Time passes slowly as I graduate high school, visit my mom one last time over the summer, and then I start college. My free time seems to evaporate compared to what I had in high school. Things between Sydney and me are the same as usual. She’ll be graduating high school in a few months. She wanted to check out colleges up here, namely my university, but both of her parents refuse to let her go out-of-state and pay the higher tuition fees. Since they are paying for her education, she doesn’t feel like she has much choice but to stay in North Carolina.
That plan for us to be together took all of two days to evaporate and be shut down. I was tempted to tell her to hell with her parents, but I don’t want her to have to get student loans either, so I was fucked on that front.
A year comes and goes without us being able to get together and see one another again. I was going to come see her this past Christmas, but I had to bail on her. Everything was all set and ready to go. The problem was she just started talking to a guy who really liked her, based on what she said. She sort of liked him too. If I were to go see her, I’d mess that up. Not to mention, I got my own girlfriend right around that time. So, I bailed.
I felt like a piece of shit, too. I’m more important to Sydney than that guy was and she’s more important to me than that girl, but we can’t be together, so it seemed like the right decision. Sydney was pissed. I didn’t even tell her that was why I wasn’t coming, only that I couldn’t come. She stopped talking to me for a week and a half.
That’s her thing. When she’s pissed, I get the silent treatment. She doesn’t give in until she’s ready, too. No matter what I text her. Same thing happened when I mentioned how I was offered to partake in a threesome, something Sydney absolutely did not like hearing about. She ignored my texts for three weeks. Do I want to be with her? Yes. Is it going to happen anytime soon? No. So, why should she or I be miserable in the meantime?
I mean, right now she’s dating some asshole from her high school. They’re supposed to go to prom this weekend. She looks fucking amazing in her dress; she sent pictures when she was trying on a bunch and I picked it out. Sydney actually hasn’t talked too much about prom. She still doesn’t feel right talking about her dumbass boyfriend with me. I get that, and I’m glad because it means she still really likes me, but I also wish she didn’t care so much because I don’t let that get in the way of me having fun while I’m here. I still tell her everything, too, whether she wants to hear about it or not.
I’m in my dorm, making out with my new girlfriend, Stacy, when my phone rings. Stacy is so new of a girlfriend that Sydney doesn’t know about her yet. I’m not sure it’ll last and she might be more of a fuck buddy, but she’s calling me her boyfriend, and I’m rolling with it.
The ringing comes again. There is only one person whose ringtone is blaring and on the verge of annoying, so I’m sure to hear it and not miss the call.
Sydney.
“Hold your thought.” I push Stacy to the side and sit up, answering with a, “Hey. How are you?”
There’s no response at first. I hear sniffling, which makes me stand and head for the hallway for some distance from Stacy, and then, I hear her crying.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I ask the moment I’m in the hallway.
“I can’t go to prom.”
“What? Why?”
“He broke up with me today. I don’t have a date, and even if I did, I can’t go. He humiliated me, Ian. In front of everyone. Oh god, it was so bad.” Her cries get the best of her.
“What did he do?”
“He broke up with me in front of everybody.”
“That’s not so bad,” I try to console her.
“And he added that it was because I was a stuck-up prude who wouldn’t have sex with him.”
What a motherfucker. Instead of saying that, I say, “Well, why haven’t you had sex with him?” Because I need to know it’s not because of me or us.
“You say that almost like it’s a given that I should!” she snaps.
I soften my voice, so she’ll believe me and talk to me. “That’s not how I mean it. Tell me why.”
“I haven’t...” Sydney huffs. “I haven’t been with anyone since you, and you made me feel comfortable and taken care of. Every time things start going in that direction with him, it’s like he’s the only one who matters and it’s all about doing it as fast as possible. So, I stop him and tell him I’m not ready. I can’t talk to him and tell him what’s wrong like I just told you, so...” Her voice trails off for a moment. “He still thinks I’m a virgin. I never said it, but that’s what he thinks. He thinks I’m a virgin who’s a tease and a stuck-up prude who won’t put out already.”
“Well, fuck him. Go anyway. You have to go. You need to wear that dress and show off.”
