I Hate You . . . I Think

Sparkles and Red Lace

Seth steps closer to me and takes my face in his hands. His lips lightly descend onto mine and I hold my breath throughout the soft kiss. He pulls away just enough so he can look into my eyes.

“You look so beautiful,” Seth says. I feel the heat move to my cheeks and know that I am blushing. 

“You look handsome,” I reply. He grins down at me and presses his lips against mine again. I will probably be redoing my lipstick all night.

His tongue peeps out of his mouth and brushes against my lips.

Oh, who the hell cares!

The doorbell rings and forces us to break apart. Seth growls in annoyance and I laugh. I know exactly how he feels. 

My mom comes rushing out of the kitchen and quickly opens the door. All of my friends from school come spilling into my house and the night begins. We eat some food and then are about to head outside for pictures when my Seth pulls me aside. 

He whips his hand out from behind his back and reveals the dark red rose corsage. 

“This is for you.” I smile happily and hold out my hand so he can slide it on. Flashes go off next to us and we both look over to see my mom grinning like a maniac. 

“Mom, what are you doing?” I ask.

“It’s your senior prom!” she shrieks. “I’m taking as many pictures of the two of you as I possibly can!” 

I groan and turn to my dad who is leaning against the wall next to my mom. I motion for him to do something, but he shakes his head no. 

“There is no way I am stopping your mom. If I take the camera away from her, she would kill me in my sleep,” he says. My mom smiles at him and pecks his cheek. 

Once pictures are done, we all head to the party bus waiting in my driveway. We all hurry on and soon we are on our way to the hotel. 

The ballroom is decked out in the Night in Paris theme that the dance committee picked out for this year. Lights twinkle around the room and there is a large cut out of the Eiffel Tower that we all enter under. Music is pounding throughout the room and there are bodies swaying all over the dance room. 

Once I set my clutch down on my group’s table and Seth throws his jacket onto one of the backs of the chairs, he drags me to the dance floor and we start moving around it together. My hips move against his and I remember the time we danced together months ago at Parker’s party. Things have changed so much since then, and I am so glad I’m here now. 

Vi

I’m out on the dance floor with Micah, and I feel extremely guilty. I am more than grateful that he came to prom with me, but I can’t stop looking at Tuckett out of the corner of my eye. He is dancing with some girl who is all over him. He should be having the time of his life with her, after all, she’s his kind, desperate, but for some reason he looks like he is in pain.

Micah breaks me out of my session of self pity by spinning me under his arm and then dipping my backwards. A small squeal of surprise, soon followed by laughter, escapes my mouth and I cling to Micah’s arms’s for support. We both laugh and spin around on the dance floor before the song to the next one. The music beats through the room and the excitement rises with it.

A finger taps Micah’s shoulder and Tuckett stands behind him. 

“Hey, mind if I cut in?” he asks. Micah quickly excuses himself and heads over to find a drink. 

Tuckett’s hands reach around me until they settle on my back. Tentatively, I reach my arms up and wrap them around his neck. We move back and forth, neither of us talking for a while. Neither of us look at each other. 

“So, Micah . . .” Tuckett says.

“Yep.”

“Why him?”

“He asked,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders. 

Tuckett nods his head and finally moves his eyes to mine. The run over the top of my head to my eyes, nose, and finally to my lips. The song ends, but neither of us let go. While everyone around us are jumping up and down to the fast paced music, we still stand close together and sway back and forth.

“Would you have gone to prom with me?” he asks. 

“No.”

“Why not?” I can see the nervousness on his face. 

“Because you didn’t ask,” I say the words with a little more venom than I should, but I can’t help it. I tear myself out of his arms and make my way off the dance floor. I can feel the tears running off of my face, but I quickly wipe them away. 

“Vi, wait!” Tuckett lightly grabs my arm an pulls me to a stop. 

“Did you want me to ask you to prom?”

I try to look anywhere else, but Seth moves my face towards his with his finger. The stern look on his face makes me want to burst out into tears, but I hold everything in. 

“Please talk to me.”

Screw holding it in.

“Of course I wanted you to ask me to prom!” I cry. “But here you are with that girl! I can’t do it. I can’t deal with all of your shit. No matter how much I care about you, there will always be some other girl before me.”

I move to run away, but Tuckett grabs my hand. 

“Vi-”

“No,” I bark, and pull my hand out of his. “Stop.”

I run away, leaving him standing alone and head over by the food area to look for Micah. I don’t want to ruin his night, but I have to get out of here. When I find him, I see him laughing with some girl. I can’t bug him with my stupid problems. He’d probably have more fun without me. 

I leave the ballroom and head into the lobby of the hotel. I take my phone from my clutch and call my mom to come pick me up. I plop down onto a bench and bury my face in my hands. To anyone else it would look like someone deep in thought. Only I know that I am sobbing into my hands at the loss of the boy I might be in love with. 

Low

Seth and I dance the whole night. We stop quickly for a make out session out in the gardens before we are back on the floor and dancing. The song changes and a slow song comes on.

‘If I could see beyond the here and now

If you could hear me calling you somehow

If I could know that love is reaching out

To find you with me tonight

‘Then hope could make these promises come true

Beyond what I could say, what love can do

With every moment leading me to you tonight.’

I wrap my arms all the way around Seth’s neck and he lifts me so that I am standing on his toes with my chucks. His arms wrap around me and his hands rest on the bottom curve of my dress. His fingers brush against my exposed skin and shudders run through my entire body. 

“Did I ever tell you how much I love your dress?” Seth says with a sly smile. “Especially the back. It’s extremely sexy.”

I laugh and rest my forehead against his. My fingers curl into his hair and he lets out a moan. 

“You drive me fucking crazy.”

I smile and press my lips against his. His fingers trace patterns along my bare back and I release a moan to match his.

“Same here.”