Ten

Robin

“Who?” Carla nearly dropped the formal dress she was holding.

I casually shrugged, hiding my giddiness at her reaction. We were dress shopping with our mothers. We had met for lunch, where I barely said two words. The mothers had done most of the talking with Carla adding fake cheery commentary and giving me secret glares when they weren’t looking.

It wasn’t until we were searching through the dress racks that my cousin tried to sucker punch me with prom discussion. She’d started by claiming how happy she was that she had introduced me to some new friends from her school, and then she passive-aggressively said how sad she was that I chose to go to prom with them instead of her.

I had been waiting for this and knew exactly what to say. I told our mothers that I didn’t want to be a burden on Carla’s romantic prom date with her boyfriend. So my new friends had set me up on a blind date for prom.

Of course, Carla was expecting me to say this, since Ruby had already told her. But Ruby hadn’t given her any names.

And when I casually said, “Slade something,” my cousin froze in shock.

“She told me his last name, but I can’t remember it. I think it starts with a W.”

Carla shook her head in disbelief. “Slade Wilkins. You can’t be serious. He doesn’t date. Anyone. Why is he taking you to prom?”

My aunt squealed in delight. “Has he seen a picture of you? Do you think it’s love at first sight?”

She was a hopeless romantic, and normally I would tell her it wasn’t possible, but seeing my cousin’s face turn an angry red at the thought of this untouchable guy falling in love with me was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. I couldn’t wait to go home and tell Ryan all about it.

At least I knew Ruby had told the truth when she said half the school would be jealous.

“You misunderstood her,” Carla said. “There’s no way. We’ll get the truth.” She pulled out her phone and called her boyfriend. “Find out who Slade is taking to prom,” she barked into the phone and then hung up. Smirking at me, she said, “We will know the truth soon.”

“What’s the problem, Carla?” my aunt asked. “Robin is a beautiful girl. This guy could have fallen in love with her.”

Carla’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at the text she received. Her face scrunched into a scowl. “No! It’s not possible.” She glared at me and pointed an angry finger at my face. “What did you do to get him to agree?”

“Carla,” my aunt said. “Watch your tone.”

I stood there silent, in shock. Carla had never lost her cool with me in front of her mother. And I’d never seen her mother admonish her.

My cousin must’ve realized her mistake and got a grip on her demeanor. “That came out wrong. I’m just so surprised. He’s the one guy in school that never dates anyone, and rumors have been flying around that he was secretly in love with someone. So when Robin walks in with him, people will assume that she is his mystery girl.”

My aunt clapped her hands and then latched onto my mother. “Maybe she is. Wouldn’t that be romantic?”

My mom agreed, though not as wholeheartedly as her sister. “I’ll have to meet him, of course. Robin can’t go on a date with a stranger.”

I hadn’t thought about that, and my stomach sank. I wanted this as low-key as possible, and I knew my parents would make it a big deal. Especially since it would be my first date that wasn’t with my best friend.

I had to talk to Ruby about this and figure out how we could make my mom happy and keep Carla off my back. It was nice to think that I had another girl that I could talk to about this. Ryan was great, and he was my best friend. But with this situation, I wanted another female perspective.

Not sure what to say, I walked away from my family and gazed at the racks. I didn’t want anything over the top or crazy flashy. I wanted something simple and elegant that I would feel confident in. And even though I’d worn formal dresses before, this one felt more important. Maybe because it was my senior year.

My hands ran along a dark green fabric that felt smooth and soft to the touch. I didn’t know what it was, but something about it drew me. I pulled the dress off the rack and looked at the simple lines in silhouette. My mom stepped over and said, “That’s gorgeous. Do you want to try it on?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t you want something with more sparkle?” My aunt asked, “When else in your life can you get totally blinged out?”

“Sparkles are not really my thing,” I said.

Carla stepped over to where we were and stood out of our mothers’ sights. She sneered at me before forcing a sweet smile on her face and saying, “I think it’s perfect. Robin isn’t the kind of girl to sparkle.”

A slight frown formed on my mom’s lips, but she didn’t say anything. “Try it on. Carla’s right; you don’t need gaudy sparkles to make you look amazing.”

My aunt frowned at her sister’s words.

I put on the dress and instantly knew that it was the one. I felt amazing in it, and when I showed it to my mom, she grinned at me and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “How did my daughter get to be so grown-up and so beautiful?”

I smiled at her. “Must be good genes.”

She hugged me. “Do we still need to look?”

“No,” I said. “Let’s go help Carla find a sparkly dress.”

The only sign that Carla’s words had hurt my mom’s feelings was her next statement. She whispered to me, “Let’s find the gaudiest sparkles we can find.”

I agreed. And for the next three hours we followed my cousin around the store as she tried on almost everything and then eventually chose a dress completely covered in sparkles.

When we separated from my aunt and cousin, my mom said, “You didn’t seem surprised at Carla’s attitude. I’m guessing it’s not the first time.”

“It’s not. But that’s okay. We had a great time and found an incredible dress. That’s all that matters.”

Mom squeezed my hand as she pulled out of the parking lot. “And I get to meet your date.”

I sighed. I’d almost forgotten about that. I needed to talk to Ruby soon.

