A Touch of Grace

[ epilogue ]

Epilogue

"Smile!" my mom called as she held her camera in her hands, holding it up and pointing it at Leo, who was standing with his girlfriend, Yasmine. My mom continued to take photos and my brother was growing annoyed. Yasmine was giggling as my mom hopped around, capturing different angles of the couple.

"Alright, I think that's enough, mom," Leo blurted and my mom released a laugh.

"It's prom. There is no such thing as enough pictures," my mom responded as she glanced at them on her camera. "Next," she started, turning her attention to me and Phoenix. I looked at my boyfriend and sighed, shaking my head.

"Come on, she'll take a few pictures and then we'll be on our way," he whispered as he placed his hand on my waist, leading me to the spot where my brother had just taken his pictures. I had to lift the bottom of my red dress to keep it from getting dirty. I stood in front of Phoenix as he had his arms around me.

"Keep it PG," my father noted and Phoenix backed up a small amount, shooting my dad an apologetic glance.

"Wait!" a voice yelled from a few feet away and I turned to see Phoenix's mom running from the confines of her house with her phone in her hands.

"We're never getting out of here," Phoenix noted as he watched his mother jog over.

"Come on, give us a smile," my mother started.

"Say cheese!" Mrs. Carson encouraged as she held up her phone. I was suddenly blinded and she chuckled. "Oops, flash was on."

Once the photoshoot was over, I found myself following Phoenix to the car, listening as my father shouted from across the lawn. "Why don't you guys just ride with Leo and Yas?"

"Don't listen to him. He's just saying that so Leo can keep an eye on you guys," Avery called from the front porch where she was eating an apple. She was home from college and rather than staying out of state to spend time with her friends, she came right home to help me get ready for prom.

"Let's go," I muttered to Phoenix as he opened the door for me.

"You two have fun!" my mother and Mrs. Carson yelled simultaneously.

"I expect you home at 12:30!" my dad shouted as I closed the car door, rolling my eyes. "Keep an eye on them, Leo!"

"Whatever," Leo retorted as he got into his car with Yasmine, who was flaunting around in her orange dress.

As we drove to prom, Phoenix looked at me and smiled. "You look so beautiful."

"Thanks," I mumbled as I stared at him, shrugging with a sigh as I looked him over. "You look okay, I guess." His dark hair was brushed out so that it wasn't all over the place, like it usually is. His suit was crisp and clean and his bowtie was perfectly in place. He looked more than okay. He looked absolutely amazing, but I won't tell him that. He definitely doesn't need the ego boost.

"Okay?" he asked as he glanced at himself. "I look good."

"I guess," I trailed with a smile and he laughed, shaking his head.

"You're so stubborn," he told me and I shrugged again.

"You really don't need your head to get any larger," I responded as he grinned.

"So you're insinuating that I look good?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Phoenix, you look great," I admitted

"I know," he replied with a large smile on his lips. "Can you believe it?"

"If you say something about how good you look, I'm going to hit you," I threatened.