Chapter 37: Crown.
"Valedictorian?!!" I say, surprised.
"Yes, Miss Prentice. You've most certainly earned it." Mrs. Graves tells me. She's the school superintendent and I got the call that she wanted to see me.
"How? I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't even know I was doing that good." I tell her.
"Well, you were and this is the reward for that. You can collect your gown from my secretary and we'll see you on Saturday." She says, smiling at me.
"Thank you so much, you won't regret this." I tell her.
"I didn't plan on it." She replies.
I get up from the seat and walk out of her office. I find out where I'm supposed to get my gown from her secretary, Stephanie and I go there. After I collect my graduation gown and cap, I head to Richard's car.
He drove me here.
"Hey, how did it go?" He asks me as I get in the car.
"Really great. They chose me to be valedictorian." I reveal.
"That's amazing babe. I'm so proud of you." He says before he kisses my cheek.
"This was so unexpected." I tell him.
"Either way, it's a win. Celebrate that." He says and I nod.
My phone rings and I stare at the screen. It's Chanel. I'm supposed to meet her at the mall.
"She's calling, we better hurry." I tell Richard and he starts the car.
***
"Late again." Chanel says as I walk towards her with my graduation gown in my hand.
"Sorry, I got held up at school." I say, placing the gown on the white couch in the store.
"Prom is tomorrow. Don't you get that? It has to be perfect." She says and I chuckle.
"You better calm down before you pop that vein in your forehead." I tell her and she snacks my hand.
"Go try your dress please." She says and I nod.
"Yes, Mom." I quip.
Five minutes later, I walk out of the dressing room in my red gown. It has a halterneck and a corseted waist. I stand in front of the mirror and I smile at my reflection.
I look beautiful.
"Wow, Jaz." Chanel says, staring at me. "You look amazing."
"I feel amazing too. This dress really is a wonder." I say with a smile on my face.
"You're gonna be the prettiest date." She says and I nod.
"Christian better have our corsages ready." I tell her and she laughs.
"He knows how much prom means to me. He wouldn't dare forget." She tells me.
***
"I forgot to buy the corsages." Christian says and I put my face in my hand.
"What is your problem?" Chanel asks him as she smacks him with her silver purse.
She has on a blue shimmery dress and her hair is in a chignon bun. She looks elegant.
"It's fine. Don't kill your brother." I say, pulling Chanel away from him.
"Thanks." Christian says, nodding at me.
"And it doesn't matter if we have corsages or not. We're not the traditional prom dates. I mean, the three of us are literally going together. It doesn't get more non-conventional than that." I tell her.
"Let's just promise each other that we'll have fun and dance to every song because we will only experience this night once." I add.
"You're right." Chanel says, relaxing in her seat.
"Now, have some champagne." I tell her as I grab the bottle from the ice bucket and hand it to Chanel.
She brings the bottle to her lips and chugs a reasonable amount of it.
"Slow down there, will ya? We're not even there yet." Christian tells her.
"Shut up." She shoots back.
"If you throw up in this limo, I will literally bite you." He says and Chanel takes another swig from the bottle.
My phone buzzes in my hand and I stare at the new notification.
"It says here on Grillo, that Miles is performing tonight. Did you guys know that?" I ask them.
Christian shakes his head and Chanel stares at me.
"Have you spoken to him yet?" Chanel asks and I shake my head.
"No, not yet." I admit.
"Well, you better put your big girl pants on because we are here." Christian tells us and the limo door opens.
We get out of the limo and head inside the school. When we get to the gym, we see the entire grade dancing and having conversations.
"Let's go get our pictures taken now before the two of you run off." I say, dragging the two of them to the photo booth.
We get in and sit on the chairs, Chanel sits on my lap and then we take the photos. They came out really good. After that, the three of us get our picture taken by the school photographer.
Right now, I'm at the punch table spiking the punch.
Someone's gotta do it.
"I already put my whole flask in there." Miles says, standing beside me.
"Bummer. I'm adding more." I tell him and he laughs.
"How are you doing, sis?" He asks and I lose it.
"Don't call me that." I say, laughing.
"You've been avoiding me since that dinner." He points out.
