Chapter Twelve
"You guys together are way cuter than when you were with Kody," Kim said to David and Harlow during lunch. "No offense, Kody."
I smiled and shrugged, knowing she was absolutely right. It was Thursday the week after the dance and they were finally together, officially going out. They weren't even going out for a whole week, yet I knew they'd be saying the big 'L' word to each other pretty soon. It was so obvious that David came to his senses and realized he loved her.
The rest of the day flew by rather quickly—even art class, which was still quite awkward. Ever since Gage helped me after the homecoming dance and fell asleep next to me, we've both been trying to ignore each other more than usual. Well, I was actually my normal self around him; he was the one who deliberately tried to avoid me more often.
Anyway, Harlow drove us to her house after school like she always did. However, this time I noticed there were more cars parked in the driveway, including my mother's car. That in itself was a very odd sight.
"Mom? Dad? Are you home?" Harlow called out as we stepped into the house.
"In here," her mother answered. We walked into the living room, where both our parents were sitting. Mason and Gage were already there too, mainly because they both drive like maniacs and beat us to Harlow's house every time.
"What's going on?" I asked them, glancing between my own parents. It was weird that they were here. I mean, my parents were good friends with Harlow's parents since they all worked together as lawyers, but they were never home. Gage's father also worked at the same law firm as them, so his parents knew mine quite well. All of them working together is one big reason we all became friends. We used to spend time at our parents' work-related functions and in after-school programs when our parents worked past the time school was done.
"Have a seat, we have something to discuss," my mother said. I looked over to Mason, who seemed just as clueless as us.
"As you know, every year we have to go to an important banquet for the firm," my father began. I snorted, thinking that he went away on way more than just one banquet. Once he gave me a dirty look, prompting me to shut up.
"However, this year our boss has invited our whole family to the banquet. So you'll all be going with us tomorrow to the hotel where it's taking place," my mother continued.
"Excuse me?" I interjected as nice as possible, though it didn't really seem that way.
Harlow elbowed me and smiled. "Are we leaving after school?" she asked.
"No, we're excusing you all from school tomorrow since the travel is quite long. We'll be staying at the hotel for two nights and return on Sunday," Harlow's father answered.
"Lovely," I muttered sarcastically.
"What was that?" my father asked sternly.
I shot him the best fake smile I could muster. "I said 'lovely', that sounds lovely. We're going to have so much fun, right Harlow?" She grinned and nodded, though her eyes knew I was joking around. We both knew this wouldn't be so lovely at all.
*****
We left sometime in the late afternoon, so we arrived at the hotel in the evening. I complained the whole ride there with my parents. I was starving when we were halfway there and I was angry that they allowed my sister to stay home because she had to 'work on a group project'. Yeah right, I knew for a fact that the only project Jackie would be working on was planning the party she would throw while we were gone.
When my father finally announced we were here, I immediately jumped out of the car and got down on the ground, stretching my arms out wide. "Land! Sweet, beautiful land!" I exclaimed. I never realized how horrible a driver my father was until now. I thought we were going to die!
"Dakota! Get off the dirty ground right now and stop embarrassing us," my mother said harshly. I slowly got up, facing the amused faces of my friends—plus Gage.
"Your dad is a terrible driver," Gage stated, probably from observing our car from behind.
"Oh really? I didn't notice, I was just hugging the ground for fun. Of course I didn't want to thank the earth for letting me survive," I replied sarcastically. He rolled his eyes at me and was about to reply, when his mother interjected instead.
"Dakota! It's been too long since I last saw you!" she exclaimed, giving me a hug. I had to smile back at her; out of all the workaholic parents, she was my favorite. Even over my own parents. It was probably because she wasn't a workaholic lawyer like the others. She was an elementary school teacher instead, so you know she had an energetic personality to put up with those young children every day.
"It's great to see you too, Mrs. Jenson," I said as she released me from her warm hug.
"Please, call me Pam. You didn't tell me how well she grew up, Gage! You're absolutely stunning," she gushed, winking at her son. My eyebrows rose in confusion and surprise, but I thanked her nonetheless. Her grumpy son immediately rolled his eyes and walked into the hotel.
"Now, tell me how you've been," she said. I talked to Pam for a while until the rest of the adults came over and gave us our room keys. We were only given two between the four of us, but I didn't care. Knowing I'd be sharing a room with Harlow, I told her to keep the key since she was the responsible one, and we were off to our rooms.
Mason and Gage's room was on the seventh floor, while ours was on the eighth. I had absolutely no idea why they were booked like that. We settled into our room and I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Gage and Mason sharing a bed. Our room only had one bed, so their room probably did too, which they would freak out about. Whatever, Harlow and I were best friends, so sharing a bed meant nothing to us girls.
We didn't really do anything until the next day, when we had to get ready for the banquet. I wore a strapless red dress that came just above my knees with a black embroidered pattern below my bust. Harlow looked gorgeous in a light blue dress that flowed to her knees, with a pretty design along the bottom of the dress. I thought we looked rather simple, which is why I had no idea why Harlow gave us a ton of time to get ready.
