I guess we have the cool parents, except they’re not necessarily cool; they’re tough as nails and strict beyond belief. They heightened their level of expectations, and our room for mess-ups is razor thin.
The minute Robert or my grades slip, we don’t help around either of the houses, or we give any form of lip, we are grounded from one another. Robert is allowed over Monday through Thursday, but he must be home by ten, and then home by five on Sundays. However, there is some flexibility in the schedule. Diane usually comes over to our house for dinner Sunday nights, and they stay till about nine.
I promised Liv before homecoming we could coordinate for prom, and she took it to mean winter formal as well. She really has become my best friend through all of this.
“Let’s go! Chop. Chop, missy. I wanna see your cute butt out here in thirty seconds.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a bit bossy?” I call out from the bathroom.
“All the damn time. Now let’s go.”
I round the corner and see her admiring herself one final time. She’s wearing a petal pink knee-length dress with off the shoulder cap sleeves and lace accents. She smooths over her full skirt and messes with her hair, making sure every strand is perfectly in place.
Her shrill pitch almost causes me to go deaf. “Hurry up! The guys are almost here, and I want a picture of the two of us. And don’t say we can get one when we get there because we both know Robert won't keep his hands off of you.”
I clear my throat, and she spins around; finally, a short-lived moment of silence.
“Pres, you look like a princess.”
“You don’t think it’s too much? I’ve never worn a dress like this before.” My dull satin, sky blue dress, hits right above my knees, spaghetti straps rest on my shoulders as the material widens and forms a deep plunging V-shaped neckline. Just like Liv, I have lace accents on the bodice and a few scattered on the full pleated skirt. Swarovski crystals follow along the neckline, and I left my hair down like Liv’s, opting for a beachy wave look.
“I’m so glad I talked you into getting that dress. We look amazing together.”
I laugh at her comment and do a little twirl, sending my skirt flaring out around me. As I stop, I notice Robert and Trey have both walked in. Trey kisses Liv on the cheek and Robert seems to be frozen, eyes wide, speechless as he runs a hand over his open mouth.
“Wow.” His eyes never leave me, and I feel myself start to blush.
“Liv, I don’t think you could get any prettier.” Trey is completely taken by her, and I think this may be the first time I have ever seen her get flustered as she leans into him, adjusting his tie as a way to keep the attention off of her.
“Aren’t you just my sweet teddy bear,” she says before leaving a pink lipstick mark on his cheek, which he happily leaves there.
Robert has finally made his way over to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me against his toned chest. Baseball practice is most certainly paying off.
“Hey, handsome.” I slide my hands up Robert’s abs, pecs, over his shoulders and up along his neck while his fingers gently massage their way up my spine.
“You look beautiful, Pres.” He cups my neck as he pulls me closer, his lips gently graze across mine, leaving little smacking sounds in between each eager peck.
“Where’s Marcus? I thought he was meeting us here so we could all ride together,” Liv asks.
“He said his date was running late, and he would meet us there,” Robert replied, helping me with my jacket.
“Anyone know who he’s bringing?” I ask, hesitantly.
“Nope,” Trey responded as he gently pulled Liv’s hair from her coat.
Usually, Marcus would be proudly boasting about his date, but the fact he’s kept deadly silent about her, causes us all to wonder.
We take a quick picture out in the snow and climb into Robert’s truck, thankful he left it running when they came inside to get us. It’s early February and one of the coldest days all winter. If pants were socially acceptable as formal attire, I would have definitely worn them, but Liv insisted on dresses.
As we ride to the school, all of us are trying to figure out who Marcus is bringing. Neither Liv nor I have heard anything, and ever since Christmas, Marcus seemed to stay away from the four of us, something about not wanting to feel like a fifth wheel and all.
“Honestly, I don’t know if he was even asked to formal,” Liv mentions, “there are more girls who hate him than actually like him.”
I do feel bad for him. Marcus is a good guy, but he plays the role of a cocky playboy. In reality, I’ve yet to see him with a single girl. Maybe I notice it because I’m the outsider of the group, but I really do hope Marcus is able to find happiness like the four of us have.
“Hey, Ladies.” I feel a hand on my lower back and spin around to see Marcus all smiles.
“Hey!” Liv gives Marcus a big hug and pulls away from him, admiring his suit before letting her mouth get away from her. “We were about to take bets to see if you would show up.”
“Why wouldn’t he show up? Once I knew he was free, I couldn’t wait to ask him.” Heather is standing behind Marcus now, a demonic grin on her face and disdain dripping from her words.
Liv shoots Marcus a look of disgust before walking off and yelling over her shoulder, “Seriously?”
Heather’s eyes rake over me as she looks back and forth between Robert and me. It isn’t long before I notice we are wearing the exact same dress however, she’s cut out the nude mesh lining holding the dress together where it splits, and her boobs are quite a bit larger than mine. Her cleavage is on full display. Could this night possibly get any worse?
“It’s nice to see you enjoying my sloppy seconds, Presley. Have you figured out his most sensitive spots yet? You know, the ones that cause him to stand at full attention within seconds?” She shoots me an evil, arrogant smirk before leaning into Robert, grazing his ear with her teeth before he pulls back from her.
A lump in my throat threatens to cut off my air supply, but I will not allow her to see me shaken by her words or her actions. Heather chuckles as she turns to walk away from us, but not before she drives her knife deeper in me, making sure to turn it as she goes. “Cute dress, by the way. However, I think it looks better on me.”
Rage burns in Robert’s eyes as he shoves Marcus hard against the wall. “What the hell!”
“Look, I’m sorry. But she asked, and I said yes. Whatever happened between the two of you is, well, between the two of you. I was trying to be a gentleman. Heather has been our friend for a long time, and I felt bad for her. She wanted to come to formal and didn’t have a date, so I said sure.”
Forget what I said earlier about feeling sorry for Marcus; he just landed himself on my shit list. He meets Heather out on the dance floor, and she follows him like a puppy out into the hall.
Robert attempts to wrap his arm around me, and I brush it off. He doesn’t get to touch me yet.
“Babe, I’m sorry. I had no idea he was gonna bring her. We can leave if you want to.”
He’s sorry she was here, not the fact he couldn’t control what was in his pants. “I’m going to find Liv.” I’m at least gonna attempt to have fun and salvage what’s left of the night.