The Justin Timberlake faded into Norah Jones, and the fast, swooping lights changed from red to a slow, pale blue. Leo was the first to make his way to them, holding his hand out for Rosemarie. Next, the Castelow boys for Ada and Kasey. Will had disappeared.
“No way are we leaving you here by yourself,” Ada said to Caro.
“Nope.” Rosemarie shook her head. Kasey did the same in solidarity.
“Please don’t be ridiculous. I’ll scream so loud if y’all don’t go out there. I’ll be fine! He’ll come back from…wherever he went. It’s fine!” Caro said to them. She lifted a napkin from the table, started putting some pretzels on it.
Trey Foxberry, whom none of them ever talked to or even liked, appeared beside them in his tuxedo, craning his neck to see if the punch bowl was empty. Caro scooted over. The girls and their dates lingered awkwardly, not wanting to abandon their friend, no matter how much they loved the song. Ada pretended to brush something off Grayson’s lapel, and he leaned down to kiss her.
“Are you not here with anybody?” Trey asked Caro. Ada’s back was turned to them now, but she was using all her energy to hear every word.
“Oh…yeah, I am. Will Brody is my date. But, um, he’s gone somewhere. I don’t know where,” Caro said.
“Do you want to dance to this song? You don’t have to stand here alone waiting for him,” Trey said. “I’ll dance with you if you want.”
“Okay,” Caro said.
Ada turned to see Caroline smile at him, and they all walked to the dance floor together.
Trey was surprisingly fun and light on his feet, even taking the time to dip Caroline back like something out of a movie at the end of the song. When Destiny’s Child came on, he stayed out there with them for that one and “Toxic” by Britney Spears too before disappearing.
By the time Silas and Ada were crowned the no-surprises-there prom king and queen, Will had returned from smoking pot with his burnout friends, but Caroline was ignoring him. Ada and Silas were on the stage while the principal finished his speech, and Ada could see her girls in the dark, doing their fanciest beauty pageant waves at her. Grayson won prom king last year with someone else, and now his little brother was winning it with his girlfriend. They’d been joking about it for the past week and now it was done. Mission accomplished! Ada and Silas slow danced together to Faith Hill while Grayson laughed and said, “Hey, watch your hands!” to his brother.
As much as she loved prom, Ada absolutely couldn’t wait to get into the limo again. To get out of that dress and into something comfy at the lake house, so the real party could start.
*
The rustic Castelow lake house sat back from the water and far up enough so that if someone wanted to tuck right off the wraparound porch into the grass, they’d be rolling for a while before they got wet. Ada had spent so much time there for the past two years she and Grayson had been dating that it felt like home to her too. There was a fire pit, and white twinkle lights wrapped around the trunks of the two reaching walnut trees out front. The Castelows had old tobacco money and new money from construction, and Mrs. Castelow had decorated the house in her quirky country style. There was a red-and-black buffalo plaid welcome mat in front of the door and lanterns on the porch. And there was a black bear carved out of wood standing at the bottom of the porch steps, like at a lot of the lake houses, but the Castelows’ was painted to look like it was wearing a baby-blue Marvin Gaye T-shirt and sported a pair of vintage ’70s sunglasses.
Mr. and Mrs. Castelow were spending the night at their B and B, but Grayson told Ada that his dad said he’d be stopping by unannounced to make sure nothing got too out of hand. Grayson’s buddies dropped off a few cases of cheap beer, and the boys sploshed them into the cooler.
Even before they’d gotten in the limos heading to prom, there’d been whispers of possible skinny-dipping. A group of guys Ada didn’t know well were the first ones in, whooping and jumping off the dock, sending biggish splashes into the navy-blue darkness. The girls watched from the porch, all four of them in their tie-dyed senior hoodies and sweatpants, all four of them nursing cold, drippy cans of Goldie Light. Sparrow Kim walked out of the house, also in her senior sweatsuit. She scootched next to Rosemarie and took the can from her hand, drank some, and gave it back.
“Whose pale ass is that?” Rosemarie asked out toward the water.
“Are you serious? How could we possibly know which one you’re talking about?” Kasey asked. “It’s only pale asses as far as the eye can see besides Mateo and Cassius.”
“True that,” Rosemarie said, laughing. “You remember what Cassius’s ass looks like, Ada?”
“We went on one date. One! Freshman year!” Ada said, swatting at her arm.
“So, you didn’t see his ass? You’re sticking to that story?” Kasey said.
“Don’t act like I’m the only one who’s kissed Cassius, because y’all know we all have. I won’t allow this slander,” Ada said, pointing at the rest of them.
“Again, I say true that,” Rosemarie said.
“I don’t regret it, to be quite honest,” Kasey said.
“Me neither,” Caro said.
“Nor I,” said Ada. After the skating party freshman year, Cassius had asked Ada if he could kiss her and she said yes. It was the first time a boy put his tongue in her mouth, and she remembered the sound the rain made falling on the metal awning above them when he did it.
“Is Will even here? It’s probably his ass,” Caro said. She leaned back in the chair and tipped the rest of the beer into her mouth.
“He’s here somewhere. He’s so stoned. I saw him talking to the magnolia,” Ada said.
“Who the hell is Magnolia?!” Kasey asked.
A sharp laugh shot out of Ada’s mouth; she kicked the air.
“The tree. The magnolia tree! Yeah right, like there’s some girl in the senior class named Magnolia and we hadn’t heard of her until tonight!” Ada said.
“Oh wow, this conversation is wildly dumb,” Kasey said.
“Magnolia’s a really great name, but I have to agree,” Caro said.
“Are you getting in?” Sparrow asked Rosemarie. Rosemarie shrugged and Ada wondered if she was loving this. If getting to skinny-dip with Sparrow like this was what she wanted. Ada had half expected Kasey to already be boning Silas in his bedroom, but so far Silas had shotgunned only one beer and was standing in the kitchen with Grayson eating pizza and being loud with their friends, listening to 50 Cent.
“Are y’all getting in?” Rosemarie asked everyone on the porch.
“Hey! How cold is it?” Caro hollered out, leaning over the porch railing. A loose knot of boys jumped and splashed, swam and bobbed, not too far out.
“That you, Red Delicious? You can get in here and warm me up!” one of them hollered back.
“How did he even hear you and how is that helpful?” Ada said.
“A horny boy can hear anything he wants,” Kasey said.
“We doin’ this?” Grayson asked through the screen door. He stepped out and took off his shirt.
“Aha, that’s Leo’s pale ass!” Rosemarie said, pointing.