Lana's Ex Prom Date Page 14

  I look up into the eyes of the boy I’ve known my whole life, the boy I’d trust with my life.

  “Lana,” he says slowly.

  I grin. “Are you going to be cheesy about this?”

  “Oh you bet I am,” he says with a nod. “It’s the only way to stop myself from puking in fear.”

  “You don’t need to be afraid of me,” I say.

  He gnaws on his bottom lip. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Heat rushes to my cheeks, and my heart seems to skip a beat. I’d never realized how badly I wanted to hear those words until they were spoken. It’s always been Bennet. All along it was him, and I just never realized it.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” I say, smirking at him through my eyelashes.

  “Oh that’s so mean.” Bennet’s eyes crinkle at the corners and he steps a little closer, his hands sliding over my waist.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “Yes, you’re being mean?”

  I grin. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

  Chapter 29

  The day after prom

  I wake up feeling hung over even though I didn’t drink and I’ve never been hungover in my life. But judging by how people look on movies when they’ve drank too much, I feel hung over. It’s no doubt from the whirlwind of emotions last night. Emotions are worse than alcohol.

  I’m still in bed, staring up at the ceiling. My pillow smells faintly of hairspray left over from last night. I’d been so happy that I barely made it to the bathroom to wash off my makeup before I crashed in bed. I hadn’t bothered with my hair, and now it probably looks insane, but who cares.

  Last night was magical.

  After, you know, all the drama.

  Bennet and I went back to the dance floor and danced our hearts out. I no longer felt nervous around him, and I think he was the same with me. We laughed and talked and held hands every time we weren’t dancing. The best part of the night was the very end. Around eleven, Toby found us where we’d sat at an empty table with Ashlyn.

  “Hey guys,” he said, clearing his throat. “Lana, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  I glanced at Bennet, but he nodded for me to go with Toby. There was an understanding now, that Toby wasn’t a threat to this new thing between Bennet and me.

  I stood up and Toby didn’t walk very far away, just a few steps. “I take it the talk went well?” he said.

  I nodded. “Very well. He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

  Toby smiled, the same look that used to make me swoon now made me feel a little sad. He was happy for me, happy things worked out, even if his own life wasn’t so great.

  “I have an idea,” he said, nodding toward a group of his friends at a nearby table. “Some of the guys didn’t have dates, so I asked to ride home with them. They want to hit up Josh Branson’s house and have a party afterward. Why don’t you and Bennet take the limo back home?”

  “I can’t do that,” I said. “It’s your limo.”

  He shrugged. “It’s all fake for my parents. They paid for the damn thing,” he said with a laugh. “I think you should use it. Go home with the guy who should have been your prom date.”

  I glanced over at Bennet. He was talking to Ashlyn. “Okay,” I said. “We’ll take it.”

  “Great,” Toby beamed. “I already told the driver you’d be taking it with a friend.”

  He turned back to the table and said goodbye to my friends.

  “I like that guy,” Bennet said as Toby walked off. “He’s grown on me.”

  “Well, you might like him even more,” I said. “He just gave us his limo for the ride home.”

  “Oh sweet!” Ashlyn said, clapping her hands together. “That means I get to drive the Mustang!”

  Bennet glared at her, but after a lecture about how to treat his precious car, he finally gave Ashlyn the keys. That ride home in the limo with Bennet is what’s on my mind now.

  It was so romantic. We snuggled together in the back seat, watching the starry sky through the sun roof as we drove across town. Everything had been perfect, and I thought it was the moment we’d share our first kiss.

  After all, it doesn’t get more romantic than kissing under the stars in a fancy limo. But it didn’t happen. We held hands, and I rested my cheek on his chest. We didn’t talk much, and then the next thing I knew, we were pulling onto Forth Street.

  “I guess we should call it a night,” Bennet had said after walking me to my front door. “This wasn’t exactly the prom night I had in mind, but I like the way it turned out.”

  “Me too,” I said. Every inch of my body was nervous. This was it, right? The moment I’d get my first kiss with Bennet?