"I know that. I just needed to clear my head and not be weird about us being related." I tell him.
"Only by marriage." He quips and I nod.
"Are you having fun tonight?" I ask him.
"Yeah. Jackie's my date." He informs me.
"Oh wow." I say, shocked.
"She lost all the baby weight and everything." He tells me.
"Really?" I ask him and he nods.
"Oh and congratulations on becoming Valedictorian." He tells me and I stare at him.
"How did you know about that?" I ask him and he raises his phone up.
"Grillo." We say at the same time.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go perform now." He tells me.
"Go on." I say and he flashes me a small smile before he leaves.
"So, how did it go?" Chanel says beside me.
"Where did you come from?" I ask her, chuckling.
"I was watching the two of you talking. He definitely still has feelings for you." She tells me and I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, but he's my step-brother now. And besides, I don't like him that way." I tell her.
Chanel grabs a cup from the table and pours herself some punch.
"This is so good." She says after taking a sip and I send her a fake smile.
She's gonna throw up later tonight.
"It's time to announce Prom King and Prom Queen." Sarah Geller, the president of the prom planning committee says into the microphone.
"Oh." Chanel says, tapping me to pay attention to the stage.
"And Prom King goes to..." Sarah opens up the envelope in her hand. "Aaron Jackson." She announces and everyone claps.
"Typical." I say, snatching the drink from Chanel's hand.
"In his defense, we cast the votes at the beginning of the school year, so..." Chanel tells me, trailing off.
Aaron walks on stage and is crowned.
"And Prom Queen is...Jasmine Prentice." Sarah says and I roll my eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me." I say under my breath.
"Screw Aaron, go get your crown." Chanel says, pushing me towards the stage. I almost stumble, but I balance myself. I make my way to the stage and I accept the crown.
"Now, I know things are rocky between the two of you, so would you like to dance with him?" Sarah asks me.
"I'd rather not." I tell her before I get off the stage.
Miles starts singing John Legend's "Tonight (Best You've Ever Had)." and everyone starts slow dancing to the song.
"Come on." I say, pulling Chanel to the dance floor.
Christian joins in and the three of us dance to the song.
"Tonight is so magical." Christian says with a smile on his face.
"You're one to talk. Where were you?" Chanel asks her brother.
"In one of the bathroom stalls with Ethan." He admits.
"You left us to go get some dick?" Chanel says, disappointed.
"We had a plan dude." I tell him as he waves me off.
"Girl please, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." He retorts and I laugh.
***
"I am so happy." Chanel slurs beside me.
We're currently at the after-party and I don't remember how we got here. I am so drunk right now.
"And I need to take a piss." I tell her. "Don't move. I'll be right back."
I walk to the bathroom.
Barely.
And I do my business. I'm washing my hands when the door opens.
It's Miles.
"I saw you come in here and I wanted to see if you were okay." He says and I bite my lip.
I rush over to him and kiss him. He wraps his hand around my waist. I toy with his belt and unbuckle it, shoving my hand in his pants.
"We really shouldn't." Miles says, pulling away.
"We should." I reply before I kiss him again.
Miles picks me up and places me on the counter beside the sink. He slips his hand underneath my dress, removing my black thong. He inserts two fingers in me and I let out a loud moan.
"I want to feel you." I whisper in his ear. And with that he pulls his pants down and guides himself into me. His pace is fast and my moans are sloppy and all over the place. Our synergy filling the space. It's so hot in here. Miles grabs my boobs as he pounds into me. He moans in my ear and that sends me over the edge as I arch my back.
Minutes later, we ride out our highs together and pant in each other's faces.
"That was..." I start, but he cuts me off.
"Special." He finishes for me. He kissed my forehead before he pulls away. He pulls his pants up and then hands me my thong.
"Thank you." I whisper, feeling shy all of a sudden.
That damn Hennessey.
"I don't regret this at all." He says, cupping my face and I smile at him.
"I should give you some space to tidy up. I'll be outside." He tells me. He leaves the bathroom and I get down from the sink.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I run a finger through my hair. I grab a tissue and wipe myself. Adjusting my bra cup, I check myself out one last time before I walk out of the bathroom.