My friend was having a party this Saturday so I flew down to Oahu from the Big Island. I didn’t have to work so I thought, might as well. The flight went smoothly, I didn’t have to check in any bags, and line at Starbucks was bare. Megan had gotten a suite at the hotel so I planned to just crash there. It was on the nineteenth floor and when I got to the door I knocked. To my surprise my other friends were there too; we all used to go to school together before I got kicked out.
“I didn’t know you guys were sharing the room, too!” I told Daniel as we clasped hands and hugged.
“Yeah man, it was last minute and we thought it would be fun,” he replied with a grin.
I put my duffle down by the coffee table that was full of make up. There were dresses all over the place as the girls were helping each other get ready. The four guys were sitting around by the T.V, waiting in their suits and bowties.
Brandon looked in my direction, “You gonna get ready, bro?”
“Ready for what?” I laughed.
“For prom, what else?” Zach interrupted.
“Yeah right, is that even legal?” I playfully nudged his shoulder.
“Yeah, you can be my date,” a girls voice chimed in.
I looked over to the ladies curling their hair and rubbing lipstick on. Sasha moved slightly to the right and I saw her face. She slowly opened her eyes and batted them at me. I thought my knees were about to hit the floor. The room got quiet for a little bit before the boys started ooh-ing. Sasha giggled, “Bray, this is Shelly. Shelly, Brayden.”
Shelly totally disregarded Sasha and stared at me, waiting for my answer. I began to stutter looking to Zach for help.
“I don’t even have a suit.”
“Covered!” yelled Cody as he got up from the couch. We walked to the room and as we passed the girls, Shelly smiled at me.
* * *
There were bottles of everything along the counter. There were also SOLO cups and a brand new package of Ping-Pong balls. The mini icebox was stocked up and you could tell that tonight would be one for the books.
* * *
We came out of the room and everyone was roweled up, complimenting me on my great looks. The tux was a charcoal grey and the bowtie was navy blue to match her dress. Cody spiked my hair and left a little spurt of cologne on my jacket. She stood in front of me and she looked amazing. Everyone was ready to go now and we each took a couple shots before heading to the elevators. I was a bit nervous and I think Shelly could tell.
“You seem so stiff,” she politely observed.
I looked down to her and gave a little chuckle. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to be nervous,” she laughed.
She hugged my arm and her touch started to ease my mind.
* * *
After taking our pictures and talking to friends, we waltz in to find our table. The place was huge and the ballroom looked killer. The music was already playing and people were dancing. I sat there. One by one, all the couple started heading for the dance floor. I stood on the sidelines as I watched Shelly dance with her friends. They looked like they were having an awesome time together and that made me happy, even though I just met her. Zach stood by me and asked how it was going.
“Pretty great, I have to admit.”
Then Shelly came up to us, apologized to Zach and grabbed my hand. We interlocked fingers and she pulled me into the crowd and instantaneously we started dancing together. The song was quick and so were her hips, it was getting really hot but I didn’t feel weird about anything. After awhile, the DJ played a slow song and she turned around to wrap her arms around my neck. I didn’t realize it at the time but my hands were pretty low, although it didn’t seem to bother her. She looked up at me and we were talking about life, as if we were the only two on the dance floor in complete silence. Then, we just stared into each other’s eyes and I got lost in her hazel brown ones as the light shined through them. I could feel her putting pressure on my neck so I brought my head a little lower and we kissed—Over and over again and it wasn’t getting old.
She let go of my lips and looked into my soul, “I’ve always liked you ever since you came to the soccer field just to watch me play.”
Then, I remembered her. She was the new girl in middle school that I was too scared to talk to. She smiled at me, laid her head on my chest and we continued to dance.