The Art of Life (94 page)

               
“It’s
great,” he answers.
 
“Are you having a
good time?”

               
I
nod and grin.
 
“Oh
yeah.”

               
“Good,”
he whispers.
 
Jeremy pulls me really
close and we sway to the music.
 
“You
look beautiful tonight.”

               
“Thank
you,” I say, looking up at him.
 
We
slowly dance and stare at each other.
 
Finally, I narrow my eyes.
 
“This
is a horrible, cliché, high school dance, love song.”

               
Nodding,
Jeremy replies, “It is.”
 
He puts my arms
around his neck, and pulls me tight against him.
 
Looking down he says, “I think this should be
our song.”

               
That
makes me giggle.
 
“Oh
really?
 
Why should we have a
song?”

               
“Oh
come on,” he whispers.
 
“What would we be
without a song?”

               
“So,
we need a horrible cliché love song to be best friends?”

               
He
just gazes into my eyes.
 
“Do you not
want a love song with me?”

               
My
breath is caught up in my throat.
 
“No,
this can be our song.”

               
“Good,
then every time I hear it, I will think of you,” Jeremy murmurs.
 
“I always think of you.”
 
We slowly dance, never taking our eyes off
each other.
 
“You mean the world to
me.
 
You know that right?”

               
Whispering,
I say, “I feel the same way.”
 
Jeremy
stares at me for a second,
then
slowly he starts to
bring his head down.
 
I close my eyes and
tilt my head up.

               
Suddenly,
we hear, “Can we cut in?”

               
It’s
like a gush of cold air.
 
I feel Jeremy
pull back and I look to the side.
 
Sonya
and Eric are standing there.
 
“What?” I
barely breathe out.

               
“We
wanted to know if we could cut in,” Eric says quietly.

               
Jeremy
tenses and then backs away from me.
 
“Yeah, you can dance with Isabelle.
 
I need to use the restroom.”

               
Sonya
gets an appalled look on her face.
 
“You
aren’t going to dance with me?”

               
With
a very serious expression, Jeremy replies, “No.”
 
He looks at Eric.
 
“Handle her gently, or you will have to
answer to me.”
 
Eric’s eyes get wide.
 
I try to not laugh.
 
“I am kidding Eric,” Jeremy says.
 
Before he walks away, he looks at me.
 
We just stare at each other.
 
I want to say, stay, but I know I
shouldn’t.
 
I want to dance with Eric,
right?
 
Jeremy finally turns and walks
away.

               
I
turn to Eric and smile awkwardly.
 
He
sticks out his hand.
 
I take it and he
pulls me in by him.
 
We start to dance,
which seems to tick Sonya off.
  
“You can
have him for a dance I guess,” she snidely remarks.

               
“What
are you talking about?” Eric almost snaps.
 
“What is your problem tonight Sonya?”

               
She
glares at me and growls, “Nothing.”
 
I
just raise my eyebrows.
 
In a huff, she
turns and walks away.

               
My
gaze turns to Eric.
 
He gives me the most
perplexed look.
 
“I have NO idea what has
gotten into her.
 
She is acting so
bizarre.”

               
We
slowly dance.
 
I finally whisper, “She is
trying to get to me.”

               
“What?
 
What do you mean?” He asks.

               
“Sonya
hates me, and tries to torment me any chance she gets.
 
She is relentless.”

               
Eric
gives me a look of concern.
 
“She is the
one that picks on you all the time?”
 
I
nod.
 
“I don’t understand what her
problem is tonight.
 
Why is she all over
me then?
 
It’s almost unreal.”

               
“She
is doing it to get under my skin,” I mumble, looking away from him.

               
“Why
would her being all over me get under your skin?” He asks.
 
After a moment of hesitation, I look up at
him.
 
It takes a second and then it’s an
epiphany.
 
“
Oooohhhhh
.”
 
My cheeks light on fire, and I can’t even look at him.
 
“Isabelle,” Eric says quietly.
 
“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

               
I
nod my head.
 
“Yes, but it’s nothing we
ever need to talk about again.
 
I am
sorry.”

               
“No,
Isabelle, look at me,” he says.
 
I turn
my gaze to him.
 
Eric
smiles.
 
“I was asking if you
wanted to go on a date with me.
 
Like,
Isabelle, do you want to go out with me sometime, maybe this week?”

               
I
stop dancing.
 
“You want to go out on a
date with me?”

               
“Sure,
it would be fun,” he replies.
 
“But, I am
curious, what about Jeremy?”

