Part 33 (2/2)
”We didn't finish our one and only dance.” He shrugs.
Oh, thank G.o.d! I wasn't finished with our dance either.
”And I told you I was saving a dance for you,” Joey adds.
”Next time,” I laugh but Braxton sides with the others.
”C'mon, Laila,” Ree goads. ”You know you can't say no to these guys.”
”Fine.” I feign annoyance and stand up. ”Who's first?”
Braxton jumps up and pulls out his phone while Joey runs inside to grab something. He comes back out with a speaker and sets it on the ledge of the deck and attaches Braxton's phone to it.
”If it's okay with you, I'd like to finish dancing with my girl,” Haden says, never taking his eyes off of me.
Everyone remains on the deck, so we head back to finish what we started.
”Your girl, huh?” I ask when we're out of earshot.
”They're the only ones I'll ever share you with,” he laughs.
”I guess that makes me stingy because I don't plan to share you at all.”
”Good,” he answers.
”Haden?”
”Yeah?”
”Thank you.”
”For what?”
”For making this year so special,” I smile.
”Thanks for being worth it.”
”Can I cut in?” Joey asks from behind me. Haden kisses my nose and hands me off to Joey. He takes my hand in his and wraps his other around my waist but remains still until his song for me begins to play.
”Aw, you remembered,” I laugh as we start to move to ”You're my Best Friend” by Queen. When I was younger, my mom was listening to their greatest hits and this song came on. I listened to the words and was so excited that I ran the three houses down to Joey's to tell him that we had a song. Of course he laughed at me and said friends don't have songs, but I knew it was made just for us.
”Lai, you have it as my ringtone when I call you,” he smirks as we dance awkwardly to the beat. ”I know the song.”
”You're the best,” I say and hug him tightly.
”I know,” he agrees but pulls away as the song ends and spins me into the waiting arms of Cole.
”And what did you pick?” I ask with my hands playfully on my hips.
”Lai, did I ever tell you you're my hero?” he says with a straight face and I try hard not to laugh.
”You know you can lean on me,” I deadpan.
Everyone is watching us with a strange curiosity and I wonder how long we can drag it out.
”And you can stand under my umbrella anytime,” he answers.
”Ella?” I ask with neutral expression on my face.
”Ella,” he adds.
”But we're just friends,” I answer in monotone.
”I need help from my friends,” he says as Joe c.o.c.ker's version of ”With a Little Help from My Friends” begins to play.
He pulls me toward him and smiles as we sway to the music. Cole's song selection almost has me tearing up because it's very unlike him. I feel like the luckiest girl to have these people in my life. They are going out of their way to make prom special, even if I didn't get to the formal.
As the song comes to an end, Haden rejoins me and gives me a hug while conversations are going on. He dips his head and kisses my lips, but it's interrupted-again-by the sound of a familiar song and I laugh as Braxton steps in between us.
Everyone starts dancing-or rather jumping around-to ”Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and I can't keep a straight face.
We all hate this song, but our parents would get together, and after a drink or two they would start reminiscing about their youth-and this song always accompanied the memories. They would start dancing, singing, and laughing as they belted it out as loudly as possible. We know this song, all of us, because it was ingrained in us so young.
I'm not sure how long we dance as everyone takes turns playing DJ before we finally change into our swimsuits and spend the rest of the night hanging out the way we always have-with a few extra people along for the ride.
Chapter 28 ~ Finding Acceptance.
”Did you have fun last night?” Mom asks when I stumble down the stairs.
”Yeah,” I yawn and wipe the sleep from my eyes. ”Never made it to the prom though.”
”I heard.”
”You did?”
”Yeah, Tara called looking for Haden and I told her that he and the boys were sleeping in the living room. She kept apologizing for ruining his night-is there something I should know?”
I sit down at the barstool and rest my head in my hands as I shake my head no. Of course, when I look up at her, she's still waiting with that expectant mom look on her face.
”Later, when everyone's gone,” I whisper, making sure no one hears me. ”The guys are still in the living room?”
”Yeah, and one of them was snoring like a trucker,” she scoffs before taking a sip of her coffee.
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