Sing to Me (10 page)

The front door clicked shut and I heard my mom take a few steps towards me, but I continued to look down at the little silver box in my hands. I couldn’t believe that Colby had sent me something.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

I glanced at my mom and almost laughed at the look on her face. She obviously thought I was being really weird. And I was, so I opened it. Inside, I found a beautiful little crescent moon pendent. It was sliver filigree with a few tiny crystals tucked in the scrolls of the silver. It hung on a delicate silver
chain that I immediately put around my neck. I went to the mirror and stared at
it
against my skin, glinting in the light with an icy beauty.

“Did you see the note?” my mom asked.

Anxiously I took it from her and read the words:
I can’t wait to see you tonight. I know you’ll be beautiful. Save a dance for me – your huckleberry friend.

I laughed as I recognized the words from “Moon River.” I thought about the night we’d sung it together, when I’d felt the first st
irrings of attraction for him. Had it only taken two weeks to fall so hard for him?

“Marcy gave this to me before she left,” my mom said, handing me a small white envelope. I barely had
time to
open it and realize the money inside was to pay me for the last week’s babysitting before the
doorbell rang again and Brian was there.

He looked amazing in a white tux coat, black pants and aqua blue vest and tie to match my dress. Not many guys could have carried the look off, but he did. Of course, he was the kind of guy who could make anything look good.

Brain smiled, looking me over from head to toe and nodding his approval. He gave me a white orchid wristlet and I pinned
a
matching boutonniere to his lapel. As I did so, I realized for the first time how perfectly coordinated we were, and I knew it had been Brian’s eye to detail, not mine, that had accomplished it. I glanced in the mirror, and doubted there would be a better looking couple
at the prom tonight, but I only
had a hollow feeling inside.

Brian was clueless that something was bothering me though. He just grinned and said, “We look great. Let’s take some pictures and get going.”

I raised my eyebrows but followed him out onto the porch. My mom
called my dad out to see us off and
took some pictures of us as we posed in the front yard under a maple tree. She even took several pictures with Brian’s phone after he had tweaked my pose and tucked a stray curl back from my
face. By this point I realized how right Colby had been about Brian and my skin was crawling where his hand touched my waist.

My mom’s expression was kind of comical. She knew I was a little stunned, and felt bad for me, but she was also trying hard
not to laugh at Brian’s
vanity.

Finally, we’d taken enough pictures to satisfy him and he led me to the white limousine he’d rented for the evening. We were going to pick up some of his friends who were sharing the limo, and then we’d be at the prom. I felt like hurling, so I touched the little crescent moon that lay over my heart. A warm glow, full of hope
and anticipation, trickled through
me.

*****

I’d glimpsed the decorations in the gym before I’d come home earlier that day, and they’d looked kind of
cheesy
. It was all just balloons, crepe paper streamers, white Christmas lights, and cardboard stars covered in glitter. Somehow though,
w
ith the
all the lights turned off but the decorative lights and spotlights on the stage, it
did look pretty magical tonight. I walked beside Bria
n around a giant tree sculpture that was
pain
t
ed white and dripping with crystals t
o catch
the twinkling lights.

Soon, it felt like we’d been swarmed by people I barely knew.
It was getting painful to smile, but I forced myself to keep it up. After all, I was getting a million compliments, and I could hardly be rude
.
All of Brian’s friends were hanging around in a group, but I didn’t know any of them
well, so I broke away to look for
some of my friends. I found Olivia and her boyfriend
,
Parker
, as they were coming off the dance floor, totally wrapped up in each other.

Not wanting to be a third wheel, I was about to turn away when Olivia saw me. “
Rylie
, oh
my gosh
! You look
so
beautiful.
Almost ethereal.
Wow.”

“Ethereal, huh? That’s a new one. Thanks. You look gorgeous. I
wish
my hair would curl like that.”

“
Whatever.
You know it drives me crazy and y
our hair is perfect. So where’s Brian? You didn’t ditch him after all, did you?”

“No. We came together, all
matchy
matchy
but
without a thing in common. We just got here and I’m bored out of my mind.”

“Aw. I’m sorry. What about Colby? Have you seen him yet?”

I shook my head and glanced around for probably the hundredth time. My eyes swept the crowd and the stage, which was empty except for the microphone stands and instruments that lay ready there. Right now there was a DJ playing music, but the band would probably go on soon so he had to be around somewhere.

Seeing my fruitless search, Olivia said,
“Well,
I know
he’s here because I had to warm up with the band earlier. He seemed really on edge. This can’t be easy for him.”

“What?”

“Seeing you here with a guy you used to have a crush on – especially since you haven’t talked since your argument. He’s probably staying away as long as he can.”

It made my heart hurt, but I knew she was probably right. If only I could talk to him before he went on stage, maybe I could tell him I was sorry for driving off on him that night – and that he was totally right about Brian.

“Hey
Rylie
, let’s go dance,
”
Brian said, coming up next to me, his voice more commanding than inviting.

