Page 21 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
8
RYAN
Iknew we were both thinking about that night. The last time we had seen each other, things had been very heated. I knew she was embarrassed by what happened that night and in the following days. I had never told a soul what went down between us. I would never betray her like that.
I felt like a wallflower. The only reason I showed up at prom was because my mom insisted it was important. She claimed I would regret not going. It was supposed to be some big event in my life that I would look back on and cherish. The only thing I was going to cherish was the blisters I was sure to get from these damn dress shoes.
I tugged at the bowtie around my neck. It felt like the thing was trying to choke me to death. I wasn’t sure it wasn’t going to do just that. I wasn’t even sure I would mind if it did. If it got me out of this damn prom, I was cool with it. Maybe I could slip and fall into something sharp.
I shook myself out of it. Just a little longer, then I could leave. I would have the experience and Mom would be satisfied.
All around me, people were dancing and enjoying themselves. The girls in their expensive dresses flitted about. They all looked like they were going to be in a runway show with hair, makeup, and nails done.
The guys acted like they were at a singles’ bar. I watched them flirt and ogle the girls. It really did feel like some kind of mating ritual, right down to the overly suggestive dance moves. This was not my scene. I could have been getting some time in the air, but instead I was standing against the wall in an attempt to disappear.
If no one noticed me, no one would start talking shit. My goal was to stay off Tony’s radar. If he and his goons spotted me, they would give me shit. They’d been giving me hell all year.
It wasn’t good enough for him to steal my girlfriend. He needed to twist the knife in my heart. I didn’t want this night to be memorable because Tony made it that way. I didn’t want him following me around and giving me shit for being alone while he groped my ex-girlfriend. I didn’t care if she was my ex. She was supposed to be mine.
I looked around the stupid prom once again. I was keeping an eye on my enemies while monitoring my escape route, should things get ugly. The gymnasium was done up in some stupid Paris in Love theme. It was all way too sappy for me.
A giant cardboard Eiffel Tower stood in the center of the gym. Twinkle lights hung from the ceiling. Shining stars in different sizes hung overhead at various heights. Some were just a little low for a guy that stood six four.
The only good thing about this stupid prom was the music. They hired a pretty good DJ. Too bad I had no one to dance with. Actually, that might be a good thing. I was a shit dancer. Just another in my long list of unattractive qualities.
My eyes drifted to where the two of them were standing. Norah and Tony. The most popular couple in school. She was smiling and animatedly waving her hands. She was obviously excited. She’d just been crowned prom queen and her boyfriend the king of the prom.
Like he needed to be told he was the king. He ran the damn school. Him and all his irritating cronies. They loved to make my life hell. I had heard so many damn jokes about myself in the last year, I started to believe they were real. Seeing the girl I loved fawning all over another guy was just one in a long line of disappointments I had suffered. I couldn’t wait to get this year over. The day I graduated, I was walking away and never looking back.
While I suffered in misery and thought about making my big escape, I caught a glimpse of Claire Sullivan. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her lower lip was shaking. I watched her cut through the crowd and practically run out the back door. I waited for someone to follow her. Weren’t they worried? Norah was her best friend. She was too caught up in showing off her crown. I seemed to be the only one who noticed Claire running from something.
I followed her and found her in the courtyard. She was sitting on a bench with her shoulders hunched forward and her face covered with her hands. I knew the look of a crying woman. I couldn’t just walk away and leave her.
We didn’t know each other really well, but she had always been decent to me. When Norah dumped my ass, Claire didn’t treat me like shit, but she also wasn’t someone I would call a friend. I considered going back and finding Norah. This was her best friend, and she would know how to handle this situation a lot better than I did. But something told me to stay. Norah hadn’t noticed her friend’s distress and Claire obviously wasn’t seeking her friend’s help.
I quietly sat down on the bench. This was a little out of my wheelhouse. I had a sister, but usually she told me to get out of her room whenever she was in one of these emotional states.
Her sobs tore at my heart strings. I hated seeing anyone sad. Mom always said I was an empath. I wouldn’t go that far, but I wasn’t a brick of ice. I had a heart. Unfortunately, I wasn’t carrying a box of tissues.
I reached for the only thing I had, the satin pocket square in my tux pocket. “Here,” I said.
Her hands jerked away. Clearly, she hadn’t heard me sit down. “What are you doing here?”
I waved the satin square in front of her. “I saw you come outside.”
She snatched the cloth. “Thanks. You don’t need to stay out here. I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
She dabbed at her eyes. “Thanks.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked. It wasn’t really a sincere question. We both knew there was little I could do. We also both knew we weren’t friends, and usually help was given by friends. The best thing I could do was get up and walk away.
“No,” she sobbed again. “Why are you being nice to me?”
I shrugged. “I’m not. I just offered you something to wipe your face with.”
“You don’t like me,” she said.
