Anywhere But Here (16 page)

We were sitting back, laughing and coming up with naughty drinks and names for our imaginary titty coffee shop, as Kellen had called it. Our actual business plans didn’t involve anyone going topless, but it was a funny idea. Alcohol had cornered the market on most dirty drink names so we had to be creative.

“I got one,” Cici announced triumphantly, standing up as if she was about to give the State of the Union. “Morning Sex.”

“That’s actually not bad for a coffee drink,” Lizzie giggled and we all agreed.

“Oh, what about Angry Dragon?” Cici laughed.

“What the hell is an angry dragon?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to know. She was a human encyclopedia for obscure sexual terms.

“It’s when a guy smacks the back of a girl’s head right after coming in her mouth. Semen spurts out her nose and she’s pissed off like an angry, fire-breathing dragon,” she explained.

“You’re making that shit up,” Lizzie accused her.

“I shit you not,” Cici giggled and then we were all laughing again.

“Angry Dragon, sounds like Cammie,” I breathed through my tears. “If she ever comes in we can spit in her drink and call it an angry dragon.”

“Wait, who’s this Cammie bitch?” Cici was out of the loop, so Trin let her in.

“She’s a skanky ass ho face.”

“And the devil, don’t forget that she’s the devil,” I added.

The giggles ceased when the door chimed and we all turned to see the devil’s lover standing in the doorway, holding a book in his hand.

“What do you want?” I almost spilled my glass.

“Don’t throw a bottle at me, I just came by to give you this.” He held up the book.

I scoffed. “I wouldn’t throw a bottle at you. There’s still wine in it.”

Lizzie and Cici snickered.

“Well then, before you finish that bottle and I’m no longer safe, I’ll give you this.” He walked the book over and held it out to me. “This helped me a lot when I was starting out. It has good advice, tips and strategies for new business owners. I thought you might want to check it out.”

Damn, that was actually sort of decent of him. I took the book, not really sure how to handle him being thoughtful. “Thank you. I’m sure this will come in handy.”

“Okay then, well, uh, you ladies enjoy the rest of your night. Trin, call me if you need a ride home, but don’t you dare drive.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” I assured him, although I definitely wasn’t the soberest of us. The way I was thinking his ass looked good in those black jeans was proof of that.

“Night ladies.”

“Night Kellen,” I replied softly and then the girls echoed.

I took a sip from my glass and met Lizzie’s eyes over the rim. She was watching me, concern colored her gaze. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand it, given how I’d expressed my intense hatred of Kellen to her over the years, but I planned to show her and myself that my life hadn’t really ended with him, even though for so long it felt like it did. That chapter was closed, this one was just beginning.

Trinity on the other hand was looking at me hopefully. “It’d be great if you two could be friends again.”

New chapter maybe, but it was still the same story. The earlier ones couldn’t be unwritten. “I’m sorry, Trin, but I just don’t know if that will ever be possible.”

Shae

October 17

Senior year . . .

I sucked in a sharp breath as Cammie pulled the laces tighter on the corset. “You know I have to be able to breathe,” I reminded her.

“Beauty is pain.” Another pull and then she tied it off and tucked it.

“Easy for you to say, you won’t be the one with broken ribs. Your dress zips.”

She laughed, and spun me around. “Quit complaining. The dress looks killer on you. You can breathe after the dance.” She walked me over to the full length mirror that hung on the back of my bathroom door. “See, totally worth it, right.”

Pale, dusty pink chiffon cinched around my bust in a strapless sweetheart cut and empire waist that flowed out loosely to my knees. The color looked good against my pale, barely sun-kissed complexion. What few rays I’d managed to soak up over the summer had already faded, leaving me looking like a porcelain doll. I’d long since accepted I would never have the skin of a California beach babe that Cammie somehow managed to get here in South Carolina and hang on to most of the year. I suspected she spent more time in the tanning beds than she let on, even though I tried to tell her she would regret it later in life.

“I still think you could loosen it up a little,” I grumbled.

“No way. Do you see how good your boobs look?”

I’d give her that. Everything was definitely pushed up.

“Jeremy’s going to lose his mind.” She winked conspiratorially.

“I don’t know. He really hasn’t seemed all that into this dance thing.”

“He’s just being a typical guy, but you watch his face when he sees you.”

My shoulders slumped a little on a sigh. “If you say so.” Things had been off between us for a couple weeks, ever since our little fight.

