It was Friday finally, the day before prom. Lindsay, Jo, and I decided to have a pamper and movie night at Jo's.
"Okay, I'm not sure how this goes on," Jo cackled as she read the back of the bottle. The substance was a cucumber peel-off mask. Lindsay took the bottle.
"Let's just wet our faces with warm water. That way we'll have open pores and the mask will clean them out."
She told us to hold out our hands to reveal our palms, and she squeezed the gooey substance onto our palms.
I rubbed my hands together and watched myself massage it on my face. I made sure to get all of the areas; especially my nose, cheeks, and jawline. Those were the places where I broke out the most. And my chin and forehead. What am I saying? I break out everywhere.
When we were finished applying the mask to our face, we settled down in Jo's room and began to talk about Sprout.
"How far along are you?" Lindsay asked.
"Two and a half months," she answered. She patted her belly and cackled. "I'm not ready for stretch marks."
"Some mothers don't have stretch marks with their first born. You might get lucky," I commented and sat on her bean bag. My body sank into the fluffiness.
"If I'm breaking out already, there's plenty of evidence of me getting stretch marks. That's why I apply coconut butter on my stomach everyday."
We laughed in unison.
"Face it this way: Aiden won't care if you have stretch marks. He loves that baby and you," Lindsay promised.
Jo grinned. "I just hope he won't become that guy who thinks I'm unattractive."
I shook my head in a disagree manner. "He won't. This is his first time loving someone, and it takes a lot in a girl for him to even have feelings for you."
When the fifteen minutes were up, we began peeling off the masks. And on to the exfoliation process.
"This helps with cleaning off dead skin and cleaning out your pores as well. This ought to be good 'cause I need this."
We each took turns squeezing the exfoliator in our palms and massaging that on our faces. We waited for a minute and washed it off.
"My face literally feels like a baby's bottom," I announced as I touched my cheeks. They've never felt so smooth before.
"So while we're eating pizza, we're going to have a healthy smoothie," Jo laughed as she called the local Pizza Hut to order a pizza.
Lindsay prepared the milk and ice whilst I cut up three bananas in half and sliced strawberries. Lindsay added the protein powder, and I threw the fruit in the blender and the loud machine was cut on.
I got out three glasses and when it was done blending, Lindsay poured the smoothie into each glass.
"I've been waiting for this," Jo said as she took the glass from my hand. We made our way into the den and Jo cut on the TV.
We slurped on our smoothies until the pizza arrived. Jo got up to answer the door, leaving us with picking out a movie on Netflix.
When she arrived with the box of pizza, we demolished the pizza slice by slice. With full bellies, we each lied in a position on the sectional couch and fell asleep by the time the credits rolled on the screen.
***
When the next morning arrived, Lindsay and I had to go to our houses to shower. Although I already showered the night before, I decided to wash my hair so it wouldn't look oily in pictures. When I was out of the shower and dressed in comfortable clothes, I headed up to the beauty salon.
The cosmetologist trimmed two inches from my hair, leaving it just below my bra strap. I looked slightly different, yet I loved it. Who cares about that scar on my back? I have no other person to impress except for Baylor which who has seen it plenty of times.
The beautician curled my hair in tight curls with a big barrel. She then braided the roots of my hair into a waterfall braid and hair sprayed it. The makeup artist contoured my face, gave me a smokey eye, winged eyeliner, big eyelashes, and lipstick. I looked totally different. I've never had this much done to my face. I hope Baylor liked it.
When I paid the cosmetologist and the makeup artist, I exited the shop and headed home.
"Wow, sis. You look a lot better with the makeup on." He stared at my face.
"Shut up and drive. I have to put on a dress and heels and take prom pictures."
He only laughed as we made it home.
"Do you need help?" Aiden asked behind the other side of my door.
"No," I answered. I shifted the dress around my breast area so I wouldn't be twisted up. I fixed it around my sides and slid my heels on. I stood from my bed feeling five hundred inches taller.
I opened my door to a guy who was once leaning on my door.
"Are you nervous?" he asked a question once again.
"Not entirely nervous, just excited, really."
Aiden hummed. "I can't believe my little sister is going to prom."
I chuckled. "Well it's not my prom, it's Baylor's."
