“We’re what?” Raine asks, her voice picking up at the end, her light brows furrowing.
“You know what, I’ll let Ryland explain, but you have to hurry! We don't have a lot of time to get ready. So, make it snappy, and then meet me upstairs.”
Olivia rushes past me in a blur, and once the door shuts, Raine starts making her way up the front porch stairs. I can’t get a read on her, and I pray silently that she’s not upset. What should I say? What do I do with my hands?
She stops in front of me, her grayish-blue eyes staring up at me, and I want to reach out and touch her so badly, but what if she doesn’t want me to? For the first time since we started dating, I don’t know what to do around her.
“We’re going to prom?” she finally asks, breaking the silence.
I swallow hard and pull out another paper towel to dab at my upper lip. She smiles
then, big enough to reveal all her white teeth, and it's enough to lift the weight off my chest. She takes the paper towel from my hands and starts to pat against my whole face.
“Yeah,” I reply, my eyes staying on hers, watching every expression that passes on her face.
“We are going to prom even though Davis basically took all my paychecks lately and refused to let me buy a prom dress? Even though we both agreed that prom is dumb and we’ll just hang out here instead?”
“Yeah,” I repeat because apparently all other words have left my brain.
“And you're sweating because you think I’m going to be upset with you?”
“Yeah.” This time, I’m able to give her a smirk. “Because I knew deep down that you didn’t think prom was dumb and that you actually wanted to go.”
“You know me too well.” She places the soaked paper towel into my hand before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me closer to her. “How are we going to prom? I don’t have a dress or?—”
“I took care of everything,” I admit. Her smile drops, and she goes to take a step back, but I won’t let her. I bring her closer to me and run my hands up her jaw until I can finally run my fingers through her hair. It feels like a small victory as I see her skin pebbling beneath my touch.
“How?” she asks, but before I explain, I pull her head toward me until our lips are together. She doesn’t need to know that I spent some of my savings on renting this suit or how I asked her grandparents for help to pull this off. Or that Johanna and I went and picked out her dress together, finding the perfect one, and had Olivia help find the right accessories and whatever else girls need for prom.
All she needs to know is how much I love her and that I would do absolutely anything to bring a smile to her face. Like the one she’s blessing me with right now as I pull away from our kiss.
“I’d do anything for you, Rainbow,” I say, tracing her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “Now, you need to go get ready. They’re waiting for you upstairs in your grandparents’ room.”
It took the girls an hour to get ready. An hour. I didn’t think we were going to make it in time for dinner before the dance started. It took me all of fifteen minutes to pull on my suit, have Pops fix my tie, and Earl made sure my shoes were shiny and ready to go. I added a bit of gel in my hair to keep it in place and squirted a bit of cologne on. Things are simpler for men, I guess.
All my complaints go out the window the moment Raine makes her way down the stairs. Much like those slow-motion scenes from the chick flicks Raine’s had me watch with her a few times, watching her walk toward me in the flowy rainbow-colored dress I picked out has the same effect on me. She has her hair pulled back into a braid with some of the flowers Johanna picked placed throughout her hair.
Pops reaches over and pushes my mouth shut, chuckling with Earl and earning a scolding look from me before I return my attention back to my girlfriend.
I hold her gaze as she makes her way toward me. I take this rare moment and memorize every detail, because if this is all I ever get with Raine, I want it seared in my mind like a cattle brand to become a permanent part of me.
“What do you think?” she whispers, her trembling hands finding mine.
I bend down to say in her ear, “Things I shouldn’t say in front of the old men.”
She giggles before Earl walks over and steals a hug from her. His eyes are a bit misty, and Pops and I share a grin. “Quit hogging her, you old sap,” Pop grumbles and pulls Raine into a hug, whispering something in her ear before pulling back and patting his best friend on the shoulder.
“Now, don’t you dare leave without us getting some photos!” I hear my mom announce as she jogs down the stairs with a camera in her hand. Olivia follows behind her, wearing a shimmery green dress, her red hair in waves thatflow down one shoulder. She gives me a wave before making her way to stand next to Raine.
“Hang on, you all need these corsages before we get photos!” Johanna shouts from the top of the stairs.
My patience is running a bit thin as it takes ten minutes to get the corsages right, another fifteen minutes to snap photographs, and another five for hugs to be given. Raine laughs as she looks up at me, sensing my frustration, and gives my hand a light squeeze, grounding me with her touch.
Finally, we make our way toward the door, tossing a last goodbye over our shoulders, only to come to a halt at the sight of Raine’s mother walking into the living room.
“Mom?” Raine freezes next to me, her fingers clamping down on mine, a look of panic washing over her.
My first instinct is to look for Davis but I don’t see any signs of him. My next move is to place Raine behind me, to protect her from whatever her mother is about to do or say. But to my surprise, her mother gives everyone a nervous wave and smiles at Raine. I peer over at Johanna and Earl and see the small smiles that spread across their faces and feel the tension leave the room, at least for me anyway. However, Raine stays completely still.
