Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

again and we locked eyes for a brief minute. Though we’d spent a lot of effort to make the evening so exquisite, all I wanted to do was go somewhere, just the two of us, and talk. In his eyes, I read he wanted the same thing. But the tide of dresses and suits swept us out the door toward the limo.
    “ Oh, wait,” Gran called behind me and I turned. She draped the white fur over my shoulders. “Have fun, Dear.” Her soft hand wrapped around mine briefly and I smiled as she kissed me on the cheek.
    “ Thank you, Gran.”
    For a moment her eyes twinkled. She joined the line of parents on the porch as they called out well wishes. I waved and got into the luxurious limo, anxious to experience my first ride.
    Georgia got in on the other side and snuggled in next to Jeremy. Then the iPhone party began: photos, texting, videos—you name it. Georgia’s gleeful banter kept the limo relatively warm in spite of Kylie’s insipid chill. Kylie ended up moving to the other end of the limo with Evan, engrossed with the screen of her cell phone. Shannon, on the other hand, cooed and posed under Dustin’s arm. I watched the comedic interaction, distracted by Callahan’s gentle fingers entwining and playing with mine, his breath tickling my ear. The driver watched through his rear view mirror with a shake of his head.
    “ Ready to go?” he asked gruffly.
    Callahan nodded and we were off. I leaned deeper into his shoulder and Georgia eventually stopped talking and turned on the radio.
    “ You look awesome,” he whispered again, tucking me under his arm.
    I looked down at my corsage. Delicate flowers made of gems lay hidden in the greenery. “Thank you.”
    “ Geez, Ash—you seriously need a Facebook account. I can’t tag you on anything,” Georgia whined, her fingers moving over the touch screen.
    “ Yeah, well . . .” I sighed. She already knew my parents were techno-tards.
    “ Do you want to drive around for a little bit?” the driver asked through the window between the front seat and us. “Or go straight to the country club?”
    We glanced around at one another, no one voicing an opinion.
    I shrugged and finally said, “Sure, why not?”
    Kylie cleared her throat. “If we’re late, the line for pictures will be out the door. We should go now. I am on the committee after all.” She batted her eyelashes at Evan for support.
    Georgia chimed in. “Do we really need to go to the country club now? Can’t we at least drive around for thirty minutes and get our money’s worth? We’ve only got the limo until eleven—pictures can wait.”
    “ That sounds good to me,” Shannon said.
    Callahan and Dustin agreed. Evan remained silent, which angered Kylie further.
    “ Fine. Whatever.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, side swiping Evan in the face. “I was just thinking of everyone else since I do have privileges , so you’ll just have to enjoy the line.”
    Privileges?
    She began texting, I’m sure to tattle to someone that we were holding her hostage. When her phone buzzed with a return exchange, she cackled and looked straight at me. The others might have finally noticed her visual assault, but another limo zipped by, its occupants hanging out of the sunroof, causing a major ruckus.
    Georgia laughed and began to open our own sunroof. I grabbed her knee. “You’ll mess up your hair.”
    Kylie snorted and looked at her phone. We both glared at her. “I’m laughing at my text message.”
    Sure you are. I was glad her acidity finally crossed into someone else’s territory.
    I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding for what lay ahead. Deep down, though incredibly sweet, I wished Callahan hadn’t nominated me, especially now with Kylie in our limo. Who in their right mind would agree to this arrangement? Evan was clearly not thinking. He should have never made his date share a limo with Callahan, her best friend’s ex, and me, her best friend’s competition for Senior Ball Queen. Ridiculous.
    Instead, I ignored her and focused my gaze out the window at the lake, breathing in Callahan’s glorious scent. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know she bothered me. Callahan responded the way I needed, unaware of my internal battle, and wrapped his arms around me, causing my heart to beat faster for good reasons.

22
ASH

    When we arrived, Kylie jumped from the limo with Evan in tow, and proceeded past the swarm of people—never to return.