What Happens In the Photo Booth Stays In the Booth-Aiden
PICK up the corsage and flowers. Pick up food. Lay out suit. Call limo service to double-check reservations. Call DJ. Stop by the hall with liquor for approval.
I mentally went through the list of shit I needed to do before we went to pick up Jenna and her friends. I had eight hours to get everything done, and I needed to book it.
“Jon! Nate! Get your asses in here.” I sat at my desk with a mission to complete. I needed their help to get everything done.
“What’s up?” Nate came in with a stupid grin on his face.
“Why are you smiling like a bitch?”
He shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Ah, nothing. Pumped for tonight actually. Glad Kennedy said yes.”
“Good for you, man. I need you to stop by the hall and drop off the booze. I’m swamped with everything and could really use the help.” I hoped it didn’t sound like a demand.
“No problem. You ready for tonight?”
“Hell titties.” I cringed when I realized I stole one of Jenna’s sayings.
“Jenna?”
“Yeah. Embarrassing. Shit.” I rubbed a hand down my face.
“No worries. Hey, your little proposal hit the net. You’re trending right now.”
“No fucking way.”
“Yup. Search hashtag Jaiden. That’s your couple name.” He chuckled.
“We aren’t officially a couple or anything, man. We aren’t labeling it.”
“You take like ten steps forward and eleven back. Whatever. I’ll go drop the drinks off now and catch ya later. Deuces.”
“Deuces? What a douchebag,” Jon mumbled when Nate ran out the door. “You need something? I was in the middle of watching Family Guy, so this better be important.”
“Can you help me for thirty minutes or so?”
He nodded once. “You got it. What you need?”
“Preapprove a list of songs for tonight. I don’t trust our DJ. And call a couple of the alumni to see if they’re coming. If they are, we need to be sure to tone it down until they leave.”
“Will do. I’ll let you know what I find out.” He saluted and headed out.
“Awesome.”
Seven hours later, I was dressed to the nines, as were Jon and Nate, and we were on our way to pick up the girls in the party limo we’d rented for the night. I wiped my palms on my pants because I couldn’t stop sweating.
“You nervous?” Nate goaded.
“Fuck off. Nah. I ain’t nervous,” I lied.
“Dude. You’re sweating.”
“Is it obvious?”
“You look like a whore in church,” Nate said in such a somber tone I burst out laughing.
“Okay, thanks for that. I needed it.”
“It’s what I’m good for: well-timed one-liners and an insane ability to chug beer.”
Jon remained quiet throughout the ride, but I didn’t get to ask him about it before we arrived. “Here goes, boys.”
I walked toward their door, flowers in hand, and knocked.
Jenna opened the door, and my breath caught in my throat. Her hair hung in curls around her strong shoulders. The dress—holy shit, her dress—was dark green and clung to her every curve. She smiled shyly, and I felt it throughout my entire body. Her smile became something I lived to see. It made my world better. My happiness depended on making her smile.
“You okay, Aiden?” Her eyes grew concerned at my silence, and she stepped forward to put her hand on my face. I couldn’t talk yet, so I just nodded.
“You look so handsome. I’m going to have a hard time taking my eyes off you.” She searched my eyes for something.
“You’re fucking beautiful.” Wow. Good one. Those pathetic words were the best I could come up with without breaking out in tears. What a fucking pussy. Nate needed to punch me.
“Thank you.” She blushed and slid her hand down my face, giving me goose bumps.
“These are for you. And this.” I handed her the flowers and corsage, and she beamed. I’m glad she enjoyed them, because I sounded like a caveman.
“They’re gorgeous. Wow. Let me run them inside really quick.” She hurried back inside with the flowers.
Jon came up behind me and slapped me on the back of the head. “Dude. Embarrassing to watch, but wow. She looks unreal.”
“Watch it.” I growled.
He held up his hands. “Not creepin’ on her. Just a statement. She looks radiant.”
I sighed and stuck my hands in my pockets, fidgeting with whatever I could find. “I’m screwed, Jon.”
“I know. You are so completely whipped it’s hilarious. She still has no idea.”
I didn’t have time to answer before Jenna came back out, smiling, with Maya and Kennedy following. I’m sure they looked just as good, but I didn’t even glance at them. I just said hello and grabbed Jenna’s hand.
“So what’s the plan? You were kind of blah with the plans,” she asked as soon as we scooted into the car.
