“Why are boys so damned confusin'?”
“Uh, you're askin' da wrong person if you want some real insight. What happened?”
Mia groaned and flopped down next to him on the porch swing. “You know I've had a crush on Gage for a while, right?”
Jules rolled his eyes. “More like forever, but yeah.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Well, Cole Ambrose asked me to da prom, two days ago, and I said yes. I mean, I've waited forever for Gage to notice me, and I wasn't even a blip on his radar. But den, just a little bit ago...he asked me to go to prom wit' him.”
Julius gave his sister a slow blink. “Oh. Shit. Did you tell him yes?”
“No! I told him no, cuz I was already goin' wit' Cole. He looked...I dunno, I expected him to be upset, because he'd looked hopeful when he asked, but he didn't. He looked kinda...pissed. Which is confusin' as all git out. Why would he be pissed when he's never even acted like he liked me dat way?”
“Mia, you can be so thick sometimes. How often does he go lookin' for you when you go off to be by yourself? Just last month, when Caine challenged Zachary for Alpha, and we had dat big celebration when he won, Gage got you to dance wit' him. And he danced wit' you at Homecomin' even though he had a date. I tink he likes you but tinks you don't like him. And goin' wit' Cole will make him tink it even more.”
“Ugh. Like I said, why are boys so confusin'? Why couldn't he have come right out and said it before dis?”
Julius snorted in derision. “Right. Cuz you have any reason to talk. You never told him you liked him, so why do you 'spect him to do da opposite?”
“Oh, hush. You're supposed to be on my side,” she said and bumped shoulders with him. “Fine, I guess you have a point.” She was reluctant to admit to it but it was true. If she'd been up front about her feelings this might not have happened.
“Well, dere's no'ting you can do about it now. You're a woman of your word, you told Cole you'd go wit' him, so you'll be stickin' to dat decision, right?”
“Yeah.” She kicked the porch railing closest to her a moment. “I'll let you get back to your studies. I gotta go shoppin' anyway.” She still had to pick out her dress so she could tell Cole what color cummerbund to get to match.
Mia loved the dress she'd chosen for her date to prom with Cole. It was almost as risque as the one she'd worn to Homecoming, only in a different way. Where the green dress she'd worn then was short in the front, showing off a lot of leg, her prom dress showed more skin above the waist. The bodice was a halter top with a floral detail. There was a section between the bodice and skirt where the material was sheer and gave off glimpses of her stomach. The halter-like top, which had a cut out in it that was trimmed in the floral material and wrapped snugly around her throat like a choker, was form-fitting over her breasts and showed off her cleavage. The dark purple color looked amazing against her fair skin and once again she left her hair down so it hung in waves almost to her waist. The one thing that would have made this night perfect was if she'd been going with Gage instead of Cole.
“Your date's here. Damn, sis. Dat dress...wow. You're gonna turn heads when you walk in da door. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on da wall to see Gage's reaction to it.” Julius knew the other leopard was likely to lose his shit when he spotted Mia on Cole's arm in that sexy dress.
“I'm not wearin' it for him, I'm wearin' it for me.”
“Don't mean he won't be lookin' and droolin' right along wit' all da other guys who'll be dere.”
That made her roll her eyes. “Right. Because I'll totally be da hottest girl dere. Please.”
“Why do girls always put demselves down? I've never understood it.” He waved a hand. “Doesn't matter. Cole's waitin' for you. You better get out dere before papa or Beau scare him off.”
“Yeah, yeah. I'm goin'.” She stepped into her heels and headed down the short hall to the living room where her date waited.
“Oh, Mia, honey, you look so beautiful. Now, just let me take a couple of pictures and I'll stop torturin' you and let you get outta here,” Eliza said.
Cole smiled at Mia. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you.” Mia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and accepted the corsage he had for her before she turned to let her mother take her photos. She had high hopes for the prom even if she wasn't going with the boy she really wanted to be there with.
Gage
The tables were finally turned. All through high school, Gage had dated one girl after another. Any time there was a dance or something else going on at school, there was a girl on his arm while his best friend, Mia, was often either alone or there with her twin. This time, it was Gage who was alone. After he'd asked Mia to the prom and learned she already had a date, he'd considered asking someone else but dismissed the idea. He didn't want to have to pretend to be interested in whoever he took with him when he knew he was going to have a hard time keeping himself from watching Mia all night.
Gage's jaw just about hit the floor when Mia walked in on Cole's arm. She was breathtakingly beautiful. The deep purple dress molded to her body in a way that really accentuated her curves. He felt a surge of jealousy at the way Cole had his arm wrapped possessively around her. He had to fight with his leopard to stay where he was because the cat in him wanted to rip Cole's arm off. The urge was unsettling in it's intensity.
When Cole and Mia joined their small group, Gage faked a smile to hide his true feelings. “Hey.” He nodded at Cole before he turned his attention to Mia. “You look amazin', Mia.”
Mia smiled a little. “Thanks. So do you.” She arched a brow at him. This was the first time in forever she'd seen him without some girl hanging off his arm. “Where's your date?”
“Decided to go stag.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“Really? Dat's...surprisin'.”