  But it didn’t happen. He took a step backward, smiled, and then gave a little wave before turning and jogging down my porch steps. I stood there and watched him walk past Ashlyn’s house, and up the sidewalk and then into his own house.

  And now it’s the next day and I can’t stop reliving that moment. After all these years of friendship, I guess I thought we wouldn’t take it slow when we decided to date. But now I’m all tangled up inside and I can’t stand the not knowing. Did Bennet want to kiss me, too? Did he even think about it?

  What if things don’t change at all now that we’re together? I don’t want Bennet to have the title of being my boyfriend if all we’re going to do is keep acting like best friends.

  I roll over in bed and check the time. It’s only seven-thirty and it’s way too early to wake up Ashlyn to talk about my problems. So I lie here, face up in bed, thinking about Bennet.

  And then my phone gets a new text message.

  Bennet: You awake?

  Me: Yes

  Bennet: come to the door

  I sit up in bed, and look over at my bedroom door, which is open and there’s no one standing in the hallway. My heartbeat quickens and I throw off the blankets and pad down to the front door. Mom is still asleep since it’s Sunday and it’s her only day off this week.

  I pull open the front door and Bennet is there. He’s in his pajamas, his hair all a mess from sleeping on it. It doesn’t matter that I’ve seen him in this very state of bedhead countless times before. Right now it’s definitely the cutest he’s ever looked.

  “Good morning,” he says, holding out a cup of coffee from Starbucks.

  “Starbucks?” I say, taking the cup. “But it’s so expensive.”

  He shrugs. “It’s worth it.”

  “What’s worth it?” I ask. Then I take a sip of my coffee.

  “That,” he says, pointing to me. “That smile you get when you drink the good stuff.”

  I didn’t even know I was smiling, but now I can’t stop it.

  “You got up early in the morning to bring me coffee?” I say, taking another sip. “That’s really sweet, but you don’t have to do stuff like that now that you’re my boyfriend.”

  “Oh, that isn’t why I got up early,” he says. “Seeing you smile is a bonus, but I’ve been up all night pretty much. I couldn’t sleep. So I waited until a reasonable time to come over here and do what I should have done last night.”

  My breath catches in my throat. “And what is that?”

  He gestures to the little table on our porch. “You might want to set your coffee down.”

  I do, bending over to carefully set down the cup on the rickety wooden surface. When I turn back toward Bennet, his strong arms swoop me off the ground.

  I squeal as I’m lifted up, my legs going around his waist. “Bennet!” I say, holding onto him.

  “I should have kissed you,” he whispers, his head tilting up to mine because I’m taller now that he’s holding me up. A warmth floods into my stomach as I stare into his eyes.

  “I wanted you to,” I admit, my voice also a whisper.

  “Let me make up for it.” His arms squeeze me closer, his eyes closing just before his lips touch mine.

  This time, the kiss is wanted. And I’m not the one making the first move. It’s real
, it’s powerful. As Bennet’s lips dance across mine, I feel every ounce of the love he has for me, all of it that he’s held back for so long, it all comes rushing forward. His feelings slam into me, bursting open my heart is such a sweet way that it actually begins to ache for him. This is my Bennet. He’s always been mine. I just took too long to realize it.

  There’s a hint of peppermint on his breath. His tongue slides across my bottom lip and everything inside of me awakens. I slide my hands through his hair and drink him in.

  My back crashes against the wall as Bennet presses me against it, his kisses more ravaging with each second. My body aches for him, for these tender moments that have been held back for far too long.

  I breathe him in, and thank the universe for bringing us together.

  His eyes twinkle as he smiles at me before going in for another kiss. We may not be good dancers, but we are wonderful at making out. He smells like coffee, and shampoo, and a little like freshly baked bread from his house. I realize in this moment, that he smells just like home.

  ***

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  About the Author

  Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, Ella's Twisted Senior Year, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She loves coffee, the beach, and swooning over book boyfriends.

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