“Yes, you do. I’m going to do everything I can to keep you near, Kimber. I don’t intend to ever let you go again.”
When he said things like that, she felt like swooning. “That’s one thing you’re not going to have to worry about. As far as I’m concerned, you saved me from my former life. I’m not going anywhere.”
When he kissed her again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.
CHAPTER 35
“A merry heart does good like medicine.”
—Proverbs 17:22
The gym was covered with a ton of white tulle, streamers, glitter, and about a thousand stars hanging from the ceiling. Obviously a bunch of kids and probably just as many moms had spent all day decorating the place.
Jeremy supposed it was real pretty. The lights were dim, the music was good, and everyone looked like they were having a great time.
Unfortunately he was starting to wish he hadn’t come. It was now a quarter to nine. Bethany said she would be there by now but she wasn’t. He didn’t blame her for being stuck at rehearsal, but he still wished she would have at least texted him or something.
At first, after going to Finn’s dinner and arriving with the popular senior’s huge group of friends, Jeremy had been feeling pretty good. No one had questioned why Bethany had to arrive late. Instead, everyone had acted impressed—both with the fact that she had a starring role in the ballet and that he was her date.
But after a while, everyone had started dancing and he was now standing by himself near the door.
He felt like a loser.
He was pretty sure that out of everyone in the room, he was the only person who was standing alone. He hated that.
“Jeremy, are you okay?” Mrs. Keeperman asked as she approached.
His favorite teacher, who usually only wore baggy khaki pants, old-school Converse tennis shoes, and sweaters was dressed up in a dark-purple dress. She was even wearing high heels and red lipstick. It was enough to spin him out of the cycle he’d been living in for the last two hours. “Wow, Mrs. K. You look great.”
She rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s been teasing me from the moment I got here. That’s what I get for not wearing my usual clothes.”
He shrugged. “Maybe so, but you still look nice.” Feeling like a dork, he said, “Are you having a good time?”
“Even though I’ve almost tripped twice, I’m pretty sure that I’m having a better time than you are. You look like you’d rather be anywhere else.”
“I’m okay.”
“I could have sworn that you had a date for this shindig. Did I get that wrong . . . ? Or did something happen?”
“No. I do have a date. I mean, I thought I did . . .” His voice drifted off. What was there to say, anyway? He had a plastic container holding a flower corsage in one hand and a silent cell phone in the other. If Bethany had been trying to get a hold of him, she would’ve by now. “I’m probably not going to stay very long.”
Her expression sobered even more. “For what it’s worth, I’m sure sorry about whatever happened. But I’m glad you came here anyway.”
“Why’s that?” The words escaped before he could stop them.
Mrs. Keeperman shrugged. “I’ve always thought we get too much credit for doing the easy stuff. Who cares if you do things that everyone expects you to do or always say the right thing because no one will get mad? But doing that hard stuff? The things that hurt and cause pain and maybe even make someone think twice about you? Well, that’s what counts in the end. At least that’s what I’ve always thought.”
Had he done that? Thinking about learning to survive those other foster placements, it had been hard. Learning to trust Gunnar enough to be himself? That had been harder, but it had been worth it.
Was he doing that now, believing in Bethany and waiting around for her even though she might never show up? Maybe, but he wasn’t sure about that. “Uh, thanks?”
She chuckled. “No problem.” She looked like she was about to say something more but groaned instead. “Oh, great. I just got flagged over by Mr. Pauly. He better not be about to ask me to hunt down some wandering kids. My feet are going to kill me.”
She left without another word, but her grumpy statement had sparked a smile out of him. It looked like she’d been taking her own advice and her “hard stuff” was walking around the gym in high heels.
“Jeremy, what’s going on?” Phillip called out as he and three other guys approached. “Did you not see us waving for you to come over?”
“Sorry, no. I was um just talking to Mrs. Keeperman.”
“We saw,” Mark, another one of his buddies, said. “We decided we better come get you.”
“Why?” He realized then that their dates weren’t standing nearby. Like not at all. “Wait, where are your dates?”
“Ellie, Carson, and Alyssia ran to the bathroom together,” Mark said. “I don’t know where everyone else is.”
“Bethany’s over near the back,” Phillip said.
“What? I didn’t see her come in.”
“That’s what I told her. She walked in the back door and was looking for you. When I saw you were up here, I told her I’d come get you.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
Phillip grinned as they started walking through the crowd. “By the way, you owe me.”
“Because?”
“Because Erik Mason has been circling her like a shark. It’s obvious that she’s sick of him already.”
Craning his head, Jeremy switched from trying to locate Bethany to searching for Erik—who was one of the few guys in the school who made sure to tell Jeremy that he didn’t hang out with foster kids. “What’s Erik been doing? Has he been touching her or something?”
“Not anymore,” Connor said. “When he tried to put his arm around her waist, she glared at him.”
“Good. I can’t believe all this has been happening while I was on the other side of the gym.”
“It doesn’t matter. She came here to be your date.”
“Yeah.”
Phillip pulled him over to the side. “Look, I’ve got to go. Carson’s coming back. But listen, Carson has told me what Bethany’s told her. She really likes you, man. You need to stop worrying so much, it’s all good now.”
He nodded as the guys left. Some of their dates looked his way, but to his surprise, none of them were looking at him like they wished he was dead. Instead, a couple of them even almost smiled.