Millie
MY FLAPPER DRESS WAS PURPLE with lots of fringe, which swayed any time I made a move. I absolutely loved it, along with the amazing decorations our team had come up with.
The banquet room had been converted into a speakeasy, compete with whiskey barrels as tables, a mugshot photo station, prohibition signs everywhere, and you even had to use the secret code word to get in.
Dru, in a dress identical to mine, only black, was already having the time of her life, and we’d only been here for about thirty minutes. Louis Armstrong was playing in the background and everyone was eating, drinking, and laughing. Having a great time.
But I couldn’t stop watching the door, and checking my phone. I was worried about Jackson, wondering if he’d spoken to Julie and how that had gone.
“Everything okay?”
Tasha came up next to me, a drink in each hand, and passed one to me.
She looked adorably sexy in a black pinstripe suit with nothing but a camisole underneath, her bright-red hair styled perfectly for the era in finger waves, her lips a bright red.
“Thanks,” I said, accepting the glass. “And, yes, I’m fine.”
“Haven’t heard from him yet?” she guessed.
“No, not yet.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll show,” Tasha assured me, her voice full of more confidence than I was feeling.
“I know,” I lied.
Commotion toward the entrance had me looking over to see a motley crew walking in. Ty, Rebecca, Rob, and Jan, all decked out and looking dapper in their twenties costumes. My breath caught as I looked behind them, hoping to see Jackson, and there he was, except he wasn’t wearing a twenties costume.
No, he was showing off a lot of skin in his tiny white board shorts, Hawaiian shirt, which was, no lie, tied at his waist, with a captain hat on his head.
Jackson’s eyes caught mine and he grinned, then did his best saunter all the way to me. By the time he reached me, I was laughing so hard that I was practically bent over. When he stopped in front of me and attempted to gyrate, I clapped a hand over my mouth as I guffawed.
His eyes were twinkling as he watched me, and when I finally had some control, I uncovered my mouth and said, “That’s some Elvis costume.”
“Thank you, thank you very much,” was Jackson’s reply, which had Tasha groaning next to me.
“Oh my God!”
“I know, right, it’s awful,” Ty said, giving his friend a onceover and grimacing.
“I love it,” I purred as I put my arms around his waist and tilted my head back to look at him. “You look amazing.”
“Don’t encourage him.” This came from Rob, as he picked up a cigar off of the table next to him and ran it under his nose. When Jan snatched it out of his hand he said, “Hey . . .”
Jan just gave him a look, and he closed his mouth and pouted, causing the rest of us to laugh.
“How are you?” I asked softly, while everyone else teased Rob.
“Never been better,” Jackson said with a huge grin. “It’s over.”
I leaned in to hug him tightly, then looked back up at him and asked, “And Kayla?”
Jackson shook his head sadly, then his face cleared and he asked, “Can you step out for a minute? I want to give you your present.”
“Now?” I asked, looking around at the party in full swing. “Don’t you want to wait until we get home?”
Jackson picked me up, causing me to laugh as he answered excitedly, “I can’t wait that long.”
“Okay,” I said as he put me down, then took my hand in his and led me toward the door at the back of the room, which led out to a balcony.
The party was muted when he slid the sliding glass door shut behind us and we stepped out into the night.
“Wow,” I said as I looked up at the stars glittering in the sky. “What a beautiful night.”
“Only more so because you’re in it,” Jackson replied, pulling me in close to his side, and my heart melted.
I leaned my head against his shoulder, enjoying the moment, a happy sigh emitting from my lips, when he nudged me and asked, “Don’t you want your present?”
“Oh yeah, that’s why we came out here,” I said with mock surprise, then put my hands out in front of me and closed my eyes. “What is it? Gimme?”
Jackson chuckled at my exuberance, then laid what felt like paper in my hand. I opened one eye and peeked at him, saw his excited face, and looked down at my hand. My other eye popped open and my jaw dropped.
There was a brochure for Graceland in my palm.
“Oh my God, what does this mean?” I asked, hopeful, but unable to wrap my head around what I was holding in my hand.
“I talked with Dru and Tasha, they’ve got you covered. It’ll be a couple months before school’s out, but that gives us time to plan it all out, and then, we’re going to Graceland, Ba-by!”
“Oh my God!” I squealed this time, jumping up and down three times before jumping into his arms and squeezing as hard as I could. “This is the best gift anyone has given me in my life.”
Jackson laughed and said, “Good, that’s what I was going for.”
When I was back on my feet I looked at the brochure, hugged it to my chest, and told him, “You are getting so lucky tonight.”
To which he replied, “I already am.”
Gah, this guy . . .