“I don’t think I can do it. Logan and Carey have already tried to tell me the same thing. They both have dates and they’ll end up hanging out with me if I go alone. That won’t be fun for anyone. I just can’t go after this. I barely want to finish out the school year. The only reason I’m doing that is because I have to.”
Man, I hate this for her. “I’m sorry, Sydney.”
“I should’ve gone last year instead of being an idiot and holding out for my senior prom. Can’t mark this milestone off.” She sounds so bummed.
“It’s okay. Proms suck. I went to both of mine and we left early to play hockey because it was so boring. You aren’t missing much.” A plan begins to form in my head. “Hey, I gotta go, but I’ll text you, okay? Forget about the jackass and move on.”
“He’s already forgotten.”
“That’s my girl.”
We hang up and I walk back into my room. Stacy is now naked on my bed. Shit. Do not be tempted, Ian. Do not be tempted. Think of Sydney. Clearing my throat, I say, “You need to go. Something has come up and I have things to do.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just family stuff I need to deal with.”
She grabs her tits and pushes them together. “It can’t wait?”
Fuck. I shake my head. “Nope.” I grab her discarded clothes and throw them at her, not feeling the least bit guilty when my aim is off and they land on her face. “Get dressed and get out of here.”
“You’re a jackass. Anyone ever tell you that?”
“Yep. Family comes first, though.” Meaning, Sydney comes first. She always does.
The moment Stacy is gone, I grab my laptop to check my bank account. One of the guys on the team does odd jobs and whenever he needs help, I always help him. Thank goodness. It’s paid off. Next step is to check out flights. But shit. That won’t work. Sydney lives two hours from Raleigh and I’m not old enough to rent a car because you have to be twenty-one. It’ll be cheaper to drive, but damn. That’s a long-ass drive.
It’s for Sydney.
It’ll be worth it.
Twenty-one hours in a car is a long time to wonder if I’m making the right decision. Here I am, driving all this way with my best suit in the backseat, and Sydney doesn’t even know I’m coming to surprise her and take her to prom. Thanks to my schedule with school, I’ll be exhausted by the time I get there. I’ll have just enough time to stop by the hotel where I reserved a room, shower, change and get to her house. Yeah, I can book a hotel room, but I can’t rent a car.
I haven’t slept in two days because I had classes, hockey practice, and then I had to leave to drive. There wasn’t time to stop and sleep. Excitement over seeing Sydney in combination with rolling down the windows and blasting music is what has kept me awake so far. Showering is supposed to help, but it makes me want to crawl into bed and pass out.
Instead, I dress and drive to Sydney’s house. It’s a nice house. People are obviously home based on the cars on the driveway. This is the first time I’m nervous about seeing Sydney. I’m also meeting her stepbrother and possibly the rest of her family. I don’t know if anyone else knows about me. It’s too late to back out now.
With a deep breath, I get out of the car, straighten my tie, and walk up to the door. I press the doorbell and wait. Moments later, the door opens to an older woman.
“Hello. Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Sydney.”
“Who are you?” There’s a guy dressed similarly to me behind her and I’m hoping he’s Logan.
“Ian Rhett.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
“Logan!” Sydney’s mom chides him.
“Sydney!” he yells, ignoring her. “Get down here right now!”
My heartbeat increases with the sound of racing footsteps. “What?” I hear her lovely voice and then a second later, she’s running down the stairs. She nearly trips when she sees me. “Oh my god! Ian!” She runs to me. I have all of three seconds to brace myself before she launches herself into my arms. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? Why are you here? Oh my god! I’m so happy to see you!” Obviously. Her arms are around my neck so tight, she’s nearly cutting off my air.
“You have to go to prom. I just spent twenty-one hours in the car and I haven’t slept in two days, so you have no excuse.” I place her on her feet. “Go get ready.”
“You drove?” Her eyes widen. “You haven’t slept in two days?”
“Minor details,” I say with a shrug. “Get dressed.”
“Excuse me,” her mom says. “But someone needs to explain what’s going on here.”
Sydney seems to snap out of our little bubble as she faces her mother. “Oh, sorry. This is Ian Rhett, Mom. We met when I went to Grandma’s funeral and we’ve kept in touch. Apparently, he’s here to take me to prom. You’re all caught up. Will you do my hair?”
