I lean over to him and whisper in his, “Gotta tell you something.”
He immediately leans to respond, but before he can he’s pulled away by some of the guys.
Fuck. I’m never going to be able to tell him. And the longer I wait, the more impossible it seems.
I owe it to both Bray and Cadence to do the right thing here and just deal with the outcome after. I just hope I get the chance to do so before it’s too late.
21
Cadence
Hey pretty girl, are you ready for the dance?
I’m so excited!!
I’ll be there in about twenty minutes to pick you up, is that okay?
Yes, that works. I can’t believe we’re actually going together.
Me neither, sunshine.
I miss you.
Don’t worry, little one. I’ll be there soon.
I put my phone down and take one last look in the mirror. The purple dress is so pretty, fitting me perfectly in all the right ways and my hair is pinned up, courtesy of my gorgeous mama.
“You look so pretty, my sweet girl,” she tells me as she places the last pin. I smile at her in the mirror.
Everything feels like it’s falling into place and I can’t wait to spend the rest of this night dancing, in public, with Zach.
“I really like him, Mom.” I turn around to face her and she runs her thumb along my cheek.
“I know you do, baby girl. I can see it. You know I’ve always seen it. And as much chaos as it could cause between you and your brother, I’ve always believed Zach would be a great choice for you.”
I step into my mom, wrapping my arms around her as she hugs me back. But she’s right, this could have caused some damage. Not just between me and my brother but between my brother and Zach. Between a lot of people really.
I didn’t get the chance to talk to him much after the game last night before he disappeared to celebrate with the boys. But whenhe did see me, the only thing he really said to me was, “Zach told me and I want you to know I’m happy for you.”
That made my chest swell, understanding that Zach must have talked to him and all of my stress about tiptoeing around my brother was for nothing. It took the stress off of everything and now I feel like I have a real chance to be happy with Zach while still keeping the other relationships intact.
When I woke up this morning, I felt a bit lighter about everything and even though I spent most of my day working on an emergency playlist for the dance—the original one got deleted somehow—I still didn’t feel any stress or anxiety. I just jammed out to different songs as I added them to the mix cue on Spotify and then, I started getting ready for tonight.
Ryen came over for a little bit but then her date, Silas, picked her up so they could go get food. I’ve been too nervous to eat, only running on Lucky Charms from breakfast and water all day. But the energy that buzzes in me is still at an all time high right now, counting down the minutes before Zach can get here.
Bray left a few moments ago to go pick up his date, Kinsley, so right now, it’s just me and my parents and I grow a little apprehensive when I think of how they’ll react seeing Zach pick me up tonight.
I told my parents about him yesterday, before the game. I was scared, sure, but Mom obviously already knew and Dad didn’t reject the idea. “As he treats you right then your mother and I are happy for you, sweetheart,” he’d said. I was honestly surprised. So much so that I decided to finally tell them about my acceptance letters to college too, knowing that I had been holding on to that news for far too long.
They told me that they just want me to be happy doing whatever it is I want to do after high school and that they’re there to support me through anything. Everything just feelsright, like the stars are aligning and telling me that everything is going to work out.
The doorbell rings and I perk up, turning my head as my heartbeat races. “It’s Zach,” I tell my mom and she smiles at me.
“I’ll go let him in.” She presses a kiss to my forehead before leaving.
This is kind of a big deal for me. I’ve never had a date to a dance before, which I found out is all thanks to my very considerate big brother. But I’m kind of glad that I’m getting to share a lot of firsts with the only boy who’s ever truly mattered to me.
I hear his voice in the foyer with my dad’s and I feel the butterflies start to rev up. I take one last look in the mirror and then turn to leave.