               
“What
do you mean?” I ask, confused.
 
“I don’t
want him with.”

               
Giving
me a weird look, Eric replies, “No…….I mean, what are you two to each
other?
 
You act like you are dating, but
say you aren’t….”

               
“We
aren’t.
 
Seriously, we aren’t like
that.
 
We love each other, but…..it’s
just not like that,” I reply.
 
“He is my
best friend.”

               
“Alright
then, we will go on a date.
 
You know, I
just brought Sonya.
 
She really isn’t my
date.
 
I wanted to tell you that, but I
thought it would be rude to just shout it.”

               
Snorting,
I say, “Actually, I would have paid you to yell that.
 
I would have paid good money.”

               
“I
WAS planning to dance with you for the evening, but Jeremy came, which I was
surprised about.”

               
“So,
was I,” I state.
 
“Though, I will be
honest, when Sonya was with you, I was happy that he showed up.”

               
Eric
nods.
 
“I can understand why.
 
He seems like a great guy.”

               
“He
is,” I retort.
 
“The
best, hence why he is my best friend.”

               
There
is a light chuckle from Eric.
 
“I just
hope you know I can’t spend thousands of dollars on you like he does.
 
I have to keep things simple.”

               
“You
can take me to a fast food restaurant.
 
I
am alright with that.”

               
“I
think I will do a little better than a fast food restaurant.
 
Is that what you want to do, go out to eat?”
Eric asks.

               
I
shrug.
 
“I don’t know.
 
It’s up to you.
 
Surprise me.”

               
“I
can surprise you.
 
When do you want to do
something?”

               
“Sooner
rather than later,” I answer.

               
Eric
inquires, “Why do you say that?”

               
My
eyes turn away.
 
“I am afraid you may
change your mind.”

               
“Isabelle,
I asked you out.
 
I am not going to ditch
you.
 
That is a horrible thing to
do.
 
I wouldn’t do it in the first place,
but secondly, Jeremy would hunt me down and kill me if I did that.”

               
“That
is true,” I reply.
 
“And he knows how to
fight.”

               
Eric
laughs, “Dually noted.
 
So, do you want
to do something during the week, or the weekend?”

               
“Up
to you, I don’t have any plans any time soon.”

               
“What
about Monday?
 
We probably need a day to
recoup from tonight.
 
Well, at least I
will.
 
Do you want to join us for the
after party?”

               
My
eyebrow goes up, and I say, “One, Sonya would never let that happen, unless I
was serving Jeremy on a silver platter.
 
Two, I won’t willingly be around her.”

               
“You
know, I feel as though I shouldn’t go.
 
If she is that horrible to you, then I don’t want to be associated with
that.”

               
I
smirk, “That is sweet, but no, I want you to have fun.
 
Maybe at Prom, we will just throw a party at
our apartment.
 
Everyone can bring
sleeping bags.
 
We can have a wild and
crazy time.
 
Josh and our other friends
can come.
 
They are so much fun.”

               
“That
would be nice,” Eric replies.
 
“We all
have a really good time with you.
 
I wish
we had befriended each other before this year.
 
I am really sorry that I never said, hi.
 
I feel like a shmuck.”

               
“It’s
alright,” I murmur.
 
“It’s not like I put
myself out there to say hi to.”
 
Eric
nods, but smiles.

               
We
dance for a little while just making small talk.
 
Finally, Jeremy appears back next to us.
 
“Can I borrow her for a minute?” He asks
Eric.

               
Nodding,
Eric says, “Sure.”

               
Jeremy
takes my hand and pulls me to the side.
 
We stop and he whispers, “Do you want me to go?”

               
“What!?
 
No, why?
 
Why would you leave?” I practically gasp.

               
“To
leave you to Eric,” Jeremy murmurs back.
 
He doesn’t really meet my eyes.
 
“That is what you want right?”

               
I
reach out and take his hand.
 
“I don’t
want you to go.
 
You are my date.
 
Stay, we are having fun.
 
I want you here.
 
I need you here.”

               
His
eyes lock onto mine.
 
“I don’t want to
hinder you and Eric.”

               
“Actually……we
are going out on a……date,” I state slowly.

               
For
the briefest of seconds, a pained look passes over Jeremy’s face.
 
I am about to say something, but then the
expression is gone and he smiles.
 
“That’s good, right?
 
I mean, I am
happy for you.
 
Maybe I should leave
then.
 
I mean…..” he pauses, and just
looks at me.
 
“He is what you want.”