“Don’t look at me like that.”
I blink.
“I told you.And I meant it.I don’t see that changing.Not unless our lives take an extreme detour.Even then, you’re it.I don’t think I could ever love anyone else.”
When I continue to stare, he smirks.“Drive, Sadie.Or do you want me to?”
I shake out of my shock and find the gas pedal.
“Yes.Four,” I repeat, my eyes on the road.“And you got the seal of approval from Priscilla Prescott.No one has ever gotten my mom’s approval.Dad is so much easier to win over.”
“Not even Graham?”
“Especially not Graham.Every Christmas, she thanks me for breaking up with him.I should’ve told her it was you who broke up with him, except now I’m afraid she’d offer you my grandmother’s engagement ring to propose with on the spot.”
Jonathan chokes out a laugh.
“Your turn to have a mini freak-out,” I say, smiling.“Can we not contemplate our futures any more tonight?Right now, prom feels like too much pressure, and that’s only two months away.”
Jonathan doesn’t respond.I silently curse myself.He hasn’t asked me yet.I never considered whether he wanted to go or not.We haven’t talked about it.
I peek over at him.He’s staring out the window but sees me in the reflection and shakes his head at me with a smirk.“Was that a hint?”
“It was a mouth that should’ve stayed shut.”After a moment, I blurt, “We don’t have to go.”
He laughs.“Maybe you and your mouth should have a conversation because you know we’re going.”
“I do?”
“This wasn’t how I planned to ask you,” he mutters.“But I was hoping we’d go together.”
I pull into Collin’s driveway.The house is dark.
I shift in my seat to face Jonathan.“Did I ruin it?The asking?”
“No.”He notices the dark windows as well.“Collin must still be out with the guys.Jane’s working until seven.Want to come in?”
I grin so big.“Yes.”
When we enter the house, I head to the bathroom while Jonathan makes sure the downstairs isn’t a disaster.I’m not sure what that means because I can put both Collin and Jonathan to shame with my Class 5 disaster of a bedroom.
While washing my hands, I look at my face in the mirror.There’s a flush to my cheeks.“You think something’s going to happen tonight?”I ask the reflection.My cheeks get pinker.I smile.The hummingbird has erupted into a frantic flutter of excitement within my chest.It’s been a while since I’ve felt it, considering everything.
I take a couple deep breaths and emerge from the bathroom.There’s music playing in the basement, something slow and acoustic.When I walk down the stairs, the lights are off other than a disco ball hanging in the back.Collin tried to convince us we could open an underground club and make money off cover charges.No one came.The disco ball remained.
The lights bounce, twinkle and swirl around the room.Jonathan looks amazing, still dressed in a dark purple shirt and grey pants.He struggled with whether to wear a tie.I pulled it off his neck the second he got in my car.I take him in for a moment.How absolutely stunning he is.
I unzip my boots and peel them off my legs—not taking my eyes off him as he leans against the back of the couch with a mischievous smirk on his face.
“What are you doing?”he asks, moving toward me.
I slip past him before he can touch me.“Dancing for you.”
My bare feet find the tiny black-and-white checkered dance floor, and my hands float above my head.I do a simple twirl, the skirt of my chiffon maxi dress flowing around me.I feel his gaze upon me, intense and unwavering.I move my hips to the soft melody, rocking my shoulders back into a dip that has my hair touching the floor.
When I return to standing, he’s on the edge of the dance floor, hands reaching for me.I don’t try to evade him now.I let him pull me to him, against him, eliminating the space between us.
Jonathan presses his forehead to mine.“Sadie Prescott.”His voice is a low rumble that I feel in my toes.“Will you go to prom with me?”
