Relativity (15 page)

We clap as one by one the attendants are called to the dance floor and fitted with sashes and handed single roses.

“This year’s Jasper High prom king is Tate Boyd,” the hyper deejay announces. Our table explodes. People rush up, patting Tate on the back. I’m stunned, not because it should really be that much of a shock to me that Tate won, but I just didn’t think about it.

“I guess I should go up,” he says timidly.

“Get up there, king,” I tease him. I watch excitedly as Mrs. Hoadley, our Chemistry teacher, places his crown on top of his head. Everyone is clapping, ecstatically. I realize how lucky I am that he asked me to be his date when he could have had any girl in the school.

“You can’t very well have a king without a queen, so without further ado, this year’s prom queen is Ripley Edgecombe,” the deejay blasts.

“Oh my God,” Natalie screams, practically knocking me out of my chair.

“Did they say
me
?” I ask, even though every pair of eyes in the room is on me and everyone is going nuts applauding and whistling.

“Go,Rip,” Natalie urges, pulling me to my feet and shoving me toward the dance floor.

I’m so nervous on the way to the dance floor that I can barely enjoy the roar of the crowd. I know that most of these votes were pity votes but the win still feels pretty incredible. I make my way next to Tate as Mrs. Hoadley places the tiara on my head and the sash over my shoulder.

The deejay starts a slow song and Tate drapes his arms around me. At least ten people ask for our picture as we are embracing, smiling for the camera. Once the pictures stop, he pulls me close and we start to dance. I rest my arms on his broad shoulders circling his thick neck.

“You are beautiful, my queen,” he whispers then leans down and kisses me gently on the lips.

We dance the rest of the song in silence. I don’t know what he is thinking but I’m trying hard not to think about how dull that kiss was. Knox can generate a spark between my thighs just by looking at me, but Tate’s lips on mine felt no different than when my aunt insists on saying hello by kissing me on the lips.

“This has been the best night,” Tate says.

“It’s been fun. Thanks for bringing me,” I tell him, feeling guilty because I’m ready to go home.

Natalie and Connor join us on the dance floor, their bodies smashed together, not leaving much to the imagination of what they are going to be doing later in the hotel room. We giggle, the four of us co-conspirators, with the exception of one of us who can’t wait to be anywhere but this room.

I fake my way through the rubbery chicken dinner, wondering if Dad’s microwave meal tastes worse than this. We get tired of dancing and decide to wander around exploring the hotel.

“If we had a hotel key we could go swimming,” Tate suggests, as we all admire the sparking aquamarine water of the deserted swimming pool.

“You idiots have no concept of how long it takes us to look like this, do you?” Natalie scolds him, at the mere thought of us diving in and messing up our prom hair and makeup.

“It was just a suggestion,” Tate teases.

We wander up and down the halls, hand in hand. Holding hands with Tate feels awkward. I wanted to try and force it earlier, but I know now that replacing Knox with Tate isn’t going to magically make my feelings disappear and it isn’t fair to lead him on.

We all collapse on two plush leather couches in a small lobby area near an ice machine and a vending area. I slip my feet out of my heels and set them beside the couch. The feeling starts making its way back into my toes, bringing relief. I notice the sign with an arrow pointing the direction that our rented room is waiting. I can’t help wishing I could have spent the night with Knox. I shake off the thought, knowing it is a waste of time.

“I can’t believe this is our last prom,” Connor says in a melancholy tone.

“It’s been a good one though,” Tate replies, squeezing my shoulder. I smile sweetly at him, counting the minutes until I can ask him to take me home.

“Boys, this has been a real blast but I’m beat,” Natalie says. I have to glance at her to realize that she isn’t joking.

“Seriously?” Connor asks, looking disappointed. Natalie throws me a wink and I pick up on my cue to get Tate out of here.

“The queen needs her beauty sleep,” I add, pulling myself off the couch. Tate follows obediently. I hug Natalie and tell Connor goodbye. Tate and Connor exchange fist bumps and Tate and I leave them and make our way back to the ballroom.

“Can we go out again sometime?” Connor asks sweetly.