Cammie spun me around to face her. “You guys aren’t having more problems are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is this still because you think he cheated? I told you, Jeremy wouldn’t do that to you. He’s crazy about you. You’re lucky to have him. Most of the girls in our class would kill to be in your shoes.” It wasn’t the first time she’d made me feel guilty for doubting my relationship with Jeremy. I wished I could be as sure as she was. I still partly blamed Kellen for planting the seeds of doubt. It made things a little tense and awkward between us in class until we both agreed that we’d leave Jeremy out of our partnership. He wouldn’t bring him up and neither would I. It’d worked alright so far and we were getting along better than I would have thought.

Outside of class he still did everything he could to push Jeremy’s buttons, but he stopped using me to do it. They found plenty of other reasons to fight and I just stayed out of it. There was no point in me trying to play referee. Jeremy wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say about Kellen anyway. I just avoided talking to him about it as much as possible, but I always let him know when we were getting together outside of school, which had only happened twice since the first time. Jeremy would get in a pissy mood, but then he’d get over it.

Tonight would hopefully be a good time for both of us. Kellen wasn’t coming to the dance, and had actually laughed when I asked him if he was. It’d be just the two of us having a good time with our friends.

“You’re right. Tonight’s going to be fun.” I started to tuck a curl behind my ear, but Cammie swatted my hand.

“Unh, unh, uh. Don’t touch the masterpiece.” We’d both spent over two hours in the stylist’s chair today getting our hair, nails and make-up done to red carpet status. My hair was pulled into a half up, side wrap-around braid with the rest falling over my shoulders and down my back in loose spirals. I was pretty sure I had my own personal hole in the ozone now, courtesy of Paul Mitchell, and enough bobby pins that I was confident my hair could withstand hurricane winds. I had to admit as I took another glance in the mirror, the effect was . . . pleasing.

Side by side, me in pink and Cammie in a dark blue, clingy, thigh length number, with her hair pulled into a fancy side twist, we were definitely worthy of two homecoming princesses. All we had to do was add our tiaras.

She placed her arm around my shoulder, careful not to disturb the hair, and gently leaned her head against mine. “This is our last homecoming.”

“I know. It feels like it was just last year that we were going to our very first one.”

“Ah, our first dance. That was so much fun, but tonight . . . tonight is going to be epic.” She grinned and squeezed me and I squeezed her back. Then she released me and retrieved her phone from her cleavage. “Now smile, bitch!”

We both flashed cheesy grins and she snapped a picture of us in the mirror. Normally picture taking would fall to our moms, but mine was . . . I didn’t even know where she was tonight. Some dinner or function that was more important than being here. Cammie’s mom would have done it, but she was a nurse at the hospital and worked more than she was home. Same with her Dad. He was a bank manager married to his job. At least her parents had a better excuse for being absent all the time. But we survived, fending for ourselves, and taking care of each other.

We continued making faces and posing in front of the mirror while she snapped pictures until her phone chimed with a text from the guys that the limo was here.

“Couldn’t even come to the door. Boys.” She rolled her eyes and then we both grabbed our clutches. I stepped into my glittery, nude, peep toe heels which added about three inches to my height, and managed not to trip in them going down the stairs.

The rest of the group had already been picked up and they all piled out of the limo so the driver could take group pictures. There were six of us in total, three couples. Josie was riding with us since she and Josh were a thing now, and Cammie was going with Matt even though he’d only recently broken up with Amber and they weren’t officially a couple. The way he looked at Cammie though, it was obvious he wanted to change that, or maybe he just wanted to see her out of that dress. Knowing her, he probably would before the night was over.

I grinned and let my gaze fall on Jeremy, looking handsome in his grey vest suit over a pink dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows, that matched the color of my dress perfectly. His eyes lit up as he took me in.

“You look gorgeous, babe.” He pulled me to him and didn’t let go all through the picture snapping until we were climbing in the back of the limo. I slid in beside him and he tucked me into his side.

We stopped off and had a fancy dinner at one of the best seafood places in the area and then it was a quick drive to the school, or at least it felt that way in the back of the limo, the music pumping, laughing with my friends. When we pulled into the school parking lot, Josh, Jeremy and Matt opened up the roof and stuck their heads out.

“Seniors rule!”

“Go Tigers!”

There were hollers and cheers from other students walking into the dance, and as soon as the limo came to a stop and the driver opened the back door for us, everyone climbed out. I started to follow, but was tugged backwards into Jeremy’s lap.

“Hold on, I just want to kiss my girl.”

I was happy to oblige, but warned him to watch the hair. He chuckled and cupped his hand behind my neck, dragging my mouth to his. He tasted like mint laced with alcohol and I pulled away, narrowing my eyes on him admonishingly. “Mr. Black, have you been imbibing this evening.”

He gave me a cheeky grin. “Maybe just a little drink with the guys to get the night started, but that’s all.” I rolled my eyes and dropped another kiss on his mouth before attempting to extricate myself from the limo to join our friends, but I was pulled back again.

“Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t done with you yet.” He took my mouth again and his hands started sliding places I wasn’t comfortable with, like up my legs and under my dress.

I swatted his hands away. “Behave,” I took his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down playfully. He pinched my bottom in return, making me nearly jump off his lap. His chest vibrated with laughter.

“How can I behave when you look so fucking hot and tempting in that dress?”

“Come on, let’s just get inside to the dance,” I urged against his lips.

“What’s the rush?” He kissed me deeply and leisurely, sliding his hand over my bare thighs, trying to slip between my legs. I clamped them shut and then grabbed his wrist.

“I don’t think so, Casanova.”

“Fine then,” he nibbled at my neck, but relented, pulling his hand from under my dress. “But maybe later we can get the driver to take us for a private ride,” he whispered in my ear.

I pulled back. “We’re not hooking up in a limo.”

“Why not?” he asked, still trying to be seductive. “It would be one hell of a memory to take away from tonight. Don’t you want it to be special?”

I scooted off his lap. “I’m sorry but my idea of special isn’t hooking up with you in a limo after the dance.”

“Or it seems anywhere,” he grumbled under his breath, but not so quietly that I couldn’t still hear him.

“Seriously?” I raised my eyebrow at him. “Is that all tonight is about for you?”

“No, of course not,” he breathed out heavily. “I just–we’ve been waiting a long time Shaeleigh. I know you want it to be special, and I just thought tonight it would be.” Over the course of our year and a half relationship, he’d definitely indicated on more than one occasion that he was ready to take the next step, and had even tried to push us in that direction, but he’d never once pressured me to the point that I felt uncomfortable or insecure in our relationship.

“I want tonight to be special too, but not in that way, Jer. I’m just not ready.”

“Yeah, okay.” His brow furrowed sullenly.

“Let’s just have a good night, okay?” I looked at him hopefully, relieved when the downturn of his lips curled upward into a soft smile.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He took my hand and helped me out of the limo, giving a short nod to the driver who was standing against the front of the car.

The school gymnasium had been transformed into a glamorous, Hollywood ballroom, with our very own red carpet. As senior class president and head of the homecoming committee, I was here yesterday after school and part of this morning helping with the transformation. Looking around now, seeing everyone dressed to the nines under the soft twinkle lights, some already dancing to the beats the DJ was throwing out in the corner, I was going to go ahead and call it a success.

Our group claimed one of the tables that skirted the dance floor, and as the guys were spotted, our table became the congregation point for the entire football team and their dates. The topic dominating conversation was the party at Mike Fisher’s following the dance. I was pretty sure if the ladies had allowed it, the guys would have skipped the dance entirely, opting to head straight there. Already they were loosening ties and unbuttoning shirts, wondering when they could get out of their dress clothes and get to the good part.

For me though, this was the good part. I loved dances, but I certainly didn’t come to sit and watch my boyfriend stand around and talk all night with his buddies. “Come, on, let’s dance.” I grabbed Jeremy’s arm and started pulling him toward the dance floor. He gave a shrug to his buddies, like,
what can I do,
and then let me drag him to where other couples were already cutting loose. Several of the girls followed my lead, grabbing their dates until we packed the floor.

Cammie was right about one thing, Jeremy loved the dress. His hands were all over my hips and stomach and ass as the music coursed through our bodies and we let go of everything but the beat and the lyrics, letting them move us. When a slow song came up, he’d pull me in close and I’d rest my head against his chest and we’d sway softly. In those perfect moments, there were no doubts or insecurities, just the comfort of him holding me.

I just knew after tonight things between us would finally be right again. I couldn’t have suppressed my smile if I tried. I didn’t even care when it was time for the homecoming court announcements that came half way through the dance. The music stopped, and Principal Miller stepped up into the DJ booth, drawing everyone’s attention. While most of the girls on court held their breaths in anticipation, I didn’t need anything else to make this night more special. Still, when Principal Miller called Jeremy’s name and then mine, we walked hand in hand up front to accept our king and queen crowns while our classmates clapped and a few cheered and whistled. Then we lead everyone into the next song and the dance continued. Jeremy and I, along with the rest of the homecoming court, were dragged away for pictures after the song transitioned. By the time the photographer released us, Jeremy was pulling off his vest and unbuttoning his collar. I knew he was itching to get out of here.

We didn’t even make it through one more dance before some of the other guys started gathering and making plans to bail.

“Are you ready to go babe?”

“I have to stay to the end. Principal Miller wants teardown done tonight and his gym back in order by morning.”

“Can’t you stick some freshman in charge of clean-up?” He tugged on one of my curls and smiled like he thought if he was cute enough I would shirk off my responsibility.