I put my arm around her and pulled her into my lap. I had to touch her. My body craved her like its next breath.
“We’re going to drive around in this thing for an hour and pregame before going in. After, who knows?”
“This is so exciting. It’s like I’m going to prom!”
“Didn’t you go to your high school prom?” I asked incredulously.
“Not really. No. I couldn’t afford a dress, and I always worked, so I didn’t have time to date anyone really. I went to homecoming with Maya’s older brother my sophomore year, but it wasn’t a real date.”
“You’ve never been to prom.” I got angry for her.
“I just told you. Why? Why do you look upset right now?” She scrunched her eyebrows.
“I can’t believe you haven’t had the full prom experience.”
“Did I just hear you correctly?” Nate said as he entered the limo with Kennedy on his arm. “Is it true, Jenna?”
She cringed and glared at me. Whoops. I made an apologetic face. “Yeah. It is.”
“Well, holy shit. We need to have a prom checklist for tonight. Everyone deserves a prom experience.
“J! That sounds like an awesome idea.” Kennedy clapped her hands and smiled. “It could be like a prom bingo checklist or something.”
“Hell yeah, that sounds fun. Whoever gets a bingo first buys a round of drinks the next time we all go out,” Nate replied.
“I don’t care what it is, but I’m in,” Jon said as he joined us.
I could feel Jenna glaring at me as her secret spread through the group. I felt a little bad but also incredibly proud of my friends for taking it in stride.
“Jenna never went to prom, so we’re going to make a bingo sheet and the first one who gets bingo wins,” Kennedy explained to Jon and Maya.
Maya looked at Jenna for a solid twenty seconds before licking her lips and smiling manically. “Oh hell titties, we are in.”
“Fuck you all.” Jenna glowered.
“It’s ’cause we love you, Jen-Jen,” Maya said.
“Yeah, Jen-Jen. Just play along,” I teased her.
“Okay. I’m going to win, assholes. What’s the list?”
We spent the next hour creating the list for the night:
1.An ill-fitting dress
2.Someone puking
3.Non-tasteful cleavage
4.Fedora
5.Girl taller than guy
6.Leopard-print dress
7.Skanky outfits
8.Weird couple dancing in the corner
9.Twerking
10.Selfie stick
11.Couple getting it on in middle of dance floor
12.Awkward chaperones
13.Side boob
14.Lots of side boob
“So first person to find all fourteen wins?” Nate asked after copying down the list on six napkins.
“Those are the rules,” Kennedy replied with a sensual expression. “Game on, bitches!”
Shots were passed around, and we all threw them back.
* * * *
“We’re here, guys. Let’s do it!” Jon led the line into the reception hall, and we all followed suit a little bit later. We all felt a buzz and were ready to continue the party.
It was definitely running well, and people were having a blast. Yeah, was it shallow to arrive a little late because I was the president? Yes. So what? I had my girl with me and didn’t care.
“Mark off number two,” Jenna shouted. “That girl is totally puking.” She pointed to the bushes. There was a girl losing her shit into the hedge.
“Nice job. You have one point.”
“I need to win. You should pity me. No prom, remember?” She stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout, and I bit it with my teeth.
“Don’t try to get sympathy from me, woman. I know you better than you think. You would’ve hated prom. It’s cliché, pricey, a popularity contest, and you couldn’t even drink. Trust me. This is way better.”
“Kiss my ass.” She had a shiny glint to her eyes, and I knew she was buzzed, but not tipsy. Good, because I wanted her to enjoy every second of the night.
I laughed at her and followed her onto the dance floor, but she had other plans. Her friends grabbed her and began a weird threesome dance thing I wanted no part of, so I found Jon and Nate.
“They have a strange relationship, don’t they?” Nate asked, watching Kennedy’s every move.
“Yeah. I don’t question it. Somehow I’m in Jenna’s circle of trust, and I don’t want to mess it up.”
“Probably a good idea,” he admitted with a small laugh.
I sniggered a little and grabbed a drink before looking back to find Jenna. She was still dancing with her friends, but some random guy came up behind her. I saw red and was charging toward the floor when I saw her totally curb him. It made my fucking day.
She saw me approaching, and her eyes softened. “Come to rescue me?”
“Honestly? Yes.”
“No need. The way you look tonight, there’s no one else who comes close. Now come show me those dance moves you bragged about.”
“I will, but I’m warning you. They may be a little too much for you to handle.”
She grinned. “Doubt it. Now get your ass over here.”