“Whatever. He stood me up, so he’s a moron,” she continued with a wave of her hand. “So I was at home upset, and Linc found me crying on the stairs after I’d called you. I told him what had happened, and he told me to man up and fix my make-up because he was making sure I didn’t miss out on my senior prom. He showed up half an hour later looking like a Greek god in a suit,” she said, “with this.” She waved her hand in front of my face and showed me the purple flowers tied delicately around her wrist.
“That’s great, Indie. I’m glad you’re happy and having a good night. With Linc, nonetheless.” He actually looked out for her, so it honestly didn’t surprise me that he would do this for her. That was just the way he was with her. I noticed Linc approaching with two plates of food in his hands. I tried not to laugh as all the girls stopped dancing to watch him walk by. Even I had to admit how good-looking he was, and when he spoke, his voice just made a girl tremble. I understood Indie’s obsession completely.
He set a plate down in front of Indie, who smiled brightly up at him. No way was she getting over her infatuation any time soon. Linc looked guiltily at me. “Sorry, didn’t grab you anything but I can.” He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb to the buffet table and shrugged.
“I’m fine. I’m just going to go for a walk.” I smiled and pushed away from the table, leaving Indie to revel in Linc’s attention for one night.
I wandered around the gym watching the couples dancing and smiled and waved at the people who still surprisingly sought my attention. I wished Ryder were there with me. It would have been a perfect night if he were. Instead, I was alone and pathetic.
Greg and Lizzie waved me over from where they were dancing under the disco ball, but I shook my head. I didn’t want to be their third wheel.
“Told you that you’re pathetic.” Christina’s voice sounded from behind me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face her and Chace. Her red and gold mermaid dress matched the gym decorations perfectly. “Couldn’t even get Ryder to take you to prom?”
“Shut up, Christina. I’m not in the mood to listen to your crap.” I sighed and rubbed my temples as though a migraine was forming.
“You’re dateless at prom. How sad. You should have just stayed home.” She laughed and wrapped her arm around Chace’s waist. Even he had a smirk.
“Got something to say, Chace?” I couldn’t help it. I felt like encouraging him.
“Just that I told you you’re boring and predictable and even Ryder would get sick of you. I was right.”
A few months ago, his words would have hurt me, but I couldn’t have cared less what he thought now. I rolled my eyes and noticed that a few people had stopped dancing and were staring and pointing in the direction behind Chace and Christina. “Whatever, Chace. Best of luck for prom king and queen.” I smiled brightly and pushed my way directly between them. I didn’t want to listen to them any longer.
That was when I saw him.
“Ryder,” I whispered and stopped in my tracks. He was leaning up against the wall looking calm and relaxed in black pants, a white shirt half-buttoned, and a bow tie that was untied and hanging loosely around his neck. He was running his hands through his hair and chewing on his lip ring. Oh, I’d missed him doing that. He lifted his head, and a smirk instantly formed on his face when he saw me standing there watching him.
Pushing himself off the wall, he started walking toward me.
“What are you doing? Go!” Indie called from somewhere to my right. That was all I needed to snap me out of it. I practically ran the last few steps to Ryder, closing the distance between us as fast as possible by jumping into his arms as we met in the middle of the dance floor. Thankfully, he caught me.
“I’ve missed you too, love,” he whispered into my neck, still laughing. My legs instantly wrapped around his waist, the thigh-high split in my dress exposing more leg than appropriate for a school prom, but I didn’t care. My arms were around Ryder’s neck. Threading my fingers into his hair, I pulled his head back, forcing him to look at me briefly before bringing my mouth down to his.
Ryder’s arms tightened around me, pulling me closer to his chest as our lips moved together, slow and gentle at first, but I quickly found I wanted more. I hadn’t seen him, touched him, or kissed him for two months. I didn’t want slow and gentle. I wanted to make up for our time apart. It seemed Ryder felt the same. I felt his tongue press against my lips, which parted of their own accord, allowing him to sweep his tongue into my mouth. I lost all sense of where we were as Ryder explored every inch of my mouth like it was the first time.
“Well, as much as I want to continue watching this love fest.” Indie’s voice interrupted us, making me remember we were in the middle of the dance floor at school. I reluctantly pulled away from Ryder’s lips, and he moved to set me down on my feet, but I clenched my legs around him tighter so that he couldn’t put me down, meaning he had to turn us both to face Indie.
“You two might want to get a room before you give the entire senior class a live show.” She smirked and started walking back toward Linc.
“Welcome back, Ryder,” she called over her shoulder, just barely loud enough to be heard over the music.
“Sorry I’m late,” Ryder whispered against my lips.
“You made it, and that’s all that matters.” I smiled at him, happy that he was there. That he was home. “Where were we?” I said and leant in to kiss him again, but he pulled away and loosened his grip on me.
“Getting out of here, Bailey.” His voice was deep—husky.
He cleared his throat and pushed me away slightly. My lips curved down, and my eyebrows pulled together in disappointment. I didn’t want to let him go just yet, but I unhooked my legs from around his waist and slid down his long body until my feet touched the ground. I heard Ryder’s sharp intake of breath before he cleared his throat again and cupped my face in his hands.
“Let’s go now,” he said through his teeth and reached down for my hand. Grabbing my wrist tightly, he practically dragged me to the door, but we were stopped by Principal Stevens.
“Not so fast.” The balding fat man put a hand out to stop us. “The presentation is about to begin.” He indicated to the stage behind us.
It wasn’t until we turned back around to face the gym for the announcement of prom king and queen that I realised the entire room had stopped to watch us reunite. Well, that was embarrassing.
“Come on then,” Ryder groaned as he tipped his back and looked up at the roof. He led me back into the centre of the dance floor, where Indie was laughing with Linc.
“Didn’t get very far, did you?” She smirked as we came to a stop beside her.
“Stevens made us stay for the crowning.” I leant into Ryder’s chest, his arms snaking around my waist, holding me tight.
We stood and watched the stage, waiting as the music died down and the lights dimmed. I felt Ryder’s breath against my shoulder. I smiled as I enjoyed being back in his arms. Two months was too long.