Somewhere in the Middle (8 page)

"And there's Gem-ny."

"Gemini. Go, you!" Now I gave him a kiss.

"And that's Leo Minor," said Roone.

I nodded. "Another right answer. You guys are amazing."

Roone tilted his head slightly. "Don't I get a kiss, too?"

Eli giggled like the little kid he was. "Kiss him, Everly. Just like
you did me."

How would I survive this night? I gave Roone a quick kiss on the
cheek, or tried to. Since he turned his head just as I got there, it
landed on the corner of his mouth. That shocked the hell out of me.
Didn't he know that little brothers never forgot?

Eli doubled over, laughing hysterically.

"Was that the doorbell?"
Please, God. Let that be the doorbell.
I ran as best I could to the sliding storm door and went inside just as
Dayna's parents and brothers stepped into our foyer.

"They kissed! They kissed!" Eli jumped all over the place in his
glee.

Mortified, I turned to apologize to Roone, but when I realized he was
laughing his butt off I glared at him instead and then zoned in on my
little brother. "Only because you begged me to." I popped him lightly on
the top of the head to make a joke of the whole thing. But the damage had
been done. My dad had morphed into Sylvester with his mouth full of
Tweety Bird. Yeah, I watched Looney Tunes classics, and at the moment
could almost see yellow feathers sticking out of my father's smirking
mouth. "Can we please get on with this and get out of here?"

"Of course." Mom flashed a sympathetic smile as she ushered everyone
into the den. There they took pictures and more pictures of us standing
in front of the fireplace with its mantel all sparkly and decorated for
the holidays. My handiwork, of course. Mom didn't have time for stuff
like that at the moment beyond baking Christmas cookies every time she
had a spare second. That sometimes meant sugar sprinkles at midnight.

"Are we done?" I'd just about had enough.

Mom nodded. "I am."

"Me, too," said Dayna's dad.

At last. "Excellent, let's go." I grabbed my stuffed hobo bag, which
so didn't match my dress. That didn't matter. I was going to lock it in
the trunk when we got to the dance, which was being held at the McAlister
Country Club across town.

"Where's your coat?" asked Roone.

"Not wearing one."

"Me, either," said Dayna. "It's not that cold and would definitely
ruin the look."

After hugs all around, we finally escaped into the night. I offered
Roone my key ring. "Please don't wreck my car."

He backed up a couple steps in obvious horror. "I have to drive?"

"You don't want to?" That got me. What boy wouldn't want to drive a
classic Trans Am?

"No, I do. I just..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

I slapped the keys into his hand. He opened my door so I could sit in
the passenger seat, a move that probably gave him a peek at my undies
since I did it rather awkwardly. That told me I should've practiced more
than just walking before he got there.

Roone folded himself into the driver's seat, but only after letting it
all the way back to accommodate his long legs. After buckling up, he took
a moment to familiarize himself with everything. I used that time for a
closer look at him. I saw that he'd worked on his hair, which lay
slightly smoother than usual. And his tie was perfectly tied, not easy to
do.

"How'd you get this so neat?" I asked, tugging on it.

"
YouTube
. I had no idea there were so many how-tos on that
site. And other cool stuff, too. You could waste hours there."

He was just discovering
YouTube
? "Believe me, a lot of people
do. I'm sorry about my family. They obviously don't understand that
embarrassing me also embarrasses you."

"I wasn't embarrassed."

"Oh. Well, good. Do you know how to get to the dance?"

"I Googled it while I was on the internet today."

Gavin, who'd parked on the street, honked his horn as he and Dayna
took off. Roone started the engine and put my car in gear, backing us
down the drive and then heading us toward the country club. Though I
wasn't that eager to get there, I still wished he'd drive a little
faster. "You don't have to poke along. This is a sports car."

"Right." He sped up slightly.

By the time we got to the club, which looked like a southern
plantation from the outside, I had to admit that my amazing un-boyfriend
drove like a granny. I could've sworn he looked both ways three times at
every stop sign. And he never reached the speed limit, much less went
over it. So it was with relief that I got out of my car once he finally
parked it and opened my door. We locked my bag in the trunk. He pocketed
my keys.

