Huh… I wonder who that could be.
Cut the crap, Josh. You know we can’t go to prom together.
Why not? Tell my sister you don’t want to go because you have no one to go with. Then I’ll offer to take you to Cara so she thinks it’s her great idea.
That actually might work…
It will work. And then I can hold you in my arms all night and twirl you around the dance floor.
Just no kissing! She still thinks we’re just friends. This is a big deal, Josh.
Fine. We’ll save the kissing for the after party.
9
MELANIE
NOW
Josh and I finish lunch, and he somehow convinces me to jam tonight. I guess if we’re going to plan a benefit concert for Cara, we’d better get to it. I’m trying not to think about how playing with him again will make me feel. When we were playing together as kids, we’d look at each other the entire time we played. My stomach in knots, cheeks flushed. He always kept his cool on the surface, but it was as if the music stirred up emotions between us that neither of us knew what to do with.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Josh says, scribbling his signature on the receipt for the waitress.
I nod, standing and pushing my chair in. “Okay, it’ll be about five thirty, by the time all is said and done at the restaurant.”
We stare at each other for a beat, nodding, perhaps neither of us quite ready to say goodbye. “I’ll see you,” Josh finally says, turning to go.
“Bye,” I call after him, doing the same.
“Oh, Mel,” Josh calls, jogging back. He stops so close to me, I think he might kiss me.
My heart flutters in my chest. “Yeah?” I whisper.
“I locked myself out of your apartment. Can I borrow your key?” He grins like a schoolboy, and I force a laugh down at my ridiculousness.Of course he’s not running back to kiss me.
“S-sure,” I stammer, flustered and digging through my purse. I push the key into his open palm and his fingers grasp around mine. The only thing keeping us from lacing our fingers together is my janky keychain. Still, we let our hands linger a second longer than necessary, and I instantly feel reassured that this isn’t one-sided. Josh must feel it too.
He gives me a sultry smile as he pulls his hand away. “Thanks. I’ll see you tonight.”
* * *
With Josh goneand a quiet lunch crowd, there’s nothing else for me to do but hole up in the office and go over the schedule for next week that Andrew asked me to finish. I fill my water bottle up from the tap behind the bar and push open the kitchen door. Even the kitchen is quiet today, forcing me to be alone with my thoughts. I sit down at the desk in the office and start skimming the preliminary schedule that Andrew left, taking note that Lexi and Julie both requested off on Saturday night and Ryan is hoping to pick up any extra shifts. But I can’t help myself, my focus is all over the place and my mind wanders.
“Come on, Melanie,” Cara whines after school on a warm Friday in April. “I can’t be the only one trying on dresses.” It’s a rare day where she doesn’t have a game or practice and she’s trying to convince me to go prom dress shopping.
“I told you, Car, I don’t really want to go to the prom.” I shrug. “But I’ll help you find a dress you love. I promise.”
Cara won’t drop the subject of prom. She’s asked me no less than fifty times. I know it’sprombut it’s ourjuniorprom. I won’t skip next year. This year just feels a little pointless to me.
“You have to go. Who will I get ready with?” Cara juts out her lower lip.
I roll my eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, one of your bajillion other friends maybe?” I joke but it’s true. Cara has so many friends. Soccer team, drama club, Honor Society. I am a loner and most of the time I’m okay with that. “I promise I’ll go to senior prom. I just don’t see the point in going this year when I have no one to go with and you’ll be dancing with Liam all night.”
Cara scoffs. “Liam doesn’t dance. He’ll stand there and watch me dance.”
“He’ll slow dance with you,” I point out, pushing my lips together. “Then you two will sneak off to fool around, and I’ll be all alone sitting at the table eating the entire dessert buffet. Sorry. Not interested.”
Cara’s eyes light up, and I instantly know what she’s going to suggest. I know because Josh and I rehearsed this exact scene a couple of days ago in hopes it would land us at prom together. “I know! Oh my god, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.”
