“You’re a lucky man, Simon.” Ryan pats him on the back as he makes his way through the crowd.

“Thanks,” Simon says and then does a double take as he absorbs Ryan’s words. “Wait, why did he say that?”

“Who knows?” Sid dismisses it quickly. “Are you thirsty? I’m thirsty. Ash, thirsty?” She is talking so fast I’m not sure anyone else could even understand her.

I bite my lip to hold in my laugh. I have never seen Sid this flustered.

“I’m thirsty,” Simon chimes in as he wraps his fingers with hers.

Well, I guess one other person can understand her. I smile to myself. I’m truly happy for Sid.

“I’m good, thanks.”

When Sid gives me a questioning look as if to confirm I’m really okay before they walk off, I nod back and mouth, “Really, go.” Then I feel my phone vibrate. Finally.

I make my way back to the chairs and pull out my phone. Just seeing his name makes my heart start to pound.

How is it? I wish I was there. I miss you.

It’s good. Not the same without you. But if you hear something about me and Sid, there’s nothing there, trust me, I type back.

What does that mean?

Nothing. I’ll explain later.

When you get home, stay dressed.

Okay?

I’ll be there at 10:30.

Okay?

Just be ready. See you soon. Love you.

“Hey, Ash. Thanks for the coaching. I think it worked.” Shane throws himself into the chair next to me, gesturing toward Johnny who is talking to Ryan and Brian.

“Yeah, I was watching him. He definitely noticed.”

“I know,” Shane says with a playful smile. “He asked if we can talk.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, but Courtney won’t keep her hands off him.”

My eyes shift back over to Johnny. I didn’t notice at first, but Courtney has her fingers slipped through his back belt loops. Her body language definitely says ‘we’re together.’

“Yeah, how’s he going to get out of that one?”

“We shall see,” Shane says with a half-smile. I can tell he’s nervous.

Courtney is not a girl you mess with. She could blow their secret if she ever found out. Johnny’s playing with fire right now, and by the look in Shane’s eyes, he’s well aware.

***

Once again, our dad picks us up promptly at ten o’clock, and of course, the deep blue Volvo station wagon is parked right out front for everyone to see. Since Ryan is in trouble, he was allowed to go to the dance in the limo, but he’s going home with our dad.

I chose to avoid the limo altogether without Todd. I thought it would be awkward with all of those couples and me. Blythe wasn’t happy, but I think Ryan was secretly overjoyed.

Sid is going home with Simon, and Shane is getting a ride with Johnny, so it’s just me and Ry in the blue ride of joy. Gretchen is going to Olive’s with everyone else in the limo, but now that they actually have to separate, you would think Ryan was going off to war or something.

Dad and I have been waiting in the car for them to say their goodbyes for exactly ten minutes already, and I know this because I have been counting every second. It’s such a double standard. Dad would never let me stand here and “talk” to Todd for this long. Ever. I’m actually surprised at how physical Ryan is getting, knowing our dad is right here. Dad, of course, is pretending to check college scores on his iPhone, but I know he is completely aware of everything.

I can’t hold it in anymore. I know Todd is going to be at our house at ten thirty, and I need our yard to be clear of parents.

“Are you going to stop them, Dad? This is ridiculous.”

Once he glances over to see Ryan’s hands running down Gretchen’s back and his face attached to hers, he rolls down the window. “Today, son.”

Finally!

Ryan tenses up and I chuckle to myself. I know he’s pissed he has to go home. It’s his senior homecoming, he was voted homecoming king, and he has to separate from his queen. Blah, blah, blah. Let’s go.

Ryan slides into the front seat and slams the door, making it clear just how angry he is. There’s no thank you to me for taking the back seat, either, but I guess I’ll let that one go.

“Watch it, Ryan. This is not my fault. You can thank yourself for this.” Dad uses “the tone,” the one that says, “don’t even think about breathing, because it could be mistaken for a response.”

Ryan turns back and glares at me. I know a part of him blames me for this. I’m the reason Todd got into a fight. I’m the reason Todd couldn’t go to the dance. I’m the reason Todd’s parents called mine. And I’m the reason Ryan is in Dad’s car instead of a limo right now. I know it’s not really my fault, but he needs someone to blame, so fine, blame me.

Ryan thinks I should break all ties with Casey, but I’m not the one who invited him to that party.

“We’re here, Ash.” I hear Ry’s voice, and when my eyes land on him, he’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Dad is already out of the car and opening our front door.

I check my phone—Ten twenty-two. Then I quickly glance around, but I don’t see Todd’s car. Phew.

After hurried small talk with my mom about the dance, I rush upstairs so I can check my phone for a text. Then I check the clock, ten twenty-eight. Phone, nothing. Well, except a text from Sid, but we’ll count that as nothing for now. Window, nothing.

I repeat these steps several times to more nothing. Then my phone finally buzzes.

Look outside.

And that is when my heart drops into my stomach. There is Todd, in his suit and tie, holding a corsage. I close my eyes and say a silent thank you to whoever is listening. What did I ever do to deserve him?

I pull open my window and start to climb out. My heart is pounding in my ears, partly because I am deathly afraid of heights—and from up here, two stories seems like I’m on top of a sky scraper—and partly because I know, if I get caught, we are both dead. But mostly, it’s because I am so in love my heart can’t handle it.

When I jump down from the bottom branch of the tree, Todd steps back and smiles, it’s a smile that is so deep it melts whatever was left of my heart.

“You look beautiful.”

“So do you.” I haven’t seen him since the fight. His eye is pretty bad; definitely not something he could hide from his dad. The skin underneath is a deep blue, and he has a big gash across his eyebrow. I run my fingers over it, as if my touch could heal it. “Black eye and all.”

His smile gets even deeper, if that’s possible.

“This is for you.” He slips the lily corsage on my wrist.

The corsage is incredible; I know I’m turning bright red because my cheeks feel like they are on fire. I run my fingers across the soft petals of the flower, keeping my eyes on the lily because, if I make eye contact, he will see just how red I am.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful,” I whisper more to the flower than him.

He lifts my chin up so my eyes meet his. “I’m sorry I missed the dance, but I’m glad I got to see you in your dress.” He runs his hand down my back, feeling the yellow, silky material.

“Thanks for wearing your suit.” I slide his lapel through my thumb and forefinger.

Todd glances back up to my window, as if he just remembered where we are. “Let’s go,” he says as his fingers intertwine with mine.

***

When we pull into the parking lot of our field, it’s empty, but it’s flooded with light from the street lamps overhead. Todd rolls down the windows and opens his sunroof. Then he plugs his iPhone into his car radio and clicks on a playlist titled “homecoming,” one of my favorite slow songs starts to play.

He jumps out of the car and runs around to my side to open my door where he holds out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

I nod my head, and before I know it, we have an entire asphalt dance floor to ourselves. He wraps his arms around me, and I fall into his chest. I changed into my Converse to climb down the tree, so my head is even lower on his chest than when we’ve danced before, I can barely wrap my arms around his neck. I will just have to settle for grabbing onto his broad shoulders while I feel his heart beating against my cheek. Oh, darn.