Her mom still seems confused, but she agrees. Sydney leaves me in Logan’s hands. We sit in the living room on the couch.
“So, you decided to surprise her?”
“Couldn’t let her stay at home and miss it.”
He nods. “You really haven’t slept for two days?”
“Haven’t had time.” My phone dings with a text. A quick check shows a message from Stacy, but I ignore it. “Shouldn’t you be picking up your date?” Sydney and I are going to be late since she isn’t ready yet.
“Yeah, but now I’m babysitting you.”
“I’ll be fine sitting here by myself.”
Logan doesn’t trust me that much because he doesn’t leave. Meanwhile, I’m either yawning or lightly dozing off. The sound of heels clicking on hardwood floor stirs me awake. I stand and see Sydney in that dress. Damn. It looks even better in person.
“Still like it?” Sydney asks, spinning around. The bottom flares out before settling around her feet. Navy is so her color.
“Yeah. You’re gorgeous as always.”
She blushes and fuck, I’ve missed seeing that. “Let’s go, then.”
I walk over to her and grab her hand. Her mom stands next to her, watching things between us with wary eyes. “It was nice to meet you,” I say.
“You too.”
We head out with Logan on our heels since he can finally leave now that we are. Once we’re in the car, Sydney gives me directions.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m just glad that I am.”
“How long can you stay?” There’s so much hope in her voice and I hate that I’m going to ruin it.
“Long enough to get some sleep, eat when I wake up, and hit the road again. I wish I could stay longer, but I can’t with the length of the drive and I have a game Sunday.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At the only hotel in town.” I didn’t think the town would be big enough for one, but apparently it is.
“Can I stay with you tonight?”
I glance over at her. “Your mom going to let you?”
She shrugs. “Who cares? I can get in trouble later.”
“If you want to and you don’t care about getting in trouble, then I won’t stop you. How much trouble will you get in?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that. I’ll get Logan to cover for me until morning. She probably won’t stay up for us, so she won’t know I’m not there until I show up still wearing my prom dress. You can park right there.”
I pull into the parking space she spotted and turn my car off. For a moment, I enjoy the sight of her and the fact that I’m here with her. I knew I missed her, but it wasn’t until now that I realize just how damn much. It’s easier to live apart, though it’s definitely hard at times, but being here reminds me of what I’m missing.
“Are you going to kiss me or admire how hot I look?” she asks, causing me to laugh and lean over to kiss her softly.
“You do look very hot.”
“Thank you! Let’s go.”
There’s still some people making their way inside the building. Sydney stops short all of a sudden.
“What is it?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t.” She glances up at me, looking worried.
“What? Why? Who gives a fuck what that jackass said, Sydney.” I grab her hips and pull her flush against me. “You look amazing and we’re going to spend every second in there so wrapped up in each other that you won’t notice anyone else. And if you do, I’ll distract you. Okay?”
She releases a shaky breath as she nods. “All right.”
The prom is already in full swing when we walk inside behind a guy and his date. Sydney pinches my hand and nods toward him. Ah, so that’s the motherfucker who broke up with her. And he replaced her with another date. What an idiot.
Leaning down, I kiss her neck and a bit too loudly say, “Can’t wait to get you back to the hotel, Sydney.”
She stiffens, but her ex turns around with a look of surprise.
He laughs when he sees her, which pisses me off. “Good luck with that, man.”
I grin. “I’ve already hit it. Why do I need luck to do it again?”
His mouth drops in shock. I excuse us to walk around him.
Sydney elbows me in the gut. “Why did you do that?”
“Because he needed to know that it wasn’t that you weren’t willing to have sex. It’s that you weren’t willing to do it with him.”
“What if he goes around telling everyone—”
“Stop worrying about what everyone thinks, Sydney. They don’t matter. You’ll be away from them in a couple of months anyway.” I pull her onto the dance floor amid all the bodies, but she looks dissatisfied. “What now?”
“I hate when you’re right.”
After a quick kiss and a laugh, I say, “Get used to it, babe. Now, dance with me.”
