I found Stacey still in the last place I saw her, on the dancefloor beside the stage. I tapped her on the shoulder and turned, pulling my long brown hair over my shoulder. She said nothing and began to lace me back up. I mouthed, ‘thanks.’ And turned toward the stage.
I stole a glance at her, and she winked and smiled. She seemed happy, at least. Nothing had happened while I was away. That was good.
Ashton stepped up to the microphone.
“This next song is for my girl, Stacey. Love you, babe.”
Stacey squealed and jumped happily beside me. She blew him a kiss and mouthed ‘love you’ to her rockstar boyfriend.
At least she was happy.
While I felt like another notch on Dane’s bedpost.
The beat of Stacey’s song was sultry, with a slow indie-rock vibe. The guitarist and bassist, Dylan Storm, picked up a saxophone, which made most of the girls in the gymnasium scream like teens at the concert of their favorite boy band.
One Strike was it for these teens.
“It’s my song!” screamed Stacey, tugging my arm. I nodded my head and swayed with her.
I would do this for her. She needed this. It would help me take my mind off Dane and his reputation for at least a little while.
Stacey and I walked arm in arm, singing the words to her song when the dance was over. We followed the rest of the students out into the parking lot, where people were hopping into their parents’ cars or carpooling with other students.
We made our way over to a red truck where Ashton, Bobby, and Dylan were loading their band equipment into the back. Their girlfriends, the two blondes I had seen earlier with Stacey and Ashton, were standing beside the truck laughing and smoking.
Dane was also there.
He looked up when we approached, leaning against the bed of the truck. He swept a hand through his dark tousled hair.
In the light of the floodlights covering the parking lot and the light from cars around us, he looked incredibly sexy, waiting for me. His hair also looked like he’d recently rolled out of bed after sex too.
I pushed thoughts aside for the moment, even though my jealously was rearing its ugly head again.
Stacey chose that moment to leave me and join her boyfriend. I took a deep breath and walked toward Dane.
“Hey,” he said, with a slightly husky voice.
“Hey,” I said. My heart pounded hard.
“Look, Darce, about before… at the Rendezvous Club…”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, cutting him off. I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh good. I was stressing the fuck out when you left. I thought you might think I was trying to take advantage of you or something.”
“No. I didn’t think that.”
But you see, there’s this rumor…
“I just want to let you know I would never do that to you. I… I’m in love with you, Darce.”
I froze. The world stopped, and it was only Dane and me.
“I’m in love with you too.”
And it was the truth.
He smiled his crazy sexy smile and hugged me into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him, and we kissed under the light of the moon and the stars and the headlights of someone’s car.
We were rudely interrupted by what sounded like a barrage of thunder, when in reality, it was Bobby, standing in the bed of the truck, hitting his drumsticks on the roof of the car.
“Sorry to break up this little lover’s fest here, but we’ve got an after-party to get to. The booze won’t drink itself. Plus, a little birdy told me the insane asylum is locked up for the night, and the staff has gone home. So, who’s with me?”
Everyone around me threw up their arms and cheered, Dane and I included.
Then I took Dane’s hand and followed him to his car. Stacey went with Ashton, and the other girls jumped in their cars.
And then we made our way toward Summervale Cove.