"
She didn’t even get the rest of the sentence out before Gavin whipped around to look at her, horror and anger sparking in his eyes.
Ebony couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed. "I'm joking, you know that."
Receiving an eye twitch that only made her laugh harder, he tugged her the rest of the way until her wedged sneakers were sinking in the sand.
"Hey!" Ethan shouted waving at them as they approached. "You made it."
Gavin's eyes settled on the open beer in Ethan's hand before snapping back up to meet his eyes in a deadly glare. "She drinks nothing."
Ethan rolled his eyes and looked to Ebony, taking on a mock look. "Aww are you sure Ebbs?" he wiggled the can of beer in front of her. "I sure don’t want to waste this roofie I obviously had planned just for you." He turned back to Gavin and made a face. "What the fuck bro? I swear she is more a sister to me than to you."
A muscle in Gavin's jaw jumped, but they both saw the glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
Around them people let loose. All the stress of the year was gone as they talked, laughed, danced, and drank under the fire's glow. The heady vibe was infectious. There was something freeing about the open beach all to themselves and the looming emancipation of adulthood coming around the corner.
Both she and Gavin were standing in a small group a little away from the popping bonfire when she shivered. Despite the warmth from the day, the fickle Texas weather had decided the night was going to be cool.
Gavin reached for her, giving her a worried look as he rubbed her exposed arms. Around them other girls were wearing their partner's jackets. He had taken off his suit jacket in the car on the way over.
"I'm gonna go grab my jacket," he told her but she could see the worry in his eyes. He didn’t want to leave her. The trek up the dune to the parking lot was not quick.
Ebony shook her head. "I'm fine. I can just stand closer to the bonfire."
Hegave her a look that suggested she had lost her mind. "And get lit on fire by a stray spark or have that heap fall on you. Yeah, no, fuck that. Stay here. Don’t wander off into the dark and don't-"
Ebony sighed and nodded. "Yes, yes, and don't drink anything. I got it."
Satisfied, he took off towards the cars.
Around her the party continued, people coming and going as they mingled. For the briefest moment, she found herself standing alone, still dutifully in her spot as promised when a familiar face appeared before her. Ebony startled at the sight of him.
Looking a little rumpled in his cream and navy-blue pinstriped slacks and cream shirt, Cameron quietly stared at her. In his hand he held a bottle of some sort of liquor she couldn't quite recognize.
Cameron's eyes dropped to her feet and slowly raised, taking every inch of her in. He seemed to withdraw into his own thoughts, emotions warring on his face. Anger? Disgust? Sadness? Ebony couldn’t tell.
She had never seen him look like this. She wanted to step back. Quickly she scanned the area but everyone was on the other side of the bonfire where the speaker was.
"You look good." His gaze finally rested on her face.
"Thank you," she said. He looked drunk.
His voice was tight when he spoke again. "You didn’t return my calls. When you were sick, I tried calling you."
Confused, she blinked at him. How drunk was he? Again, she glanced at the bottle in his hand. "I did call you. I even texted."
Cameron shook his head, not listening. "When you did come back to school, you didn’t even come talk to me. If you wanted me half as much as I wanted you, you would've come to talk to me."
What was he talking about? She had tried talking to him a few times after class but he had all but brushed her off saying they could talk at some other unestablished time. She had just assumed he was busy.
