“It’s no problem. What are you guys up to?” He tried to keep the jealousy out of his tone. Lucky friends.
“They came over for dinner. I was showing them my dress for the gala.”
“They sounded pretty excited about it.”
“They are. They’re very encouraging.” Her words seemed short. She was probably eager to get back to her guests. “I better get downstairs. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Good night, Roar.”
Duncan’s screen went black. All focus was gone. The image he’d seen of her in that bra had seared itself into his brain. Any chances of finishing his movie were thrown out the window.
Aurora breathed a sigh of relief and tucked her phone back in her pocket as Katie raced in. “I heard screaming. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. I’m sorry we disturbed you. You might want to put on your headphones.”
“Oh, okay. Have fun, Mom.”
Aurora was making her way down the stairs when her phone vibrated against her thigh. It was a text.
Duncan: Red is a good color for you.
The blood drained from her face, and Aurora broke into a cold sweat. She ran the rest of the way into the kitchen.
“STACEY!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need you to set up an IV in my arm and run alcohol through it. Stat.”
“As a medical professional, I cannot condone this course of action.” She smirked.
“Please. Just kill me.”
“What the hell happened?” Adele got up from her chair and came forward. “Everything seemed fine.”
“Look.” Aurora held out her phone as the girls gathered around.
Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped. Carrie cackled, and Lizzie was speechless.
Aurora begged Stacey, “At least get me drunk enough to forget.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The musical cast parties were always fun, but as a senior, Aurora felt an air of urgency since this would be her last one. She wanted to make it count. The lights were out, the DJ had the music and disco ball running, and everyone was having a good time. Aurora had even made herself a new purple satin halter top for the night, which she’d paired with black pants. At eighteen, she was bursting at the seams to escape her religious parents’ control, even for one night.
A commotion rose from the dance floor, and Aurora turned around. Zeke, who had played the Wizard, had set up a chair at one end and plunked Duncan down on it. Some of the other girls were taking turns pretending to give Duncan a lap dance. Maybe it was the lighting or the fact her mom wasn’t chaperoning this year, but it was now or never. She strode up as the last girl moved on and shook her hips to the beat of the music close to him. She tried looking over her shoulder at him, but the rods in her back prevented her from making eye contact.
She heard Zeke say clearly over the music, “No touching!” before she danced away. When she turned around, one of the directors was telling Zeke to put the chair back. Duncan left the dance floor. She brushed off her disappointment and looked for some friends to dance with.
Two weeks of radio silence later, Duncan dialed Aurora on the video app as scheduled for their final after-meeting check-in. He was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hi, Duncan.”
“Hey, Roar. What’s the color of the day?” Duncan wagged his eyebrows suggestively, then laughed as Aurora groaned and put her face in her hands.
“You weren’t supposed to see that!” She peered up at the screen from between her fingers.
“That doesn’t answer my question.” He was only teasing, surely, she understood that.
