Living Backwards (21 page)

“I need to get a picture of this,” my mother squealed. “Luke, can you pretend you’re putting the corsage on her wrist again?”

“Of course,” he replied looking up at me through his lashes. He tilted his head towards my mother, breaking our gaze at the last minute before the flash of the Polaroid blinded me.

“Okay, why don’t we just get a few shots over by the fireplace?” she suggested, shaking the damp photo in the air. “Jillian, you stand in front of Luke.”

“Mom, please,” I ground out through gritted teeth.

“Oh, come on, Jillian,” Luke added smoothly, “You don’t want something to remember this by?”

I stared in disbelief as he smirked at me. I was about to tell him he had already given me a lot to remember him by before he grabbed my hand and led me over to the fireplace. He stopped in front of it and spun me around so that my back was pressed against his chest. Resting his hands softly on my waist, he squeezed my hips lightly, in a way that wasn’t noticeable to anyone else but me. I felt my face flame once again as I recalled the last time he touched me that way.

“How is this, Mrs. Cross?” he asked innocently.

“I told you, Luke, call me Lucy,” she admonished.

“Sorry,” he corrected himself with a grin. “Lucy.”

“That’s much better,” she replied pointing the clunky camera at us. “Say ‘cheese’.”

“Root canal,” I sang at the same time Luke parroted his response.

“You’re going to hurt my feelings,” he whispered softly in my ear. “I thought you liked it when I touched you like this.”

“Okay, just one more,” my mom added as she finished shaking the shit out of the picture she had just taken. “And say ‘cheese’ this time, Jillian. Try to look enthusiastic.”

“Now, I know for a fact that you can be enthusiastic,” he whispered again. My eyes widened just as the flash went off.

“Perfect,” my mother exclaimed.

“So, Luke,” my father began, walking towards us with his hands in his pockets. “You drive a Lexus.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“A little fancy for a high school kid,” he added, staring out at the silver car in the driveway.

“Dad,” I warned him, knowing he was just seconds away from embarrassing me.

“Actually Mr. Cross, my uncle did some research and found it did well in crash tests. Since he works at the hospital and sees so many accidents, he wanted me to get the safest car possible,” he explained fluidly.

My dad nodded silently.

“Got a big backseat there, Luke?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes.

“Dad!” I exclaimed.

“What, Jill? I just want to know if he spends a lot of his time in his backseat. Do you, Luke?”

“Oh my God!” I fumed, grabbing Luke by the arm. “We’re leaving.”

“Have fun tonight, kids,” my mom called after us as I rushed towards the door. Before I slammed it shut, I saw the bulb flash one last time.

Luke opened the door to the car for me and I climbed in, my fists still clenched. He settled into the driver’s seat and glanced over at me.

“Was your dad asking me if I was planning on having sex with you in the backseat of my car?”

“Yes. Yes, I think he was. And we will never speak of it again,” I replied unable to look him in the eye.

“Great way to start off the evening,” he muttered, pulling out of the driveway. “I’ll try to make the stop at my house a little less painful.”

“Your aunt could be knitting baby blankets for us and it wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as that was.”

“Was that your attempt at lightening the mood?”

“Speaking of light. Joan really needs a refill. Can we stop off and grab something…anything? She hates going to a party empty-handed.”

“I haven’t seen that thing in a while. I thought you might be on the wagon.”

“Wagons are overrated,” I replied. “I hope you brought one too because I don’t want poor Joan to be dateless on prom night.”

“Sorry. I don’t think my flask is mature enough to date.” He was staring straight ahead, but I could see the smile playing on his lips. I couldn’t resist teasing him a little.

“I didn’t know you were such a prude, Luke.”

“I think you know I’m not, Jillian,” he said, turning toward me. The sweet smile that I had just witnessed was gone, replaced by something darker. We weren’t joking around anymore. I had been trying to keep it light, but he was messing with my ability to think straight.

“I still might need convincing,” I added, my voice sounding shaky as I tried to sound more confident than I was. I wasn’t pulling it off.

“While I’d love to convince you,” he replied, pulling up the gravel path to his house. “I’m pretty sure that my uncle has a camcorder aimed out the window so he can catch the whole prom experience on film. I’d rather he not witness what I want to do to you right now.”

