揙kay,?she says finally. 揃ut no to any dorm lounge or pizza place.?
She shudders.
揑 promise. No dorms and no greasy food places.?With a smile, I race upstairs. I have a Wallflower Ball to save.
28
DAISY
It takes all morning to move the party from the banquet room on campus to the gym of The White House. It抯 located on the second floor, so we抣l be at Gavin抯 party but in our own area where Violet won抰 have to worry about mingling.
Gavin even agreed to block off the stairs so people don抰 wander up to see what抯 going on. It isn抰 perfect, but it stays within Violet抯 constraints of not being a pizza place or dorm lounge.
A smile tugs at his lips, and his brown eyes crinkle at the corners as he looks around his transformed basketball court. 揟his is epic. We should throw more parties in here.?
揟hank you for letting us use the space.?
揧eah, of course.?
揙h, and happy twenty-first!?
His smile lifts. 揟hanks. Speaking of, I better go drink some more water and Gatorade. It抯 going to be a long night.?
揧eah, it is,?Jordan says, coming up behind me. 揟wenty-one shots with your name on them.?
Gavin groans, but his smile pops right back up. 揅atch you guys later.?
揇o you have to go get ready now??Jordan asks when he抯 gone. He faces me and runs his hands down my arms. I don抰 know how I would have pulled this off without him. When I told him my plan, he rounded up guys and made it happen.
揧eah, I already missed our nail, hair, and makeup appointments.?
揥hoa, that抯 a lot of appointments.?
揟onight is a big night,?I say, and nuzzle into his chest. 揑抦 so glad you抮e coming.?
揂nd miss seeing you in that yellow dress??
My smile widens as I look up at him. 揧ou抮e pretty wonderful.?
揗e??His laughter vibrates in his chest. I like the way it feels against mine.
揧ep.?
揑 think you have me confused.?
揑 don抰。？I wrap my arms around his back and place my head over his heart. It thumps quietly in a steady rhythm that somehow makes mine beat faster.
He kisses the top of my head and then fists my hair, tugging it gently until I look up at him. 揑 might have my moments, but right now, it抯 purely selfish. I get hard every time I think about you playing dress up in those big, poofy dresses. The number of times I抳e looked at the pic of you in the red dress basically makes it porn.?He sucks on my bottom lip.
Butterflies swoop low in my belly. 揧ou kept it??
揊uck yeah, I did. I think I wanted you long before I was willing to admit it.?
揝ame.?
He kisses me again, and I抦 perfectly content to stay here, but he pulls back, and I know I need to head home.
揋o get ready,?he says. 揤iolet抯 probably in a fit that you抮e still gone, and I have a bottle of Jager to buy.?
揙kay.?I start to go, and he grabs my hand and flings me back to him for one more kiss.
揙kay, seriously, now.?He steps back and shoves his hands in his pocket. 揝ave me the first slow dance.?
At seven-forty-five, four wallflowers are dressed and ready for the ball. We look pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. And I do. Violet is so freaking talented. We抮e all wearing her creations. And Dahlia made us all masks to match our dresses.
揧ou missed all the pampering,?Jane says with a pout. She wiggles her fingers in front of me, showing off her manicure.
揙ooh, pretty.?
揑 think you look gorgeous, and you didn抰 have to spend three hours sitting still while people poked and prodded at you.?Dahlia touches a curl hanging over my shoulder.
Her hair is sleek and straight, and her eye makeup is thick and black. She looks beautiful, but I can tell she抯 far less comfortable with all of it than Jane and Violet.
揟hanks. I抦 sad I didn抰 get to spend the day with you all, but everything is set for tonight.?I check the time. 揥e should go.?
揌ow are we going to let everyone know the new location??Violet asks. I still haven抰 told her where we抮e going, and now that the party is minutes away, I抦 nervous.
揑 thought of that,?I say. 揇ahlia and I will go to the original location. I hired a bus that will bring everyone. You and Jane will be there putting any of your last-minute touches on it.?
揃ring them where??Violet whines through an excited smile. 揥here are we going??
揧ou抮e just about to see.?We walk outside, and I take off down the sidewalk.
They follow, but Vi asks, 揥hy are we walking? Are we meeting an Uber or something??
I walk to the front of The White House, where a path to their front door splits off from the sidewalk. I stare back at my friends.
My pulse bounces and my hands shake as I wave toward the big party house next to ours. 揟a-da!?
Violet抯 smile falls instantly.
揑 thought Gavin抯 twenty-first party was here later tonight,?Jane says as she glances at the quiet house.
揑t is, but upstairs they have a big, open space that we can use. It抯 totally separate, and Gavin promised he抎 keep people out.?
揜ight, like he keeps people from parking in our driveway.?Vi cocks a brow.
Dahlia and Jane don抰 look convinced either.
揑t looks amazing,?I press. 揟he guys helped me move everything here. We have even more space than we did in the banquet room.?I sway my hips. 揃igger dance floor.?
My pep can only take so much silence.
揑 don抰 think so.?Violet turns like she抯 going home.
I look to Dahlia and Jane for help.
揑 worked really hard on this for you,?I say to her back. 揑 promise it looks just like you imagined. At least come inside and see it.?
Violet pauses, her shoulders stiffen, and she cuts me with a glare over her shoulder. 揘o, you think you did this for me, but you did it for you.?
揥hat??My cheeks heat even in the cool night breeze.
揟onight was supposed to be about us.?
揑t is!?
揘o. Jordan blew you off for his friends, and you saw this as a perfect opportunity to force your world into his. He isn抰 different. He抯 exactly the same as the rest of them. He won抰 bend for you, so you will until you break.?She spits the words, and each one slices through me.
Violet抯 hate for anyone associated with the basketball team is well established, but I don抰 understand why she clings to it. Or why she wants to drag Jordan into it. He抯 done nothing to deserve it.
揧ou're mad. I抦 sorry. I didn抰 think it was that big of a deal. I promise you won抰 have to see Gavin. I will stand guard at the door myself. Please just come inside and see it.?
揧ou think I could go in there and enjoy myself knowing he抯 downstairs with all his awesome friends? In his house? Seriously, did you for one second think about how I would feel taking charity from him??
My throat tightens.
揌e destroyed me,?she yells, and for an instant, I can read every emotion on her face梡ain, betrayal, humiliation. She steels her expression and repeats it. 揌e destroyed me. Just like Jordan is going to do to you.?
Any remorse I was feeling is wiped away with anger. 揧ou抮e wrong about him.?
揑 guess we抣l see,?she says, and it feels like a curse.
Someone clears their throat, and we all look over to find Gavin standing on the stairs. His eyes are wide, and his hands are shoved in his pockets.
揚erfect.?Vi throws her hands up in the air. She heads back to our house, pulling pins from her hair as she goes. The long, dark strands shine and bounce in the moonlight. Jane offers me a sad smile and then follows her.
揋o,?I say quietly to Dahlia. 揗ake sure she抯 okay, and I抣l take care of the party.?