The first thing we did was the class photo. It took about fifteen minutes to get everyone organized on the huge staircase, but finally the photographer got something he was happy with. Then we made our way upstairs and mingled until dinner was ready.
A bell rang, and we all went to find our tables.
"I hope we're sitting with my group of friends," I told Pat as we searched the name tags.
"What's wrong with my friends?" he protested.
"They're not mine," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Well I hope some of my friends and some of your friends are at the same table, I'm much more diplomatic than you," he told me, and I laughed. We finally found ourselves, sitting with Jen and Kyle, Carrie and Steve, and a couple of Pat’s friends and their dates. Sure, it wasn’t all of my friends, but at least it was better than nothing.
Chatting for a little while, eventually the food came out.
It was mouth-wateringly delicious.
I guess when you put LA’s most prestigious private school together with the best golf course in town, the food had damn well better be good.
Before I knew it, the food was cleared and we were all herded towards the hardwood dance floor.
I took the first dance with Patrick, which of course was “Time of your Life” by Green Day.
But when the music ended and I got ready for a second dance, I suddenly found myself standing in front of Jaret Black.
“Mind if I steal Mikki from you for a dance?” he asked Pat in that way that made it obvious that he wasn’t really asking.
“Sure, whatever,” Pat shrugged, and wandered off.
“Tired of Sarah already?” I asked.
“Bored, more like.”
“Well, I’m not more exciting. Believe me, I don’t have anything you want.”
“Oh yes you do,” he muttered into my ear as “Wildest Dreams” blasted through the speakers.
“Well you’re not getting it.”
“Don’t be too sure about that.”
“Seriously? After all these years, you’re still going to try and get in my pants? What’s the point, anyway?” I asked. I mean really, the guy could have any girl he wanted.
“The point is the getting. It’s the chase. It’s so primal. I want to fuck you so hard you’re screaming my name while you clutch my hair and I pound my hard cock deep inside of you,” he growled into my ear.
Emotions flooded through me. The first one was fear. I looked around, making sure no one had heard. After all, there were other couples only a few inches away. Thank God for the loud music. I wasn’t getting any weird looks from anyone or anything, so I figured I must have been safe.
The next was lust. Listening to Jaret Black talk like that set my body on fire. I could feel the juices welling up inside of me; my body wanted Jaret to do exactly what he promised to me right then and there.
“Well, you’re just going to have to think about it while you let your right hand do all the work,” I replied, and it took every ounce of willpower I had to shut him down. Even as I said the words I could tell my body was rebelling.
My hormones were being driven wild. I’d just turned eighteen, and I was still a virgin. My body wanted me to grab him, to run to the nearest secluded area and have him do everything he had ever implied to me.
But my brain said no. I was better than that. I was going to make sure my first time was special, with someone special. And Jaret Black checking my name off a checklist wasn’t something special.
I thought Jaret would be hurt by my rebuke, but instead he just grinned. The guy was unstoppable.
“You say that, kitten, but I’ll get you some day. I promise. You’ll be begging for it, and I’ll make you feel things you never dreamed possible.”
“Stop calling me that,” I ordered. I hated it when he called me kitten. It seemed so childish. And yeah, sure, I felt a bit childish around Jaret and it made me uncomfortable. He just seemed so at ease with the world, like he understood how everything worked perfectly. He was rich – well, his father was, - he somehow got incredibly good grades despite the fact that he skipped class constantly, was the captain of the lacrosse team and somehow nothing ever seemed to get to him.
It wasn’t fair for a single human being to be so perfect.
And also so damned annoying.
“Whatever you want, kitten,” he replied with a wink, and I rolled my eyes so far into the back of my head I was actually worried they’d get stuck there.
I caught Lea’s eye as Dylan swung her around. Her look was a combo of “are you seriously dancing with Jaret Black?” and “Do it! Definitely do it!”
Too bad I was going to disappoint her. I wasn’t going to do it. Absolutely not in a million years.
Just then, Taylor Swift stopped singing.
“I guess I’d better let your date have you back. You know where to find me if you change your mind,” Jaret told me with a wink before waving at Pat, who came back over and awkwardly placed a hand on my hip as a slow song started.
“So… uh, that Jaret guy likes you, huh?” Pat asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“No,” I replied. “He likes the idea of me.”
“Oh. That makes more sense. I wondered why the coolest guy in school would want to date you. Like, you’re one of us nerdy types, you know? Not like the Sarah Burns of the class.”
I knew Pat meant well, so I didn’t really think too much about the fact that he had just insulted me. I knew what he meant. And he was right, I’d had that thought a million times, myself.
“Jaret Black doesn’t have a type, other than ‘anyone that’ll open their legs’.” Pat laughed, and I suddenly heard a familiar whisper in my ear.
“I heard that. And you’re wrong.”
I started as I turned and saw Jaret’s grinning face next to mine, Sarah Burns in his arms looking annoyed at me.
Really? Annoyed at me? What had I done?
Still, I had a bit of shame. I blushed and turned back to Pat, who was grinning.
“The way you give him shit is awesome. No one else in the whole school dares to do it.”
“Yeah, well, someone has to.”
After a few dances Pat wanted to dance with Amy, another one of his friends, and I was ready for a break. I looked for my friends on the dance floor, and they were all there, except for Jen. I vaguely wandered around, half looking for my friend, half just wanting to savour this moment.
This was prom. This night was going to be one of my best memories for the rest of my life. All of my friends, my classmates, the people I’d spent the last five years of my life with.
I found a balcony and went out to get a bit of fresh air. With the sun having set a few hours earlier, all I could see was the lights of the golf course, with the light sound of the sprinklers in the background as I breathed in the fresh night time air.
Moving over to the rail, I put my hands against the cold metal and closed my eyes. Suddenly, I heard familiar voices coming from around the corner. It was Jen’s date, Kyle. Thinking I might find Jen with him, I made my way to the left, where the voices were coming from.
From the smell of pot wafting through the air, it quickly became obvious they were on the other side of the balcony, which stretched along the side of the building. But before I turned the corner, I stopped.
“Yeah man, Jen’s friends are fucking hot. Except for that ice queen one.”
Great. Football bros. I knew Jen wasn’t there from the way Kyle was talking, I should have just turned around and left, but I didn’t.
“Oh yeah, Michaela?”
“That’s the one.”
“I bet she’d be a fucking freak in bed though. The ice queens usually are. I’d just have to make sure the lights were out first.”
Their laughter drifted over to my ears, and I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes.
I knew I shouldn’t have let it get to me. They were just a bunch of dumb jocks getting high on prom night. Making fun of people. That was what they did.
But it still hurt. I mean, it wasn’t like I had any sort of misconceptions about what people thought of me. I knew that everyone knew I wasn’t a social butterfly. I wasn’t the kind of girl who had boyfriends, who went out on Friday night binge drinking, who got invited to parties.
But still. The “make sure the lights are out” comment hurt.
That was just straight up calling me ugly.
I turned around and headed back to the main room. No, that was a bad idea. I couldn’t go in there. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, and that was definitely going to happen.
Instead I went the other way, thinking that if I followed the balcony for long enough I could sneak back in at the other side of the room, right near where the bathrooms were, and I could clean myself up there.
Just when I thought the night couldn’t get worse, it did.