My mouth fell open. I could hear myself breathing heavy, and I sounded like I was making an obscene phone call. It had been hard enough trying to keep myself composed before Luke mentioned…doing things. Now, I wasn’t in any shape to make small talk with Carter and Grace—not while I was daydreaming about doing salacious things with their nephew. Luke was enjoying my reaction a little too much. He smirked, arching his eyebrow again as he turned to get out of the car, and came around the side to open my door. I hoped the fresh air would help my breathing problem.

He led me up the path to his house, and when he opened the door, both Grace and Carter came rushing into the living room. Carter hadn’t been perched at the window waiting for us, but he did, in fact, have a camcorder trained on us as we entered the house.
Awesome
.

“Oh, Jillian!” Grace gasped, clasping her hands under her chin. “You’re breathtaking.”

Auntie Grace is officially my new favorite person.

“You look lovely, Jillian,” Carter added as he looked through the lens.

Luke wrapped his arm around my waist, squeezing tightly. I was momentarily taken aback by such an open gesture. It would have surprised me if he had done something like that in front of our friends, but it astounded me that he was doing it in front of his family. I was both a little excited and nervous at the same time.

“I made canapés,” Grace announced happily gripping a tray with both hands. “These are ginger orange chicken, Jillian,” she explained raising the tray for me. “It’s a new recipe.”

I grabbed one of the round baguettes and took a bite of pure bliss. I couldn’t stop the moan that resonated from deep in my chest.

“Grace, that right there is a little slice of heaven,” I replied. I turned to Luke planning to ask if he had tried the yummy goodness, but when I looked at him, his eyes were focused on my mouth and his breathing was shallow.

Looks like it’s payback time.

“Could I have another, Grace?” I asked sweetly.

“Absolutely,” she beamed. “I’m so happy you like them. I’m not a big fan of last minute additions, but I think I need to include this in the book.”

I grabbed another baguette and turned to Luke.

“Have you tasted this, Luke?” I asked, using the same innocent tone he employed with my mother. I slowly took a bite, running my tongue along my lips and groaning. “I just can’t get enough.”

I heard the low rumble coming from Luke as he shot me a warning glance.

“The sauce is a little sticky,” I added licking my fingers. “But it tastes so good!”

“We’re going now,” he announced hastily as he cupped his hand around my elbow and turned me toward the door.

“Oh, just one picture before you go,” Grace pleaded fumbling with a camera.

Luke sighed loudly, turning us back to face his aunt. Again, he gripped my waist tightly, and I tried to smile, but I was feeling so overwhelmed. Grace snapped the picture, temporarily blinding us again. Before she could say anything else, Luke marched us out the door.

“Luke,” Carter called behind us. “Remember our talk.”

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. “You’re trying to kill me, right?” he muttered, closing the door swiftly.

“What was that all about?”

“Let’s just say that your dad wasn’t the only one that wanted to discuss the birds and the bees with me today,” he explained reluctantly.

“Well clearly neither of them got the memo that I’m not into prom night clichés. I took care of all that business before prom,” I deadpanned.

He doubled over, laughing. “Jesus Christ. You never say what I think you’re going to say,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, someone’s got to keep you on your toes,” I replied with a smirk.

“That you do,” he added softly.

As soon as we turned onto Danielle’s street, I saw the white limousine that Danielle rented parked in front of her house. She and Josh were standing on her front lawn. Her mouth seemed to be moving a mile a minute and I knew already that she was in overdrive. I really needed a drink.

“Shit!” I exclaimed. “Joan is empty and Danielle, well Danielle looks like
that
,” I added pointing her way. “I’ll never survive!”

“Relax,” he replied calmly. “What kind of prom date would I be if I didn’t try to ply my girl with liquor?”

He reached into the backseat (or my dad’s supposed Den of Fornication) and pulled out a bottle of Goldschläger. It was kind of “high school” and well, gross, but when in Rome.

He must have picked up on my puzzled expression.

“Girls like that stuff, trust me,” he replied. I nearly fainted watching him arch and turn next to me as he proceeded to funnel the clear liquid into Joan. I bet she was thirsty.

