“Tonight?” she asks in disbelief.
“I can’t. Tomorrow. I don’t know. I love Vincent. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Megan,” she says, and I turn to face her. “Don’t force yourself to be with someone if you don’t want to. Life is short. You love Casper and I know this would tear you up inside if you ignored those feelings. It’s been tearing you up for months.”
She’s right. I know I can’t fight this anymore. It’s not fair to Vincent or me. I’m only seventeen. How can I feel this way about someone? How can I hurt Vincent’s feelings like this? I’m doing exactly what the Megan in my dreams did. She broke Vincent’s heart because of loving Casper. I can’t get over how similar my dreams are compared to real life. Am I psychic or something? Are the dreams making us feel this way?
My hands shake as I try to pin the stupid boutonniere to Vincent’s lapel. I can barely meet his eyes. But he looks hot in his tuxedo and I can feel his dark blue eyes on me. The right side of my neck is hot from all of my curled hair being swept to one side. I curse aloud as the pin pokes my finger.
Vincent holds my hands steady and brings my finger to his mouth, sucking on it. I feel the blush coming a mile away, and this is too intimate considering Mom is in the other room getting her phone camera ready. I remove my finger and finally pin the flower.
I take a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I swallow hard. “Yeah. I’m good.” I’m such a terrible liar, hoping he can’t tell the real reason for my nervousness. He told me last night he had a surprise for me, and he wants to make tonight special. I can’t help but wonder if he means he wants to take our relationship to the next level. I know I can’t give him what he wants. He grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine giving me a squeeze.
“Okay, get in front of the fireplace,” Mom orders and proceeds to take a million pictures of us.
“I can’t believe you were able to find a date,” Ron jokes as he stands behind Mom.
I feel Vincent tense and I squeeze his hand. I’ve learned to ignore Ron’s dumb comments, but it still hurts.
“Vincent stand behind Megan and put your hands on her hips. Megan stand in front of him and turn toward me.” We do what she says, and I smile, but it’s fake. I’m trying so hard to be in the moment, but I can’t stop thinking about that damn kiss. From that one kiss, I know that what I feel for Vincent is small compared to what I felt yesterday.
“Be home no later than ten,” Mom says and hugs me. “Be careful,” she whispers.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You kids have fun.”
Vincent opens the door and I gasp. There’s a limo sitting in my driveway. “Vincent,” I hesitate. He spent way too much.
“Come on. It’s fine.” The driver nods, opening the back door for us and once we’re in, Vincent leans over and kisses me. His lips trail to my jawline to the back of my ear. “You are gorgeous, Megan,” he whispers, and my heart immediately goes into overdrive. He kisses me, his tongue mingling with mine and he presses harder like he can’t get enough.
I feel sick, knowing I don’t deserve any of this. He holds me so close to him, as if he’s afraid I might run away. I decide if I want to rid my mind completely of Casper, I should give myself to Vincent. All of me. But I can’t bring myself to do it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Vincent asks, squeezing my hand. I loosen my hold, unknowing that I had been gripping that hard. He lifts my chin with his other hand, and I gaze into his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Talk to me.” His voice is so soothing, and it almost brings me to tears. I have to come up with something.
“My mom and dad are fighting again,” I lie. They tend to fight often over child support or whatever, but it’s been a while. I hope he buys it.
He pulls me tighter and kisses my forehead. “You won’t have to worry about that much longer. I promise.”
I look up into his blue eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll be going to college soon, right?”
Oh. “Yeah. I hope. After this semester of being sick and skipping, I hope I can do well on my exams to keep my GPA up.”
“You’ll be fine, Megan. I promise everything will work out.”
He sounds so sure. He takes me to an upscale French restaurant. I can’t get over the coincidence, but I remember his family originated from France. Is that why my dreams take place there? Something isn’t right. It’s unsettling and I can’t stand this feeling. During dinner, Vincent is incredibly charming as usual, and he acts so happy. So, in love. It’s crushing me.
We arrive at the ancient theatre, where the prom takes place. I’ve always loved this theatre for its architecture. It was built in the late twenties and the renovation kept its beautiful charm and warm atmosphere. The chandeliers hang low and light glitters throughout them. We enter the ballroom and it’s decorated in blue and silver.
Cherry and Luke meet up with us and I was right. Cherry owns the prom with her beautiful gown, fit for a queen. Her brown curls are pulled up high with one long curl hanging loosely. Her eye makeup brings out the blue in her eyes. She gives me a knowing look and the four of us head to the dance floor. While the music isn’t exactly my favorite, Vincent and I
