Page 37 of Catch
“What’s going on?” I asked Missy and Amberlynn.
“Did you hear about Sam’s party?”
I nodded. “I think we’re all going later.”
“Missy’s parents got us some Smirnoff Ice and I have beer stashed in the back of my car.”
I wasn’t sure what they wanted or why they waved me over. I wasn’t going to drink. The last thing I needed was to get caught with a beer or worse, be drunk around Parker and make a fool of myself. She’d been asked by several people who she was interested in, but nobody got a clear answer. Until I knew, I didn’t want to make a pass at her and make her uncomfortable.
“So, what’s going on with Parker?” Amberlynn asked.
I cocked my head as if I didn’t understand the question. My heart sped up and my palms were instantly sweaty. What did they know? “What do you mean?”
“Who is she into? She’s flirted with a few of the guys, but Andrew wants to know if he had the green light to ask her out and you’re close to her.”
That was news to me. Andrew was the captain of the soccer team. He was kind of a jerk. At the beginning of the year, I overheard him say something negative about girls in sports and got in his face. He laughed it off until my linemen showed up behind me.
“I don’t know if she’d be into somebody like him,” I said.
“Why?”
They were baiting me, but I didn’t care. “He’s a jerk about women athletes, including cheerleaders.”
Missy made an exaggerated point to look around before asking me the obvious question. “Who are you here with? Did you finally agree to go out with Katie?”
“No, I’m just here with friends. They’re in line for photos.” After an awkward pause, I excused myself. “I should probably go.”
Missy gave me a half-smile. “We’ll see you at the party.”
I had no choice but to head back out to the photo staging area. I pushed on the door as Parker was pulling it open and bumped into her. “Oh! I’m so sorry.” I grabbed her hand to keep her from stumbling back.
“I was just coming to get you. We’re almost up for photos.”
“And I was headed your way for that very thing.”
She nodded in the direction of the ballroom. “What’s it like in there?”
I shrugged. “Lots of pretty people dressed up standing around and waiting for Sam’s party to start.”
“Are we all going?”
“I feel like we have to. I’m not going to drink though.”
“I’m staying at Shannon’s tonight. I’m sure she’ll want to close the party down,” she said.
“Well, if you need to leave early, let me know.” I smiled and clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering.
“You’ll rescue me. That’s sweet.” She smiled.
I felt heat rush over my skin. Either I was crushing hard and imagining it, or she was into me. “That’s what friends do.” It was a dumb thing to say but I was nervous.
“Sutton! Parker! Get in here,” Max yelled. He waved us over and ten of us crammed into a prom photo that I knew I would keep forever. Parker was pressed against me. Her body heat gave me chills. When the photographer snapped the photo, I felt like she was my date even though we were both whisked away in different directions as soon as the photo was done.
We danced for an hour or so before Shannon wanted to head to Sam’s. The limo stopped in front of a house that had at least a dozen cars in the driveway and on the street. Loud music was coming from the house. Our driver stopped and said he would park a block over.
Hayley dragged me into Sam’s saying that if I stood around waiting for the second limo to arrive, I would look desperate. I was the high school quarterback and the quarterback didn’t wait for anyone. She assured me Parker would find me and she wasn’t wrong. Five minutes after we went inside, Parker found us in thekitchen. She smiled at us and accepted a hard lemonade from Sam when she walked into the kitchen.
“Here’s where everyone ended up,” she said. She took a sip and grimaced but hid it well. I was studying her too hard to miss. She had freshened her makeup and let her hair down. I didn’t care that I was staring until I felt the sharp elbow jab from Hayley. She leaned over and scowled. I smiled and shrugged. She gave me an eye roll and a sigh. I shook my head.
