and he was smiling down at me. “Ready?” he asked as his hands settled on my hips.
“Almost.” I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me so that his forehead touched mine. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I cupped his face in my hands. “I love you. I don’t think you have any idea how much.”
He smiled. “I do.” He dipped his head and I tilted mine back to let him kiss me, but he stopped halfway, his mouth inches from mine. His body was stiff against me, his hands unmoving on my hips.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, searching his eyes.
“If I kiss you now, I won’t be able to stop,” he breathed. “We’ll miss the party.”
I considered suggesting that we just stay here in my room, but he’d gone through so much trouble to make sure I went to my prom. Still, it was feeling more right by the second, more right to just take this silly dress back off and stay in.
I slid my hands from his cheek and down his neck and chest, not wanting to let him go, and I wound my fingers around his collar. “We should get going.” The disappointment in my voice was obvious, and I didn’t care.
“Kate said to meet everyone at her house,” he said.
“Okay.”
“She’s having a party there after we get back,” he added. “She said you should bring a bag to stay the night. I’ve already talked to your grandmother about it.”
“Or we could go back to your house,” I suggested carefully. “After Kate’s party.”
His eyes searched mine. “Okay. If you want to.”
I smiled and tugged on his collar so that his face came closer to mine. “I want to.”
He smiled back, his eyes on my lips. “Okay.” Then he kissed me lightly, briefly, and pulled away—only just—and hovered there, as if he was contemplating doing it again. When he didn’t, I tugged on his collar one more time, closing the last few inches between us, and I kissed him. He hands came up and held my face as he kissed me deeper, and with a groan, he pushed himself away and let me go. “We should get out of here.”
I was breathless. “Yeah. Kate’s going to be mad if we’re late.”
“I don’t want Kate to be mad at me. I wasn’t kidding when I said she scares me.”
I laughed and grabbed a bag to shove my overnight stuff into. When I was ready, I came back to him.
He took my hand and held my wrist to his lips. “Let’s go.”
I followed him downstairs and out the front door, heading toward a wonderful night.
33
I’D NEVER HUGGED KATE SO HARD IN MY LIFE. SHE was amazing. We both cried so much that we had to go inside and redo our makeup, but that was okay. The boys didn’t quite understand why we cried, but that was okay, too. Will and Marcus hung out together in the we-ancient-angelic-reapersare-too-cool-for-you-but-that-really-just-means-we’re-boring club, away from most of us as we goofed around and had pictures taken. It was so nice of Marcus to let Will use his car, but he wasn’t above bantering with Will about it every few minutes. Finally we all climbed into the limousine that would take us to the hotel. None of my friends treated me like a freak, or like they needed to walk on eggshells around me. They treated me like Ellie, just plain old me.
The hotel was beautiful and the hall the dance was held in was decorated with silver and midnight-blue silk streamers, balloons, drapes, and tablecloths. Hanging from the ceiling in the same colors were pretty paper lanterns shaped like jagged stars and orblike moons. At the front of the hall were a fondue table, a dance floor, and a DJ setup. My group found our table and sat down. While we waited for our dinners, we talked about the high school years we were leaving behind and the college years ahead of us. Kate and I were going to State together and were determined to be roommates. Landon had a full soccer scholarship there as well, and Chris was going to school an hour west of State. Everything seemed to be falling into place. And then I would glance at Will beside me, who watched me curiously, not as if he found it all funny, but more as if he marveled at me.
After dinner, Kate grabbed my hand and dragged me and Rachel toward the dance floor with everyone else.