Luckily the line isn’t too long right now—the Plaza bartenders are on top of it.
“Olivia.”
I turn, and my feet drop through the floor. It’s Adam. Adam is here, so close to me, and that same memory from the gym overwhelms me. That’s the last time we were this close. I can’t help how breathless I sound. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Then he grins. “I’m really glad you came. Honestly I didn’t think you would.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t planning on it. Lorraine convinced me.”
“Good thing she did.”
My body lights up with joy because he wanted to see me. But then I go cold. Is he making fun of me? Is this some kind of joke with Sasha? If Lorraine is right and people like Sasha never change, then what if Adam is the same too? What if it’s all another cruel joke?
“How have you been?” he asks quietly, and he glances down toward my hands. I stretch my fingers and the bracelet Lor gave me jingles. Probably just distracted by it.
I nod. “Pretty good. I was…very nervous about coming here.”
“Why?”
I laugh. “You really have to ask that?”
“I suppose not.”
“I have a life I really like,” I say, word vomit spilling out of me before I can stop it. “I moved on from all of this, so I wasn’t sure that I wanted to bring that back into my life.”
“I get that,” he says, and for a second we’re quiet. I move forward a place in line and Adam moves with me, hands in his pockets. “Listen, I—”
“ADAM!” There are whoops and hollers and I stumble out of the way as we’re swarmed by four members of what used to be the basketball team. A bunch of guys surround Adam, giving him overly amped up hugs and clapping him on the back. He looks as startled as I do, and I wish we hadn’t been interrupted. I wanted to hear what he has to say.
Adam glances at me apologetically, and says hello to his friends. It’s at that moment that they all decide to notice that I’m standing there. “Damn, Olivia!” It’s coming from a guy whose name I think is Brandon. “You got hot.”
“Yeah, when did that happen?” Another guy asks. “I’d be happy to take you home and—”
“Okay.” Adam interrupts.
Oh my god. Oh my god I can’t win. I have guys telling me I’m not attractive enough to spend the night with and then I have assholes telling me how fuckable I am because I have a pretty face.
“Come with us,” Brandon says. “We trying to get the Plaza to set up a hoop at that end of the ballroom and get the band back together.”
A third from the group puts his hand on Adam’s shoulder and tries to guide him away, but he shrugs the hand off. “No thanks, guys. I’m in the middle of a conversation. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Seriously?” guy number three asks. Jason, maybe? And then he whispers far too loudly for me not to hear. “I mean, I know she’s hot, but it’s Olivia Mitchell.”
I feel myself flush red, and I watch Adam’s face go white with anger. “Fuck off, man.”
The guy backs up, hands raised in surrender. “Whatever. Come find us when you want some fun.” He looks me up and down, and I feel sick, the look on his face somehow conveying want and disgust at the same time.
“Go,” Adam says, and they leave. One of them nearly trips over a chair. It’s possible that they might be drunk already. “Are you all right?”
Again, I’m having déjà vu. He said those same words to me that day in the gym. I couldn’t believe that he intervened for me then, and I’m honestly having a hard time believing that he did it just now. It seems like way too good to be true.
“I guess so,” I say. “Thank you for doing that. It was uncomfortable.”
“No kidding.” He shakes his head.
Finally up to the bar, I order a glass of wine. When I turn around, Adam is right there, so close. Closer than he was standing just a second ago. He reaches out and takes my hand. “I’d like to talk to you, if that’s all right. About that night and some other stuff. But I’d like to do it where we won’t be interrupted again.”
My heart is pounding in my chest, and I’m not sure that I can breathe or speak right now so I just nod. He looks down again, holding up my hands and sweeping his thumb across my wrists. “Thank you.”
I’m not sure about the wrist thing. Maybe he’s developed a wrist fetish in the last ten years, but honestly I’ve heard of weirder stuff and there’s nothing at all in this moment that’s going to stop me from saying yes.
Adam guides me toward the door and that perfect summer air. From across the room I see Lorraine’s jaw drop open. I manage to send her a tiny wave before we disappear out of the ballroom through a balloon arch that’s way too similar to the one that was at prom. The last time I saw Adam.
7
Ollie
Prom Night
“Tighter.” Lorraine pushes out all the air in her lungs, and I try to pull the laces of her corset tighter.
“I really think that’s it,” I say.
She sighs. “Fine, I suppose that’s good.” She reaches insider the top edge of the crimson corset and adjusts her boobs so that they’re practically falling out of it.
I look at myself in the mirror. The dress I ended up choosing is purple, and it’s pretty much the opposite of Lorraine’s. Mine has a lacy collar around the neck and no cleavage. It’s floor length too. I really love the way this dress looks, but I don’t want the attention that Lorraine does. I didn’t even want to come, really. My nose is still healing from the last event I attended with the whole school.
“Ollie, relax. Try to have fun.”
“I will.”
“You could dance with Adam.”
I immediately flush bright red, “That’s not going to happen.”
“Fine. But I’m still saying that you could.” She smirks at me in the mirror. “I promise that we can dance with each other later. Just as soon as I finish dancing with Joey Lancaster. He’s going to notice how fucking sexy I look tonight.” Those last words are more for her than for me.
“I’ll hold you to it,” I say.
“Perfect,” she says, sweeping out the door. “Wish me luck!”
“Luck,” I say softly even though she’s already gone. I run some water over my hands, hesitating. All night people have been asking me how my nose is. If they were just asking me how I’m doing it would be fine. It’s the laughter after they ask that gets me. But Lorraine is right, if I’m already here, I might as well try to go out and enjoy it.
The hallway of the school is dark, and I can hear the music thumping in the gym as I head down the hall. Sasha is in the doorway and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her look so pissed. I’m thinking about ducking back down the hallway when she spots me. Instantly her entire face changes. “Hi, Ollie!”
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Sasha say my name before, but it sounds strange. Only people who know me really well call me Ollie. Finishing the length of hallway before I reach the door feels like it takes forever. I’m kind of hoping that I can just go inside and she doesn’t want to talk to me, but of course I don’t have that kind of luck.