Anyway, I left my naturally wavy hair down, too lazy to do anything to it. Harlow braided her own hair, slipped on her white heels, and pushed me out the door before I could finish my candy bar.
"Hey! I wasn't finished with that! And geez, stop pushing me! These heels are already uncomfortable," I complained.
"I told you to pack the other black pumps, not those," she said.
"No, you forced me to bring these," I argued. She rolled her eyes at me and dragged me into the enormous room where we were eating dinner and dancing. Well, I wasn't planning on dancing, but I'm sure the adults would.
I abruptly stopped. "What if I told my parents I wasn't feeling well?" I asked Harlow, thinking of a plan to get me out of this mess. I could already see how boring this would be, judging from the old, snobby-looking adults who were taking their seats at the tables.
"No, now move it!" she said, pushing me again. Only this time, her forceful push caused me to bump into someone.
Their hands steadied me while I said, "I'm so sorry!"
"No worries," they said. I looked up and saw sparkling brown eyes twinkling with amusement. I smiled sheepishly and took a step back, causing his hands to fall off my waist.
"My friend pushed me," I explained, looking around for Harlow. It just so happened that she was already across the room, snickering to herself.
"You'll have to thank them for me, then. I wouldn't have met such a beautiful girl if it weren't for them," he said. My attention returned to him and I took the opportunity to see what this guy looked like. He had shaggy brown hair with matching brown eyes, an athletic build, and looked to be around my age, maybe a little older.
I smiled flirtatiously. "Well I'll just go do that now," I said, winking as I left him.
"Save me a dance," he called. Maybe I would dance after all.
Harlow nudged me with her elbow and smiled at me. I knew she saw the whole encounter with the mystery boy. Huh, I didn't even get his name.
We ate dinner mostly in silence while the adults at our table conversed. The Jensons and the Wests both sat with my family, along with another family with their adorable daughter. When the music came on after dinner, the majority of the adults went to the dance floor, including my parents. It was mainly slow songs for all the couples.
"Care to dance with me?" I looked up and saw the mystery boy in front of me. I grinned and turned to Harlow. She was talking to the young girl at our table since her parents were dancing.
"Sure," I replied, getting up.
He led us to the dance floor before he asked, "So what's your name? I figured it's the least you could give me since you nearly killed me."
"Killed you? You didn't look to hurt earlier," I teased. "But my name is Kody."
"Kody, huh?"
I nodded. "Yup, short for Dakota. What's your name?"
"Jake," he replied. After that, we talked a little more, until we danced during the peaceful silence that overcame us. The 'peaceful' part didn't last too long though once his hands started traveling further down my back. I brought his hand back up and smiled, knowing he was just joking around. However, it happened again much to my displeasure, causing me to push him away.
"What the hell, can't you take a hint?" I growled, trying not to cause a scene.
He stepped closer, whispering in my ear, "I know you want me. Let's go back to my room."
Completely disgusted with him, I was about ready to punch him. Luckily his face was saved when someone interrupted us.
"Mind if I cut in?" Gage asked, glaring at Jake.
"Yeah, I do," Jake retorted, glaring back.
"Well I don't, so leave," I told Jake. "And don't come near me again," I added.
He turned his glare toward me. "Whatever, you're ugly anyway," he spat before walking away, probably seeking a new conquest.
I sighed and turned to Gage. "You don't have to dance with me," I told him, knowing he definitely didn't want to. He probably just saw how I was about to punch Jake and didn't want me to cause a scene.
"I do, actually. My mother has been pestering me to dance with you for the entire night, so let's just get this over with," he said with a blank expression.
I rolled my eyes at him, but complied. It was awkward having his warm hands on my waist as I rested mine on his shoulders. We danced in silence though, so at least we didn't attempt to make small talk and make the situation even weirder.
"You're not ugly, you know," he stated out of nowhere. I almost broke my neck by turning it to face him so quickly.
"Are you actually complimenting me?" I asked, confused and shocked.
He rolled his eyes and avoided my gaze, looking anywhere but me. "I mean, that guy called you ugly. I just wanted you to know that it wasn't entirely true. You're...okay," he said.
I couldn't help but laugh, causing him to narrow his eyes at me. "That was such a horrible attempt to compliment me, but I'll take it. You really need to work on that."
"Whatever," he muttered, though I saw him show a small smile.
"Is that a smile? Holy crap, call the press! Gage Jenson is smiling!" I exclaimed, probably a little too loudly than I should have.
"Shut up," he said, even though his smile just grew. He shook his head at me, clearly amused, and ended our dance by walking over to Mason. I followed him since Harlow was with her brother as well.
"What's wrong?" I asked them once I noticed they weren't looking too well.