Speak of the devil
. I tried to hide the grimace that was pulling at the corners of my eyes and mouth, but Olivia saw and looked sympathetic as Brian led me to the dance floor. I half-heartedly put my arms around him and hoped he wouldn’t want to talk as we danced. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to. A minute later, I looked over his shoulder and saw Colby watching us from the door by the stage.

I couldn’t see his expression, but I could feel the intensity of his emotions from across the room. I was drawn to him, every part of me wanting to be with him. My arms slipped from Brian’s shoulders and I took a step towards him, but the music stopped and someone was talking over the microphone on stage. I didn’
t see
or care
who
until I realized they were announcing the band
. I glanced up and saw Princip
al
Duncan welcoming Micah out on stage. I g
lanced quickly back
to
where Colby was standing, but he
was gone.

One by one, Mica
h introduced the band as they
join
ed
him on stage. Colby was the
last one, and when he came out
and stood in the spotlight near Micah, my heart lurched at how good looking he was. Brian looked like he belonged in
a
fashion magazine, but Colby had some magnetic, careless attraction that had nothing to do with what he was wearing.

In fact, in a sea of sequins and tuxedos, he stood out in his black collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up and un-tucked over a pair of g
rey slacks. He stood confident and
relaxed as Micah talked a little bit about their band and their first song.
I had moved closer to the stage without eve
n noticing, only barely aware of
Brian drifting along behind me.

I was a little left of the stage, but Colby’s searching eyes found me. I knew it must be hard for him to see me with the lights in his face so I moved even closer. I touched the pendent he’d given me and mouthed the words, “Thank you,” to him. He nodded and his mouth twist
ed in a half smile, but then he looked
past me to where Brian stood behind my shoulder.

Colby’s eyes flashed briefly before he bent over his guitar and traced the strings a moment before settling his fingers in position over the
fret
s.
As the band began playing, I could sense Colby’s absorption in his music. The rest of us in the room might as well not have existed for all the attention he paid to us.

I felt shut out and alone
, cold and empty inside
.
Colby had gone somewhere I couldn’t follow, so I turned and left the dance floor. There was a crowd growing around the stage, mostly girls, so he would never miss me
-
even if he bothered to look again.

“Where are you going?” Brian asked, catching up to me.

“I
want to get out of that crowd for a minute.” I found a chair in a dark corner of the room and sat down, not caring if Brian came or went.

“Uh, we can go if you want. I’ve got more plans for tonight anyway.”

I looked at him like he was speaking another language
.
Something in his tone set my suspicions flying.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”

Now it was his turn to look confused. “What?”

“Look, I don’t know what you had in mind, but even if it was just going for ice cream before you took me home, I’m not going anywhere right now.”

“Ok,” he said, drawing out the two syllables. “What’s your problem all of a sudden?
”

I sighed.
“
Look, Brian, I’m sorry. Can you just give me some
time a
lone?
”

He looked at me for a second
or two, trying to study my face in the dim light. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Not really. You’re just the wrong guy.”

His eyebrows went up. “Ah.
Well then, I'll just…” He made a clicking sound with his tongue and pointed his thumb over his shoulder to show he was leaving. When he was a few feet away, he called back over his shoulder, “Be sure to s
end me the pictures your mom took.”

I
nodded,
relieved he wasn’
t too upset, and
didn’t think about him again.

I was too busy torturing myself, my eyes glued to Colby up on stage. Micah was sure putting on a show, but I knew I wasn’t the only girl in the place more interested in watching his lead guitarist. I was incredibly proud that their music was going over so well, but I
knew
I’d have a lot of competition for Colby’s attention from now on.

Once Olivia took Micah’s place on stage and
Colby began singing harmon
y
, I was sure of it. Some of the girls up by the stage were actually screaming. I didn’t blame them. The same thrill was running up and down my spine at the sweet, husky tones of his voice.

Someone sat next to me and I looked over, startled. It was Sienna Whitfield, the girl who’d taken my picture for her blog and go
t
t
en
me my “dream” date to prom.

“Wow. They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

I nodded and tried to come up with something to say. “Incredible. They sound so good together.”

“Yeah. They look good together too. Parker had better watch out.
Want to see a picture I got earlier?”

“Sure.”

“I snuck backstage and got this.”

I glanced at the screen on the back of her camera and saw a
picture of Colby in silhouette again
s
t the s
potlight. The light glanced off his profile as he looked into the crowd, and I was sure it had been
taken
when he’d been looking at me. It was an incredible picture, but that wasn’t why it held me silent.

“So you’re going to tell him how you feel tonight, aren’t you?”

I looked at Sienna in surprise. “How did you know?”

“Olivia told me. I was asking how things turned out with you and that Brian guy, so she explained the situation to me. You know, I’m starting to figure out that people are better off if I leave them alone. Sorry if I made things difficult for you by putting you on my blog.”

“No, it wasn’t your fault. You gave me what I wanted. I just wanted the wrong thing.”

“Well, at least it’s not too late.
Prom is just a moment of surreal craziness. Real life starts again tomorrow. Make sure he’s part of it.”