There was a sudden knock on the door and Aiden told me to go hide; that it was bad luck if he saw me in the dress until prom (only if he knew it were for weddings).
I walked to my room and closed the door like he told me to. I packed my phone, oil observing sheets, bandaids, and a little bit of money in a clutch.
"I was expecting a bit more feminine face. Someone who is short and has good-looking features. Someone who is my girlfriend and date to prom." I heard Baylor's voice echo down the hall. I remembered those exact words that were meant for my brother on the first day I had actually held a conversation with him. My insides lit up inside and I felt a smile overcome my face.
"She's not ready," Aiden said. I rolled my eyes. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and I grew overwhelmed of seeing a great-looking guy in a tuxedo.
My door had a knock and I replied. "Come in." I felt my cheeks burn with a blush and the door opened.
I turned to face the most handsome guy in the world and I smiled widely. I waltzed to him, my heels clacking across the floor. His eyes were the size of saucers with a bright smile across his face. He walked up to me and brought me into a hug. My arms wrapped around his neck.
"You look absolutely gorgeous, Rose." He pulled away and kissed my cheek.
"Thank you, Baylor. You're the most handsome guy in the world."
His smile was very broad like mine. God, he looked amazing.
He took his hands and clasped them in mine. He pressed his lips to mine. "So beautiful." He kissed my (now) red cheek.
I saw Aiden behind Baylor, grinning away with a tint of shiny eyes.
"I think it's time for pictures," Baylor spoke when he looked at the watch on his wrist.
I followed Baylor out of my room and into the living room to tell my brother goodbye.
"You take care of my sister, okay?" Aiden demanded.
Baylor smiled. "Of course." He stopped at the front door and waited on me.
I hugged my brother and he kissed my temple. "You do look beautiful, sis."
"Thank you. I love you," I promised and he hugged me back and told me he loves me.
As we left, I held up my dress just enough to where it wouldn't scrape across the ground. When we reached Baylor's car, he opened the door for me.
"I've never seen anyone or anything as beautiful as you." He grasped my hand and placed it in his, bringing our hands up to kiss mine. He rested them in his lap.
"I had thought the same thing when I saw you. The most handsome, sexy guy I've ever seen."
As I looked at him, his face lit up in a smile once again. He's my world. My everything.
When we arrived at an old farm house on the outskirts of Shady Grove, there were cars lined up. We were taking pictures with Lindsay, Lane, and the rest of our crew. The only ones missing were Aiden and Jo.
"Okay, the final couple has arrived!" The photographer shouted. They all looked at us as we walked hand-in-hand towards them.
"So here's what we're going to do: I'd like to get the couples lined up. I want the guys from shortest to tallest, and then your guys' dates right in front of you."
We done what the photographer announced, and the guys all figured out who was the shortest and who was the tallest. Baylor was the tallest and Lane was the shortest.
I aligned right along in front of Baylor like the other girls had done, and we posed with a cheeky smile on our faces. The next position was the guys only. They had to stand side-by-side, and then we girls had done the same thing except impact each other in a hug in a long line.
"Now I want couple by couple."
Addison and Chase went first, right along with Jesse and Steph and their boyfriends, and Lindsay and Lane, leaving us the last couple to take our picture.
"Alright, well that's a wrap. I hope you all have a very good prom!" The photographer exclaimed. She began packing up her camera in the back of her SUV.
The prom party bus arrived and we loaded on. There were seats that looked like leathered couches. It was dark and filled with neon lights. There was a pole in the middle of the bus.
Lane stood from his spot beside Lindsay and wrapped his legs around the pole.
"This is for strippers and strippers only." He slowly dropped as low in a squat position as he could and we burst into a fit of laughter.
"Who's next?" He looked around the bus and told Chase to come up next. We laughed as he almost lost his balance due to the bus stopping.
He danced on the pole, his body going in circular motions. How can these guys do it in their tuxedos?
"Ay, I need money!" Steph threw a dollar at him.
"Well damn. You all aren't nothing but broke hoes." We cackled loudly and Chase sat back down.
We arrived at the school's gym and piled out. The sun had already began to set and it turned to dusk. Baylor took my hand in his and we walked towards the gym's entrance to have another picture taken.