When we got to the veranda, we found Gavin and Dayna waiting there.
She was hugging her bare arms and jumping up and down to keep warm. "What
took you guys so long?"

I gave her a hard look. "Roone was getting used to the car."

Rolling her eyes, she shoved her boyfriend toward the front door.
Roone automatically reached for my arm to assist me with the steps,
catching himself before he actually did it.

"Tonight you can help," I told him, my gaze on my shoes.

He offered his arm, bent at the elbow. I slipped my hand through it.
In moments we were inside the toasty ballroom which could've been a
fairyland of twinkling lights. Since I'd never been there before, I
turned slowly to take in everything from the vaulted ceiling to the
ornate fireplace. The ballroom, though enormous, was jam packed with
students in formals and tuxes, most of them dancing to music so loud my
ear drums throbbed.

"They've got to be breaking at least four fire codes," said Gavin, who
was taking a little look-see of his own. "Dennis would flip if he could
see this." He as good as shouted the words to make himself heard above
the din.

I motioned for Roone to tip his head towards me so I could yell in his
ear. "His stepdad's a fireman." Roone, his gaze glued to our gyrating
classmates, nodded that he'd heard me.

Only then did I notice that he didn't seem nearly as at ease as he had
earlier. In fact, he was definitely out of his element if the pulse
pounding in his neck was any indication. Since I was out of mine, too, I
once again slipped my arm through his and led him as far away from the DJ
as I could without leaving the room.

"We don't have to dance if you don't want to." I didn't have to yell
this distance from the speakers.

"Huh?"

Or maybe I did. I repeated what I'd just said, only a little
louder.

"Just give me a minute. I'll get the hang of it." His gaze darted
around the room for several long moments.

During that time, every classmate who hadn't put two and two together
at school last week did so now. Susan Fincher even had the nerve to
approach me and say, "You two are really a pair?"

"Yes." Was that a thrill of pride I felt at saying those words? If so,
I was as shallow as she was and a whole lot less truthful.

Or not.

The thrill of pretending with Roone really had little relation to how
amazing he looked tonight. I mean, I'd felt his magnetism Thursday and
Friday, too, when we were simply being ourselves. In fact, if I were
really being honest, getting to know him had been a wicked sweet
experience from the start, and I was actually looking forward to the
night and weeks ahead.

Just then, JR walked up with his faithful sidekick Bryan right behind.
His sullen gaze flicked from me to Roone and then back to me. "Thought
you two weren't hooking up."

"Things change."

He pouted a little. "Want to dance?"

My chin dropped. "I'm with--"

"Me," said Roone. He took my hand in his. "Okay. Let's dance."

"Oh!"

Roone walked us straight onto the dance floor, a matter of taking two
whole steps that nonetheless left JR and Bryan behind. More
self-conscious than I'd been in my entire life, I began to move to the beat,
as did he. Neither of us looked at each other, and all I could think
about was my feet, which were already hurting. That made the whole thing
nothing but weird. The next song was a slow song. Roone winced and
started toward the wall.

I grabbed his wrist to stop him. "No you don't. This is the easy
part." Slipping my hands around his middle--he was too tall for anything
else--I stepped up close. "Put your arms around me." He did. "Now we do
this."

He caught on very quickly, and I felt him relax as we slowly moved,
our bodies pressed together and my cheek over his thudding heart. Somehow
we wound up in the center of a room so crowded I could barely breathe.
Thank goodness I wasn't claustrophobic. I'd have had to escape.

Roone suddenly tensed and looked up. Naturally my gaze followed his to
a crystal chandelier as big as my kitchen table that was suspended from
an arched beam high overhead.

A weird sound made us exchange a baffled glance. Other dancers clearly
tried to place the noise, but only those nearest to us. Bruno Mars's
soulful voice drowned it out for everyone else. I heard it again--a
metallic ripping that gave me the shivers. Couples began parting and
glancing around uneasily.