The word yes almost instantly flies out of my mouth but I hold it back. I don’t want to string Tate along knowing full well that I’m not over Knox. “I had a really great time tonight, Tate. Let’s just see how we feel after graduation,” I say.

He nods, agreeably. We make our way back to our table and pick up our souvenir glasses and the raffle prizes we won. We are about to make our way out to the truck when I realize that I left my heels back in the hotel wing.

I smack my forehead with my palm and say, “I forgot my heels back in the hotel wing.”

“I can get them for you,” he offers, but I notice him eyeballing the dance floor again and I realize he isn’t really ready to leave.

“No, I’ll get them. You stay here and dance a little while longer,” I offer, knowing he deserves to have a good time.

He smiles at me and makes his way back to the dance floor where he is instantly surrounded by girls who would have killed to be his date tonight. I wish I could feel just an ounce of jealousy watching them grind on him.

I make my way to the hallway leading to the other side of the hotel. I feel like I’m letting Mom down by not trying to make it work with Tate, but I just can’t force something that isn’t there.

“Hey, girl,” somebody calls to me, pulling me out of my daydream.

It’s Connor, by himself, walking toward me.

“Where’s Nat?”

He runs his hand through his hair, looking disappointed. I thought they would be completely naked by this point so I’m confused about what he’s doing back here alone.

“She wasn’t feeling good so I walked her to her car and she went home. I’m so bummed,” he says. “I thought she liked me but I’m picking up a weird vibe.”

“She does like you, Connor. She was really excited about tonight,” I say, but even as the words are leaving my mouth I know that something else is going on. Natalie was fine just minutes ago. I knew something was going on when Connor told me that she drove herself to the prom but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

“You and Tate make a good couple. He’s really into you,” he admits.

“I’m not sure how ready I am for anything serious right now,” I explain, dying to get away from him. I have my suspicions about what is going to be happening in room 112 tonight but I have to see it with my own eyes to believe it.

“Well, whatever happens, tonight was fun,” he says, waving and heading toward the ballroom. I wait for him to round the corner before I break into a full run toward the hotel wing.

I tiptoe down the hall until I find room 112. Once there, I put my head against the door and listen. I don’t hear anything. Maybe Natalie really was sick and drove herself home. I pull out my phone and fire off a quick text.

U ok? Connor said ur sick.

Chxn was bad. I’ll be fine. TTYL.

I make my way back down the hall. I plop down on the couch to rest. I know that Tate isn’t going to be in a big rush to leave so I take my time putting my heels back on and catching up on Facebook. I scroll through dozens of prom pictures, not bothering to like them since I’ve seen most of these people in person tonight.

I dig through my purse, looking for some lip gloss when my fingers wrap around something unfamiliar. I pull it out and realize it is the burner phone I found in Mom’s console. I try to turn it on but it is dead. Mom must have used this phone before getting an iPhone or something even though I don’t remember it at all. I make a mental note to ask Dad tomorrow.

I finger my phone and contemplate texting Knox. But he’s probably with Greer and if she saw my text she would definitely get suspicious. Besides, nothing good can come from a late night text.

I’m just about to make my way back to the ballroom when I hear a familiar hushed giggle. I peek around the wall to see Natalie making her way into room 112 with a guy behind her. I pull my head back so she doesn’t see me and wait until I hear the door open.

I hear her turn the handle and throw open the heavy door so I know she’s walking inside. I peek around once more to get a look at who it is helping her through her fake sickness, even though I’m pretty sure I already know. I see Nat’s hands pulling the guy in by the belt loops on his jeans. He turns his head to peek down the hall but I vanish before he can see me, but not before I saw him. Cale Timmons, the married guy Natalie promised me she was done with.

I sit on the couch, trying not to cry. I miss my mom. I can’t be with the guy I love. And now my best friend in the whole world has gotten herself into a very serious situation. It feels like the whole world has been turned upside down and I’m hanging by my fingertips, trying not to fall.

I can’t deal with dodging Tate’s goodnight kiss or even trivial small talk so I text him and tell him I’ve found another way home. I know it is shitty and he will probably be pissed but there is only so much I can handle tonight. My phone chirps with Tate’s response.

Thnx 4 2nite.

