“That sounds like fun,” I said, nodding.
It would be nice to get outside and enjoy the sun. Well, appreciate it for as long as it would let me before causing me to feel uncomfortable.
“Great!” He jumped up from my bed and kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll let you get dressed.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I joked as I threw my arms out and gestured to my super rad ensemble.
He laughed. “Nothing, if you’re happy to go out in public dressed in your sleepwear.”
I gave him a warm squeeze and watched him leave the room. I loved the sound of his laughter. As with each time we were together, the guilt returned. It always seemed to work that way when it came to Aaron. I felt terrible about what I was doing to him. However, there was nothing that I could do break the contract between us. He had to do that on his own, in his own way.
I got up and wandered over to my closet. I searched through the rack and settled on a red long-sleeved sweater and a pair of black jeans, together with my Vans. I dressed quickly and decided to do without makeup. I didn’t feel like going through the entire process of adding the finishing touches. The events of the previous night had left me drained, and I lacked the motivation to impress Aaron that morning.
When I walked into the living room, my mother and Aaron were deep in conversation. I didn’t know what they were talking about, and I didn’t care to ask. Aaron stood up and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close. I could only assume my mother had told him a heavily abridged version of what had happened the previous night.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said in my ear as he rubbed his hands up and down my back.
I glanced at my mother as she tried to hide a smile. She had probably done it on purpose just to watch me squirm. She didn’t do this with Wesley, of course, She knew I had been serious about him. In this case, I was bound to Aaron almost by accident, so she felt free to play silly little games with me. She was a tricky one, that angel mother of mine.
****
“I realized something this morning,” Aaron said as he opened the passenger door and helped me out. We were in the parking lot of Midvale City Park, the site of our first date, on the night that Wesley had torn him and me apart.
“What’s that?” I asked, straightening my shirt, and letting him take my hand.
“Well, we have a very important event in two weeks. The prom. I admit I just assumed that we were going together, but I figured that I should probably ask, just in case.”
He smiled at me and led me to a picnic table, where we sat down across from each other. I gave him a small smile as he reached across the wooden surface and took my hand in his once more. His flesh was soft, and I couldn’t help but reminisce about how amazing his arms felt wrapped around me. I shook the memory aside. This wasn’t the time or place.
“Yeah, like someone else is going to ask me,” I said as soon as I had returned to Earth.
“You saved my life, and the lives of all those students in your class, so of course someone else will be thinking of asking you.” He gave me a shy smile. “I never thanked you properly for that, by the way. I don’t know what you did to make that man disappear, but you saved my ass.”
“I didn’t do anything, Aaron. I found you like that,” I lied. I didn’t want to think about his body crumpled on the gym floor. I had been so scared he had been taken away from me.
He looked at me and cocked his head to the side as if to say “whatever.”
“Either way I am grateful to have you in my life. You are an amazing woman, and you make me feel wonderful. Every morning I wake up, and I can’t wait to see your face.” His eyes shimmered, and he licked his lips.
Oh God, I knew where this was going. I felt my heart quicken and got a sudden urge to bolt.
“That’s super sweet of you, Aaron,” I said slowly, trying to swallow down the lump in my throat.
“So, with that being said…” he gave a nervous laugh, “…will you, Dawn Weathers, be my date to this year’s Junior/Senior Prom?”
It was so cheesy, but it was sweet.
“Yes, I would be honored,” I said, squeezing his hand. I felt like I had just dodged a bullet. Thank God he hadn’t said what I thought he was going to say.
“Great! I already talked to Adam, and the two of us are going to go halves on a limo. We wanted to make sure that you went out with a bang.” He smiled at me.
“A limo? There’s really no need. I’m perfectly content riding in Adam’s SUV or in your truck.” I felt panicked at the thought of them making a big deal out of something that meant relatively little to me. However, Nadine would flip if she found out I’d turned a limo down.
“I love you, Dawn. I want to give you the best before we graduate.”
And there it was. The dreaded three-word sentence that I had worked to avoid for the last two months. The bullet I thought I had dodged had managed to hit me straight in the head.
All I could do was smile at him. There was no way I was going to lie to him about this. I wasn’t going to say it back to him just because he had said it first. I was astonished that he said it at all. I had been hoping that my father was wrong, that he wouldn’t fall for me. Now I