I wrapped my hand across Baylor's forearm and we smiled as the flash shined in our eyes for a quick second. When we passed the photography area, we handed our tickets to a man who was standing at the gym's entrance doors.
When we entered the dark gym, the loud music was banging in the speakers. There were people dancing in every direction.
Baylor grasped my hand and pulled me onto the gym floor. "Have you ever done this before?" I ask.
He shook his head negatively. "No. I'm a happy guy because my first prom date is you."
I smiled. He pulled me close to him. He placed his hands on my hips and my arms wounded around his neck.
"I'm sorry I didn't take you to homecoming," he frowned. I played with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"It's fine, Baylor. I promise," I grinned to satisfy him.
He stared into my eyes as we swayed back and forth to Sam Smith's "Nirvana."
"I don't know how I did it, but I did."
"Did what?" I ask in confusion.
"After feeling unwanted for so long, I finally feel like I'm needed."
I hugged Baylor's neck and left my head on his shoulder. I felt so safe in his grasp.
"And I have the most beautiful girl in the world at my senior prom dancing with me."
After dancing to a few slow songs in each other's embrace, we met up with our crew at a table and settled down for punch.
"Wobble" by VIC came on and all of us girls jumped up in excitement. There were plenty of people on the dance floor getting ready to dance to the hip-hop song.
I looked over to Baylor and waved for him to come over. He lilted and walked over to stand beside me. The other guys followed Baylor onto the dance floor and our entire crew gathered around.
The dance was filled with laughter and remembrance of every move that was qualified on how to do the "Wobble."
"Ey big girl, make em' back it up, make em' back it up," Baylor hollered towards me over the music. I chuckled as I shifted closer to Baylor and we danced along to the song.
It later ended and we decided to go sit back down. "Hey babe, you want something to snack on? I'll go get it," Baylor offered as he stood up.
"Yeah, sure," I smiled. He and the guys walked off, leaving us girls behind.
"So I got a question!" Addison said.
We looked at her and her cheeks turned red all of a sudden. She looked behind and around her and turned her attention to us.
"So Chase said he wants to do it tonight, and I don't know if I'm ready . . ." she trailed off.
"You're still a virgin?" Steph asked. She looked taken aback.
"Is that a bad thing?" Addison questioned in worry.
"Absolutely not," I answered with a smile on my face to satisfy her.
She huffed. "What do I do?"
"Do you love him?" Lindsay asked. She nodded her head.
"Well of course I do. We've been dating for three years."
"Is he committed to you?" Jesse asked.
"Yes, he hasn't given me any reason to not trust him."
Lindsay's head turned in my direction, yet her eyes didn't meet mine. I looked behind me and saw him walking up. I quickly turned to face the googly-eyed girls. I looked at Steph with a powerful "what the hell" expression on my face.
A tap was felt on my shoulder and I turned around to see him standing over me. My heart almost launched out of my chest. Baylor would be returning any minute.
"Hi Adalynne," Derek spoke.
I nearly choked on my spit. "Hi," I whispered.
I saw Baylor return with the guys who had their eyes settled on Derek. Baylor stared at him as he sat the tiny plastic plate of finger foods in front of me.
"Hey Baylor," Derek spoke and nodded towards the guys.
I looked at Baylor who had his jaw clenched. I could tell he was holding back anger, and I was proud of him not causing a scene.
"What are you doing here?" Chase asked.
"It is my senior prom," Derek remarked. "Just thought I could come over and say hi."
"Who are you with?" Lindsay inquired.
"Me, myself, and I," he simply stated.
Is he trying to get himself killed?
Baylor sat beside me and took my hand in his. I turned my attention to the girls. I could still feel the presence of Derek behind me.
I took a glimpse at Baylor and he placed his hand on my lap.
"I was going to ask is if Baylor would let me dance with Adalynne."
I clenched my eyebrows together whilst I looked at Baylor. He returned the look and then glanced back at Derek.
Has he gone crazy?!
"What - no," Lane answered for Baylor.
"Yes, she can." I took it by surprise and glimpsed at Baylor who had settled features. "That's if she wants to."
"It's not that I want to, it's just not right," I spoke to Baylor and turned to Derek.