We dance for a bit. She finally relaxes and ignores everyone else, which is good because I stopped paying attention to them the moment her hips started moving. She drags me away at some point because she’s thirsty. We grab some food and drinks from the buffet table and sit down. I’m finally introduced to her best friend, Carey. It’s not exactly a warm welcome either. I’m starting to think Logan and Carey don’t like me. That’s bullshit considering there’s no reason to dislike me. Sydney doesn’t seem to let it get in the way of our relationship, and that’s all that matters.
A few of her classmates glance our way and I suspect it’s because I’m here. Why wouldn’t they be nosy about a guy they don’t know being at their prom? I do notice that her ex keeps glancing over at us. His loss. She’s all mine. I may touch her more since he’s watching, but I have to be careful since there are chaperones around.
When her friends leave the table for more dancing, I lean in. “Having fun?”
She nods, resting her forehead against mine. “Yes. I’m glad you’re here. It’s been too long.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She glances away and adds, “I think the line for pictures has died down. Are you going to get some made with me?”
“It’s your prom. I’m here for whatever you want.”
The grin she gives me is so not appropriate for our surroundings. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Sydney stands and we’re off to take pictures.
My energy depletes more and more every half hour, but Sydney seems to be having a blast. We dance. She talks to her friends. Eventually, I sit down while Sydney goes to the restroom. If she isn’t quick about it, I’ll doze off before she makes it back. I’m fucking exhausted. My eyelids droop because they’re so heavy, but I keep my gaze locked on the bathroom doors.
Her ex makes his way over there and I stand. He is not about to ruin her night for the second time. Sydney walks out of the bathroom and stops short when she sees the jackass. He starts talking to her and I walk faster.
“Who is that guy you came with?” I hear him ask.
“None of your business,” she answers.
“Let’s go, Sydney.”
She looks relieved to see me. “Already?”
“Two days no sleep,” I remind her. “Twenty-one hours in the car to see you and do you really want to spend all of the time I manage to be awake here?” We’ve been here for like three hours already.
“Good point.” Facing her ex, she says, “See ya.”
We leave the loud music and her confused ex behind. It takes us ten minutes to get to the hotel room. I sit on the bed and rub my eyes. Sydney steps between my legs.
“Sorry. I forgot that you must be exhausted. Let’s just go to sleep.”
Sleep is all I can think about. Sydney unknots my tie and pulls it loose. I watch her push my jacket off. Next, she unbuttons my shirt and slides it off my shoulders. My skin warms as she trails her fingers over my chest. The more she touches me, the less sleepy I am. My shoes and socks are next to be removed. Finally, she grabs my hands and makes me stand. When her hands grab my belt, I kiss her.
There’s no stopping us now.
Our hands move frantically to shed our clothes. Sydney pushes me back onto the bed, straddling my hips, and it’s a race to get inside of her and feel good. God, I’ve missed her. I need her so much. The first time is quick and over too soon.
“You should sleep,” Sydney says, still breathing heavy.
I shake my head as I move over her body again. “I need more of you. You’re more important.” I push inside her. This time, we’re taking our sweet time. Who knows when I’ll see her again. We need to cherish what we’re doing because it’s not just sex.
The thought makes me pause.
Holy fucking shit.
I love her.
Dipping my head to kiss her neck, I focus on what we’re doing because I’m not ready to face that yet.
Later, we’re beat and I’m hugging her to me. Sleep should be my priority, but my eyelids are my enemy right now. They keep falling.
“Have you decided on a major?” I ask.
“English.”
“I should’ve known,” I chuckle.
“I’m thinking I could be a teacher.”
“You’ll be good at that. Still want to move to Raleigh or Charlotte?”
“Anywhere but here, yes.” Which could translate into where I live. “Go to sleep, Ian. We talk when we aren’t together. We don’t need to talk when we are, especially when you need the sleep.”
“I want to talk to you, though. And I don’t want you to think I’m here for sex.”
“I don’t. We’ll talk over breakfast. Sleep.” She kisses me soundly on the lips and lies back down.
It takes me a bit because I’m thinking about my revelation. I’m not where I can commit to Sydney yet. I need to be more settled before I can do that. Let’s just hope Sydney hasn’t fallen in love with me. What a fucked up thing to wish for, especially when it’s the only thing I want. I need this to be on my timeline, so I hope she can wait.