out a yelp of surprise. I looked down at Jess and she stared up at me. I couldn’t see her eyes behind her sunglasses.
“What did you say?”
“I said I gave you my heart. It’s not mine anymore.”
She reached up and pulled the glasses off her face. She stared at me with milky green eyes. I could see tears glistening in the corners of them. She tucked her glasses in the front of my pants. I'd been trying to be sweet, not make her cry.
Either way, I won. She ran her hands up my chest and cupped my face to pull me down until my lips met hers. I felt the power of her kiss from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
“Sullivan!” I heard Coach Cobb’s voice from across the gym, even over the music.
I pretended not to hear. Jess started laughing at all the ooh’s and ahh’s around us. I ignored them, too.
“Connor, will you take my heart in exchange for yours?”
“It would be my honor,” I said and another clap of thunder shook the walls around us. There were a few more cries of surprise, but I ignored them again. For the first time in my life I danced with the music. I held Jess close and didn’t care how I looked while I was doing it.
The song ended and we kept dancing. When the DJ started pumping electronica, I looked up and saw Clarisse standing there holding three glasses of punch and wearing the saddest smile I'd ever seen.
* * *
My feet hurt.
The thought kind of surprised me. I'd battled Clarisse using trees as weapons, walked miles and miles my whole life, and could leap twenty feet into the air. I couldn’t believe dancing for a couple of hours caused my feet to scream in agony.
“You want to take a break? I’m getting tired,” Jess said with her face against my chest.
“I’d love to, but only if you’re tired.”
“Ha! I can feel you slowing down, too, Mr. Macho.”
I laughed and led her over to where Clarisse sat. “How come you’re sitting down? I thought you had a date tonight?” I looked around for Matt Briarson, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
“He never showed up. Oh, well. He’s kind of an asshat. I don’t feel like dancing anyway.”
I heard Jess give a little gasp next to me. “Bull crap. Come on, Claire. Come dance with me.” She reached down and grabbed Clarisse’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
Clarisse laughed and said, “Okay, but I’m leading.”
Jess started laughing uncontrollably as the two of them headed out to the dance floor. Oh, sure. Clarisse can make blind jokes, but I can’t.
“Ha! Connor’s girlfriend left him for another girl!” I could tell it was Brian Anderson’s voice behind me. I didn’t care. I was good at ignoring assholes.
Clarisse must have heard him, too. I saw a flash of red in her eyes. She'd been holding Jess’ hands in both of hers as they danced. She dropped one of them and held it out to me from across the dance floor. Jess tilted her head, a frown on her face. She must have heard, too. They both motioned me to come join them. I didn’t need to be asked twice. I shot Brian a cocky grin over my shoulder and went to join the two women in my life. One my girlfriend, and the other my best friend. The thought of that made me stop in my tracks. Even with as much crap as she gave me on a daily basis, Clarisse really was my best friend.
I smiled when I heard the cries of dismay from the group of jock-straps hanging around Brian.
The three of us danced and laughed. I spotted my sister entering the gym dressed as a fairy princess. She stuck her tongue out at me and walked to where the cheerleaders congregated to make fun of everybody’s dresses. I ignored her and concentrated on having fun.
Which we did.
The distinct bang of the gymnasium doors being kicked open rang over the loud music. A hundred pairs of eyes shifted their focus to the source of the noise. Because of the crowd, I couldn’t see much, but I spotted Jeremy's floppy mop of hair. I'd recognize that anywhere. The kids closest to him gasped and backed up, giving me a little better view. He was pale white and had streaks of red all over his face. That must be one hell of a coustume.
I gave a