Okay, so apparently he isn’t devastated about my disappearing act. I guess it isn’t fair of me not to want him but to expect him to want me. Now I have to figure out how to get home. I could always bum a ride off someone from school but then they would want to know why I wasn’t leaving with Tate and it could turn into a big scene.

I make my way into the elaborate marble lobby, past the ornate fireplace that is blazing even though it is sixty degrees outside, up to the front desk.

“Hi, can I help you?” a stylishly dressed guy in his twenties asks me. He eyeballs all the couples going back and forth through the lobby, probably making sure no one destroys anything. They must hate hosting teenagers in a fancy place like this.

“I was wondering if you knew the phone number of a cab company?” I inquire. I could have just Googled one, but I’ve never used a cab before so I thought maybe the hotel staff could tell me the best one to use.

“Are you staying at the hotel?” he asks.

“Kind of,” I admit, hoping I’m not getting myself into trouble.

“Just go through these double doors to the shuttle outside. Tell Manny where you want to go and he’ll drop you anywhere local.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks,” I spin around to leave the lobby and crash right into a woman I didn’t realize was standing behind me.

“Shit,” she mutters, her phone skidding across the marble floor.

I run after it, praying her screen isn’t busted. What else could possibly go wrong tonight? I scoop it up and hand it back to her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were behind me,” I apologize.

“It was my fault, sweetie. Look, no harm, no foul,” she says, holding her phone out for me to see her screen intact. She moves around me, clearly in a hurry to talk to the hotel clerk. She’s familiar to me, but I can’t place her. Jasper isn’t the biggest town in the world so I might have seen her pumping gas this morning for all I know.

I make my way out the double doors, glancing around for the shuttle bus.

“I thought for sure that pretty prom dress of yours would be wadded up in a ball on the floor by now,” a voice, which is like nails on a chalkboard to me, says.

I turn to see Knox and Greer making their way toward me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were going to the prom themselves. She is wearing a clingy black jersey dress and stilettos. Anyone else would look ridiculous, like they were trying too hard, but Greer looks like she just stepped off the set of the runway.

I thought I looked pretty good tonight but coming face to face with her makes me feel like I’m playing dress-up with my hair still in pig tails.

I steal a glance at Knox. He’s wearing black slacks and a steel gray button-down shirt. His hair is spiked up with gel in the front and his smell is making me weak.

“Oh my God, you got prom queen,” Greer babbles on, fingering the tiara I practically forgot I had on. Her jealousy is palpable and I brace myself for the moment she rips the tiara off my head along with a good amount of hair, but it doesn’t come.

“Where are you going?” Knox asks, his eyes lingering on mine.

“I’m beat. I’m headed home,” I manage to spit out. Just seeing Knox has made me a nervous wreck, but knowing they are on their way inside the hotel and could possibly run into Natalie really freaks me out. I know the likelihood of Natalie and Cale running around the hotel announcing their extra-marital affair isn’t very high but still.

“Wow, that was quick. Was your hottie a quick shooter?” Greer shrills, her eyes practically slashing me into shreds. Knox and I have both played it cool around her, but she is always so hostile around me that I know she suspects something.

“Jesus, Greer,” Knox says, shaking his head in disgust. I really don’t understand how he can stand to share the same air as her.

Seeing them together makes me feel physically ill. Part of me wants to serve Knox right by lying and saying I’m going back inside to spend the night with Tate, but the part of me that just won’t give up on us doesn’t want to jeopardize it with lies. I don’t even acknowledge her vulgar comment.

“Where’s Natalie?” Knox asks.

I look at Greer when I answer, knowing I can’t pull off the lie looking into his eyes. “She went home sick.” Besides, it isn’t really a lie since that’s what Nat told me.

I steal a glance at him, hoping he bought it. He looks suspicious and I know I’m in trouble. I can’t let him find out about Nat and Cale. He would probably kill the guy.

“This means that we could take the room for the night,” Greer squeals and I think I might unload my rubbery chicken on her stilettos. I know that Knox has probably slept with her numerous times since they got back together but knowing exactly when and where they are doing it isn’t good for my mental health. Besides, I can’t let them try and get in that room.