Suddenly that massive chandelier high overhead dipped a little on one
side. I heard gasps and muted screams. The cluster of dancers directly
below tried to move out from under it, but couldn't since the mass of
dancers encircling us were still oblivious.

The light dropped a little more.

"Move it! Move it!" Guys in the middle began to shoulder students
aside to widen center floor space. But the tiny area they cleared wasn't
even in danger. As we watched, the chandelier abruptly gave way. I
ducked, screaming, my arms over my head, but my eyes still focused above
me. Peripherally, I caught Roone flicking his left hand slightly to the
right. The chandelier instantly swung in that direction and then crash
landed in the only spot where no one stood.

God, what a sound. Metal slamming against wood. Glass shattering. My
ears rang with it.

In the chaos that followed I found myself separated from my date for a
couple of minutes, but my gaze stayed glued to him. Through narrowed
eyes, I studied his demeanor and expression. Was that a hint of a smirk?
Instantly, more questions popped into my head. Had I seen what I thought
I'd seen? And was I the only one who had?

"Everly!" Roone pushed his way to me, his expression now appropriately
solemn. "Damn. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Was that close or what?"

"Close. Very freakin' close."

For the longest time we stared into each other's eyes with all hell
breaking loose around us. Did he know I knew what he'd done?

More important, had he really done it?

The earsplitting squeal of the DJ's mic jerked me back to the present.
One of the chaperones, Ms. Bracken who taught art, now held it to her
lips. "Please remain calm. There is no need to panic. Are there any
injuries?"

"No."

"We're okay."

"It's all good."

"That was so scary!"

"Anyone who needs assistance should go to the chaperone's corner now,
please. As for everyone else, the dance is temporarily suspended while we
sort things out, but there are refreshments across the hall and chimineas
on the back terrace. We'll let you know when it's all right to come back
into the ballroom."

It took a while for everyone to get out of there. Roone and I walked
slowly with the crowd, our shoes crunching on shattered crystal
pendalogues. Then we had to wait our turn to squeeze through the double
doors and into the teeming hall. I took a deep breath of relief. "Whew.
How's the refreshment room looking?"

Roone, who could see better, took stock. "Very crowded."

"Then let's hit the patio."

"Good idea."

"I should warn you that there'll probably be couples making out in the
dark. Especially since all the grownups are so distracted."

"I think I can handle it."

The huge brick terrace was a sight to see. Two chimineas burned at
opposite corners, with wrought iron furniture scattered across the area
between them. Each table sported an illuminated poinsettia, and twinkling
Christmas lights outlined the surrounding low brick wall as well as the
steps leading onto a beautifully landscaped lawn. Without even talking
about it, we walked across the terrace and down the steps. As usual,
Roone helped me.

We wandered toward the gazebo, but didn't go in it. Instead we stood
nearby and watched the other couples spilling out the door. Sure enough
many--as in most--were soon kissing in the shadows. I pointed to Dayna
and Gavin, who were among them.

Roone softly laughed. "We kind of stick out."

"I did warn you."

"Maybe we should...?" He tucked his finger under my chin.

I tensed. "Really? Wouldn't that be against the rules?"

"Whose?"

"Your dad's for starters."

Roone frowned. "Please tell me you didn't hear us arguing last
night."

"I would, but I hate to lie."

Now he groaned. "I am so, so sorry. He really likes you."

"As a typist, sure. As his son's un-girlfriend, not so much."

"Just so you know, I have a mind of my own. And while I try to learn
from my father, sometimes his ways just don't work for me. So forget
about any rules you think he might have, okay?"

"Okay."

Roone closed the distance between us and lowered his head. I met him
halfway, standing on tiptoe even though I wore shoes that gave me four
extra inches. Our lips touched. Once. Twice. And then again. Suddenly I
was caught up in an embrace so tight it hurt my ribs. I didn't care. In
fact, I barely noticed. When he finally let me go I stepped back, my
heels sinking deep into the winter grass. All at once fluttery on the
inside and definitely weak in the knees, I somehow managed to hold onto
Roone to pull my feet free. He was just so...there. Big and tall and
smelling like heaven on earth.