seeping through my clothes, down to my skin. "He just worries about me for Charlie's sake. It's nothing personal."
She had it all wrong.
"I'm not mad at Billy," I revised in a curt voice. "But his son is irritating me."
Her head left my chest then. Our eyes met and the intensity of her gaze gave me the impression she was trying to read my mind.
"Why?" Her eyes grew tight in suspicion.
"First of all, he made me break my promise."
Her eyebrows crunched up in confusion. The look of perplexity made my lips twitch up.
"I promised I wouldn't let go of you tonight." I explained.
"Oh. Well, I forgive you."
"Thanks. But there's something else." I frowned. "He called you pretty," my previous anger began bubbling to the surface. "That's practically an insult, the way you look right now. You're much more than beautiful."
She giggled. "You might be a little biased."
"I don't think that's it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight."
I lifted her up, bringing her close to my chest. We continued our dancing. Her hair moved slightly with our breeze. Waves of freesia floated in the air around us.
"So are you going to explain the reason for all of this?"
What did she mean by that? Her eyes lifted to the crepe paper and her lips pursed. I understood. I decided it was time to move our conversation to a less populated place. Twirling the opposite direction we spun gracefully through the crowd toward the back door.
I wish Mike could dance like that... Jessica waved at Bella as we flew by, her eyes green with jealousy. Where are they going? Bella smiled at her. Angela was in Ben Cheney's arms, enjoying my gift to her. She deserved happiness.
Finally, we were away from all the stares and eavesdroppers. The sun was beginning to dissipate below the horizon, the sky a brilliant color of pink and orange.
Her elegant features were glowing in the coppery color of the sun. Without effort I swept her off her feet. There was a bench under two madrone trees and I walked over and sat down, Bella's delicate arms wrapped around my neck. I held her closer, never wanting this moment to end.
It doesn't have to end. We could have each other for eternity. I banished that thought immediately. The moon was already up, visible through the gauzy clouds. I looked up, wishing the sun wouldn't fade to night.
"The point?" Bella prompted softly.
"Twilight, again," I whispered. "Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."
"Some things don't have to end," she muttered through her teeth.
I sighed. I knew what she was thinking...what she wanted. But I couldn't give it to her. It was best to just ignore her train of thought.
"I brought you to the prom," I said slowly, "because I don't want you to miss anything. I don't want my presence to take anything away from you, if I can help it. I want you to be human. I want your life to continue as it would have if I'd died in nineteen-eighteen like I should have."
She trembled slightly before she shook her head angrily. "In what strange parallel dimension would I ever have gone to prom of my own free will? If you weren't a thousand times stronger than me, I would never have let you get away with this."
My lips curved into a half-smile at her kittenish anger. "It wasn't so bad, you said so yourself."
"That's because I was with you."
I gazed absently back up at the moon. Prom...it was the only formal occasion that I could think of this evening. Did she think we were leaving the city? I was curious now.
"Will you tell me something?" I asked, glancing down at her in amusement.
"Don't I always?"
"Just promise you'll tell me," I insisted, grinning.
"Fine." She was suspicious.
"You seemed honestly surprised when you figured out that I was taking you here," I began.
"I was," she interjected.
"Exactly," I agreed. "But you must have had some other theory... I'm curious -- what did you think I was dressing you up for?"
Her lips pursed, a slight pucker forming between her brows. "I don't want to tell you."
"You promised," I reminded her.
"I know."
"What's the problem?" This should be good. Her cheeks were red, the blush filling the air with her silky aroma.
"I think it will make you mad -- or sad."
Her words held some meaning, yet I couldn't grasp it. My eyebrows pulled together as I speculated the subtlety of her words. It was moments like these I wished I