Ryan

Matt was going to regret staying at home.

When my parents arrived for breakfast and found Ruby helping us unpack, they invited her to eat with us, and then she stayed and continued helping with the boxes my parents had brought.

We really didn’t speak to each other. I was still seething from what she had done, and even though Robin was taking it in stride, I didn’t like the situation. At all.

First I was forced into leaving my home and my best friend’s side. And now Robin was being forced to go to prom with a date she didn’t want. It felt like the whole world was conspiring against us. I focused on unpacking things upstairs while Ruby and my parents unpacked boxes downstairs.

I didn’t know why Ruby stayed, and I wasn’t going to ask.

When I finished, I went downstairs to find my parents gone and Ruby and Tabitha putting dishes away in the kitchen.

“Looks like our house has become a community project,” I said, trying to make a joke.

“We’re just being friendly,” Ruby said. “In case you didn’t know, it’s what neighbors do.”

“Wow, Rubes, that was harsh,” Tabitha said.

Ruby didn’t answer and took the stack of plates and set them in the pantry.

“I’m not going to apologize for hating your plan,” I said. Ruby spun around and glared at me. I held up my hand to prevent her from speaking. “But I will apologize for being rude. You’re right, neighbors look out for each other. Robin is my best friend and my neighbor. I’ll always have her back.”

The heat from Ruby’s expression faded. “You can trust us.”

Tabitha looked between us. “What’s going on?”

“I got Robin a date for prom.”

“What? We’re supposed to go as a group.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Why did you get her a date?”

Ruby smirked at her. “You want me to find you one?”

“Absolutely not,” the girl said and began unpacking boxes again. “I just don’t know why you’re changing the plan.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll still go to prom with you.”

“You need a date for prom?” My brother’s voice rang through the empty house.

Tabitha groaned and rolled her eyes. “I’m good. I’m going with Ruby.”

Matt swaggered into the room carrying an arm full of fast food. “I’ll take you,” Matt said, and placed the food on the kitchen island.

“I’m not going with you to prom,” Tabitha said.

Ruby shot me a grin and then told her friend, “It’s okay if you want to double date with Robin.”

Matt frowned. “I’m not going on a double date with my brother.”

Both the girls stopped what they were doing and stared at me. “I thought you two were just friends,” Tabitha said.

“We’re best friends. That’s it.”

Ruby searched my face. “I get it now.”

“What?” My voice came out harsher than I had intended.

“You mean how my big brother refuses to admit he’s in love with Robin?” Matt said.

“Exactly,” Ruby said.

“I’m not,” I insisted and began pulling food out of the bags. “Let’s eat.”

I hoped they would drop the subject, but apparently Ruby wasn’t finished meddling with other people’s lives.

“Matt, you could double date with Robin and her prom date. It’s not your brother.”

“Who is she dating?” Tabitha asked.

I couldn’t help but correct her assumption. “She’s not dating anyone. Ruby set her up on a blind date for prom.”

“Who?” Tabitha insisted.

Ruby hesitated, and I watched the friends interact. Ruby pressed her lips together, but the determined look on Tabitha’s face said she wasn’t going to give up.

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. “Slade.”

Tabitha’s jaw dropped open. “Why would you choose him? Doesn’t that violate our girl code?”

Matt draped his arm around Tabitha’s shoulders. “What’s wrong? Is that your crush?”

She ignored him and remained focused on her friend. “Did you tell her?”

Ruby bit her bottom lip. “Not yet. But she won’t mind.”

“I hope you’re right,” Tabitha said.

“So it’s a date?” Matt squeezed Tabitha into his side, forcing her to realize he had his arm around her.

“No,” she pushed him away. “And don’t touch me again.”

Matt shrugged and grabbed a paper-wrapped burger from the counter. “I can respect your boundaries,” he said. “The next time I wrap my arms around you, it will be because you asked for it.”

The girl rolled her eyes and said to her friend, “I’m heading out. Movies tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ll probably want to tell her then. You don’t want her surprised at prom.”

Ruby didn’t answer, and Tabitha left.

I wanted to ask Ruby what was going on and if she had placed Robin in the middle of some high school drama. But I knew she wouldn’t answer me, so I kept my mouth shut. Ruby stayed long enough to help us finish unpacking boxes and then left me and Matt alone in the house.

“Looks like I’m going to prom,” Matt said.

“You’re delusional. Tabitha wants nothing to do with you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Don’t get kicked out of this school, too. Our parents have gone to a lot of trouble, all because of you.”

Matt grinned at me. “Haven’t you heard that a good woman can send a man on the straight and narrow? I’m a changed man, bro.”

I shook my head at my cocky brother. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Matt grinned at me. “Just wait.”

He grabbed a pile of items that needed to go upstairs and backed away from me. “And maybe you could learn something from me. If you want the girl, get in the game. You can’t win if you never play.”

My brother was an idiot. He was going to pursue a girl who didn’t want him, and he thought I had something to learn from his example.

I’d try my best not to laugh when he fell flat on his face. But I couldn’t promise it.

And when it came to my best friend, no games were needed.

Anyone who tried to play games with her would answer to me.