Sucking in a breath from his proximity, I slowly looked up into his eyes. I was taken back when the coloring of his eyes was pure blackness. I could see his chest quickly rising and falling from the corner of my vision. My senses informed me that he liked my reaction to his closeness. But I started to wonder just how I would react to his touch. Not the touch of my hand in his. The touch of his fingers inside of me. His tongue in my mouth. Him inside of me.
“We should probably get going,” Ryder coughed out from behind Gabe.
Nodding his head, Gabe never took his eyes off me when he said, “Yeah, we should.”
As I nodded and smiled up at him, I couldn’t help but think, If this is how the night starts off I can only imagine how it’s going to end.
Chapter 10
Sarah
“I just want to have fun tonight, okay?” Gabe whispered in my ear. We were on our way to the dance, riding in the limo. Ryder was making out with his girlfriend, but thankfully they were as far away from us as possible. “We can talk about us some other time.”
Giving a small smile, I nodded and whispered, “Okay.” I knew Gabe and I would have to have a talk. So far, I had managed to keep my heart guarded. Sure, there were a few glimpses of who I really was. But what was the point of getting to know Gabe? Of falling in love with him only to get my heart broken in the end? He was moving back to Arizona. There was no doubt about it. I knew that and I wasn’t going to be one of those bitches that made him stay here.
Tonight I decided to just look at Gabe the way I would if he were staying here. I was done pretending. Tonight I just wanted to have fun. I wanted to be me around him and I was finally letting my guard down and letting him in. I knew nothing could be of us. After graduation we were both moving in different directions, taking different paths. We were growing up and in doing so… growing apart.
“Are you ready, Sarah?” Gabe asked next to me.
I hadn’t even realized the limo had stopped in front of the hotel. Staring up at him, I nodded and started to step out onto the pavement.
“Take my hand,” he commanded.
Stopping, my eyes went up to his. As I gave him a smile, my hand touched his and I stepped out of the limo. No turning back now.
Walking into the hotel, we took the elevator up to where prom was being held. I still couldn’t believe the theme was Las Vegas with gambling and sideshows and whatnot. I couldn’t believe how stupid it was. But I guess when you really think about it, prom is pretty cheesy and boring.
Once the doors to the elevator opened up and Gabe and I stepped out, I took in the sights—the bland decorations. The music that had played on the radio constantly and you want it to end. The best part? The teachers that you wished weren’t there. While it’s bad enough you have to see them at school, it should be against the law that you have to see them the night that you could possibly have your first sip of alcohol or first sexual encounter.
“What would you like to do first, Sarah?” Gabe yelled. Even though we were standing just inches away from one another, with all the screaming and yelling and blaring of the horrendous music from the DJ who thought he was the shit, I just looked at him and bugged my eyes out. Breaking out into a fit of laughter, he yelled, “Yeah, I can’t believe this shit.”
Grabbing ahold of my hand, Gabe pulled me with him as he went searching. I wasn’t sure who or what he was looking for, but as soon as I spotted the person, I knew we would for sure have some fun. Releasing my hand, Gabe jumped on Ryder’s back and yelled, “Hey, dumbass, you want to get the hell out of here?”
Jumping off his back, Ryder spun around and yelled, “HELL YEAH!” at the top of his lungs.
Chuckling, Gabe turned to me and asked, “You want to, Sarah?”
“Yeah, definitely!”
Smiling at me, Gabe said, “Good! I know where we can go,” giving me a devilish smile.
“Where exactly are we going?” I questioned him. Something just didn’t seem right about the way he said that.
Shrugging his shoulders, he sung, “You’ll see,” as he grabbed hold of my hand. Nodding his head towards the exit, Gabe said, “We’ll meet you over there, Ryd.”
“Okay, dude,” Ryder said.
Turning away from them, Gabe started to pull me off in the direction I thought was the exit. Instead, he made a sharp turn and pulled me out onto the dance floor. Spinning me, I placed my hands on his chest and let out a laugh. Looking up into his eyes, I saw they were staring down at me. “What are we doing?” I asked. “I thought we were leaving?”
Again he shrugged his shoulders. Leaning down, he whispered in my ear, “You didn’t think I wouldn’t get one dance with you, did you, Sarah?”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “I – I didn’t know,” I stuttered. Opening my eyes, I lowered my head. “I wanted you to.”
Before I knew it, Gabe was placing a finger underneath my chin and pulling my head up. When that wasn’t fast enough for him, Gabe cupped my face in his hands. Looking into my eyes, Gabe asked, “Why, Sarah?”
I started to open my mouth but I closed it again.