"Listen, don't freak out, alright?" Harlow started, looking at me worriedly. Gage and I both looked between them, wondering what was wrong with them.
"We're sick," Mason said.
"Yeah, we were just about to tell you that we're switching the rooms up. We don't want you two getting sick either," Harlow explained. I stared at her, wondering what this meant.
"So?" I pressed.
"So that means you two are sharing our room while I'm switching with Gage," Harlow stated.
"What?" I shouted. The three of them told me to shut up before Gage dragged me out of the room and into the hotel hallway instead. "Let go! And what are you two talking about?"
"Dakota, listen to me. We don't want you two getting sick. It's as simple as that, alright?" Harlow said.
"But...how are you even sick?" I wondered, trying to put off having to share a room with Gage.
"We probably ate some bad food," Mason said.
"But we don't want to risk getting you two sick if it's not food poisoning. Plus you won't be around to hear us puking our guts out," Harlow bluntly added.
I huffed, knowing she was right. I'd much rather get some sleep than stay up all night hearing Harlow puking in the bathroom. "Fine, I hope you feel better," I grumbled.
Harlow offered a small smile. "Thanks, Kody."
We walked ahead to our room so Harlow could get her clothes. Once she had everything, I helped her carry a few of her things to the hallway. Gage and Mason caught up with us, so Mason helped carry his sister's stuff instead of me helping.
"Crap, the key!" I exclaimed.
Remembering that Harlow still had the key, I went to their room while Gage waited by the door of ours. Harlow quickly gave me the key and Gage's duffle bag, which I threw at him the second I was back. I ignored the glare he shot me as I opened the door.
"One bed?" he questioned agitatedly. My eyes widened as that thought came to me. I completely forgot about that until now.
"Oh yeah..." I said in a much normal tone than him.
"How does your room only have one bed? Mason's has two! C'mon, we're switching with them," he said, turning toward the door.
"No!" I interjected, jumping in front of the door.
"No?" he repeated with raised eyebrows.
I sighed, still keeping my arms outstretched across the hotel door. "Look, they're probably already sleeping by now considering they're sick and all. Do you really want to bother them now?"
Gage paused as he thought. For a second there I thought he would still object. I smiled, knowing I was right when he didn't say anything. "That's what I thought. So you'll take the floor and I get the bed," I added, walking over to my suitcase.
"What? No! You get the floor!" he argued.
"No way! I'm not sleeping on the floor!"
"Neither am I!
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
I let out a frustrated scream and turned back to my suitcase, grabbing clothes to change into. "You're insufferable!"
"Right back at ya," he replied, narrowing his eyes at me.
I went into the bathroom and slammed the door. I grumbled some not so nice words as I changed into comfortable shorts and an old t-shirt that barely covered my stomach. Great, I had to pack the crappiest clothing possible to wear to bed. Whatever, if I went back and grabbed another shirt, it would completely ruin my dramatic exit. There was no way I'd do that.
After I finished changing and washing my face, I walked back into the room, still frustrated with Gage. Somehow that frustration was temporarily forgotten when my eyes landed on his bare chest though.
"See something you like?" he smirked, catching me look at him.
Maybe. Wait, what? No!
"No! Can't you just put a shirt on?" I replied, turning to put my dress back in my suitcase.
"I always sleep without a shirt, so no," he said. I rolled my eyes to myself. At least he was wearing sweatpants and not just boxers. Unless he was a briefs kind of guy. Either way, I was glad he was fully wearing pants.
When I turned back around, I saw his eyes were trained on my lower back and stomach that was partially exposed. "Do you see something you like?" I asked, smirking like he was just before.
"No," he scoffed, turning around to get in the bed.
I mentally sighed and took a moment to prepare myself to get in the same bed as him. When I finally convinced myself that it was just for one night, which I wouldn't be conscious for, I was able to get in the bed. I stayed far on my side of the bed, making sure not to touch him at all. I ended up falling asleep quicker than I thought I would.
*****
Harlow
"I can't believe they bought it!" Mason exclaimed, jumping up and down on his bed like a child.
"Yeah, thanks to my brilliant acting," I grinned.
He stopped jumping and fell onto his bed, smiling up at the ceiling. "Whatever, it was my idea to fake being sick."
"True, but it was my idea to start phase one of the plan," I added.
My brother paused for a moment, until he asked, "Do you think it'll work?"
I thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, we both know how much of a history they have. I think it could work."
"It better work. I'm sick of the defensive person he becomes around her," he said. "Anyway, goodnight sister."
"Night brother," I said.
Before I fell asleep, I thought seriously about the plan we created. Basically, Mason and I both decided to do whatever we could to get Gage and Dakota together. Even if they wouldn't get together as a couple, our plan might at least make them get along as friends.
Even though that's not exactly what Mason and I want, it would be better than how it is now. I know they act like they're enemies, but deep down they have this undeniable connection. Although I'm not fully aware of the facts of how they started hating each other, Mason and I hoped that our plan would change that.