"I'm his date to prom and only allowed to dance with -"
"Just dance with him, babe," Baylor insisted and I took his statement as a joke. I shook my head.
"May I have this dance, Adalynne?" Derek asked as he offered his hand to pull me up. I stared at Baylor with a speechless glare. He let go of my hand.
Why does it feel like our break up once again? Why does he want me to dance with Derek? Doesn't he hate Derek? After all he's done? What?
I stood up on my own and walked after Derek. I turned to stare at Baylor as if he's gone insane. He grinned.
I turned back around and joined Derek on the dance floor. The song "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain was on. How lovely.
"Long time no see." Derek placed his hands on the sides of my mid-back.
"Why'd you come back?" I ask.
"I have to attend my school, prom, and graduate," he cackled.
"You said you weren't coming back," I restated.
"I'm leaving for California the day after graduation. That's when I'm not coming back. I just had to pay for my apartment and get enrolled there."
I nodded my head. We swayed back and forth to the slow song that was playing. He stared at me and I only stared at my shoes.
"You look beautiful, Addy."
I glanced up at him. "You can't say things like that," I remarked.
"We're friends, remember?" Derek beamed.
I didn't say anything back. I just wanted this song to be over so I could return back to my seat. I couldn't see Baylor and all of my other friends since there were tons of people in the way.
"Can I tell you something?" Derek questioned. I peered up at him and bobbed my head.
"I understand that you're only almost a senior in high school, but marry him."
I clenched my eyebrows together.
"I know he makes you happy, Addy. He stole your heart. You love one another. Just make him the happiest man on earth and spend the rest of your life with him."
I just stared at him with a blank expression on my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. He moved our bodies in a swaying position.
"You do love him, right?" I nodded my head immediately.
"Do me a favor and do what I say, okay?" I nodded once again.
"I'd do anything for you, Addy. Rather it being a friend to support you or just to talk, I'm a phone call away. I just want you to be happy. You were once my best of friends and I'd still like for you to be my best friend. Just keep me updated."
Why did I feel like crying? My throat was clenching up and I felt my eyes watering up.
He squeezed my body tightly and pulled apart. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. And without saying goodbye, he walked off, leaving me in the middle of the dance floor.
I walked in zig-zag lines around people to avoid getting stepped on. I made my way back to the table and saw Baylor sitting there alone. I snuck up on him and squeezed his shoulder. I gained his attention and grinned when he looked up at me. He smiled back without a toothy grin.
"You're not mad, are you? I didn't want to go in the first place because I'm your date and I feel as if this is all wrong and-"
Baylor interrupted me with a kiss on the lips. He took my hands as he stood before me. "I'm not mad."
There was a soft beat from a drum in the background of the song just beginning. Then a guitar began to strum away.
"I'll never settle down, that's what I always thought"
Baylor took my hand and lead me on the dance floor where there was an empty spot. He twirled me to stand in front of me and pressed our chests together.
"Yeah, I was that kind of man, just ask anyone"
Baylor snaked his arm around my lower back just where it met the curve of my butt. I wrapped my limb around his neck and joined hands with Baylor.
"I don't dance, but here I am, spinning you round and round in circles
"It ain't my style, but I don't care. I'd do anything with you anywhere"
I rested my head on Baylor's shoulder and closed my eyes. The warmth that radiated from his body spread to mine.
If love was supposed to be dangerous, then why did it feel like happiness?
"Guess you got me in the palm of your hand, cause I don't dance," Baylor sang along to the song in my ear.
As the song played and it repeated the same verses, Baylor spun me around in a circle. He pulled me close to him once again and he grinned so widely with his white teeth. He pressed a kiss to my lips.
I once was afraid to fall in love because I heard that if you fall too deep, you'd be broken into pieces. I was once afraid of heights because I knew that if I would've had fallen, there wasn't any glue to fix the pieces back together.
But Baylor was the one who caught me. He caught me from dangerous heights and kept me safe. He locked me in and accepted me for who I am.
How could a guy be so . . . perfect? I felt like I was in a book or something. I felt like that cliché character who fell for a guy and he loved her back and they lived happily ever after.
Every love story is beautiful but ours is my favorite.