With Joan filled, we each took a pull. I had forgotten how wretched Goldschläger was. At least it would dull the pain of prom.

Since there wasn’t any reason to delay the inevitable, we made our way over to see what was causing the commotion. Danielle was still very animated, her hands motioning out by her sides. The focus of her tirade seemed to be Josh.

“Poor Bastard,” Luke muttered as we approached. “Add a cane and he’d look like Mr. Peanut.”

Luke was right. Poor Josh was wearing a basic tuxedo, but had a top hat in his hand. I couldn’t imagine what possessed her to make him wear that. Danielle, despite whatever caused her hysteria, looked amazing. Years later she would say that the sapphire dress was a monstrosity, but it really was impossible for Danielle to look bad. Her dress had a beaded corset top and a full length skirt. The dark blue color made her skin appear to shimmer. She was stunning.

I had obviously seen the prom pictures of Danielle and Josh under the pink and silver balloon arch. Danielle bitched and moaned about the atrocious colors and how they clashed. I always felt a little sad and wistful when she complained. I wasn’t there at the prom, so I didn’t have a strong opinion either way. I guess I would now.

“Josh, how does one accidentally lose a cane?” We heard Danielle ask as we approached.

“I don’t know, Danielle,” Josh replied sarcastically. “Canes are in high demand on prom night. Maybe someone took it.”

“Well, we’re going back to the tux shop and getting another one.”

“Danielle, honey,” I interrupted, causing her to jump. She hadn’t even noticed we’d arrived.

“Oh, Jillian!” she sighed grabbing my hands and taking in my dress. “The dress looks lovely on you!”

“Thank you. You look amazing, too,” I replied carefully. “I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation you were just having with Josh.”

“Can you believe it?!” she fumed.

“I think we need to let the cane go, Danielle,” I added cautiously.

“But—”

“No. I think we need to move along. For everyone’s sake. Where are Megan and Nate anyway?” I asked looking around.

“She said they were running late,” she replied, just as Nate’s car rounded the corner. He stepped out, shooting us a wide grin as he opened the door for Megan. Unlike Josh and Danielle, whose photos I had seen a million times, this was the first time I would actually see Megan and Nate together at the prom. Megan originally went with Grant Peters and ended up giving him a bloody nose. He spent prom night in the ER and Megan spent the evening icing her hand. Hopefully, he would think twice before trying to cop a feel on some other unsuspecting girl.

When Megan stepped out of the car, I swore it reminded me of one of those scenes from
Baywatch
when Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth would run in slow motion across the beach. She stepped out slowly, a leg peeking out from the high slit in her purple fitted dress. I fought back a chuckle when she finally stood outside of the car. When I first saw a picture of Megan’s dress, it was during a girls’ night that consisted of too much wine and not enough verbal filtering. I burst out laughing because the big flouncy sleeves and ruched fabric reminded me of a mariachi singer. After that night, I learned to keep some of my musings to myself.

Nate leaned in, whispering something in her ear as they linked arms. Whatever it was that he said caused a blush to spread across her face. I could count on one hand the number of times I saw Megan Dunn blush. This was a very interesting development. As they approached, I noticed that the buttons on Nate’s shirt looked funny. I tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. He buttoned his shirt wrong.

“Pay up, man,” I heard Josh say as he leaned toward Luke.

“Damn it,” he cursed reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and slapped it onto Josh’s awaiting palm.

“What’s that all about?” I asked.

“You seriously don’t know?” he asked, his brow arched again. “Mr. & Mrs. Obvious over there were too covert for you?”

I stared at him, narrowing my eyes.

“The bet, Jillian. I lost the bet,” he explained motioning to Megan and Nate.

“Oh. OH!” I exclaimed, inspecting Megan for any telltale signs. She seemed to be properly buttoned and zippered. “Sorry, Luke,” I added, rubbing his back. “I told you so.”

He leaned into me, so that I felt his weight against my arm. The heat from his body led me to forget what we were talking about altogether until I heard someone clear their throat.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Megan said smirking at me. “Just wanted to tell you that you looked very nice, Jillian.”