Summer and Forever

Hilary was indeed looking for me and my punishment was that I couldn’t go and buy a dress for the dance. It was just as Kevin had predicted. Melina promised to buy a dress for me.

“No!” I protested.

“Yes.” She said firmly. “You are going to this dance and I am not going to let Ingrid get away with making you go without a dress.” She left with Joe in tow. He looked happy enough.

“You’re not going?” I asked Nick when I saw him sitting on the couch in the cottage.

“I already have a tux but I don’t want to go. I know the girls will just attack me and frankly, I like my hair on my head.”

“They actually rip your hair out?”

“Oh yes.” He looked so solemn I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not funny!”

“It is to me.” I grinned. “Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll verse you in Mario Bros?” “You’re on.”

I had a great day, even without Kevin. I got to punch Ingrid in the face, get out of dress shopping and play video games all day while hiding from the counselors.

Kevin had gone down to find something to wear to the dance. “You should have gone with him.” Nick said after a few hours of playing.

“Why?”

“Because he has low self esteem.”

“What?”

“He’s going to go from store to store worrying about looking good for the girl he likes so much. You should have gone so you could just say ‘Oh my god Kevvy you’re so hot in that’ so it saves him time and stress.”

I burst out laughing, unable to help myself. The thought of Kevin stressing over looking good was ridiculous. “You’ll see.” Nick just muttered.

*****

I stared at the dress Melina bought for me with a mixture of excitement and dread. The dress itself was pretty but I didn’t think it would look good on me. I held it out in front of me, struggling to keep my face straight as Melina asked what I thought.

“It’s…well…I don’t know if it will look good on me.” I said honestly.

She scowled at me. “Put it on.”

“Come on.” I whined.

“No.” She said stubbornly. So twenty minutes later and I was in a light blue strapless dress that went all the way down to my feet. It was a flowing kind of dress and it had gold flowers starting from one side of the dress and going in a diagonal line down the dress. I pulled my hair up into a bun and Melina forced eyeliner on me before relenting.

“You’ll do.” She sighed before pulling on her own dress. I looked at myself in the mirror and fought to try and see myself as pretty.

******

Well, I guess I looked alright. Kevin’s jaw literally fell open before he snapped it shut and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

“Uh…you look…wow.” Was all he managed to say. I looked him up and down and he shifted nervously. He looked damn fine in a tux.

“I can officially say I get the hottest date tonight.” I grinned at him. He sighed and relaxed. “How many stores did you go into to find that tux?”

“One.” He said innocently.

“Nick said you would go into, like, twenty.” Kevin glared at Nick who winked at him cheekily.

“Wow senorita, May I have the honor of escorting you to the dance?” Joe asked Melina when she came out. She was in a red dress that came to her knees with crossed straps keeping it up. It looked great on her. Her hair was down and flowing and she’d intertwined some gold braid into her chestnut locks. She looked really good.

*****

The dance was fun. Kevin was right. You didn’t have to be coordinated, especially when the guy you’re dancing with holds you close. I had to fight to moderate my grin down a notch or two because I was sure I was going to blind him sooner or later.

“You look beautiful Sari.” He said with a smile.

“Sari?” I questioned. I’d never been called that before.

He went red. “Sorry. I just randomly shorten people’s names and…”

“Sari is cool. Just don’t call me skunk.” He chuckled and pulled me closer.

“Deal, as long as you don’t call me Kevvy.”

I snorted with laughter. “Definitely a deal.”

We danced for the first ten songs together and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. Kevin frowned a bit and I looked behind me. A tall good looking boy with blond hair and green eyes smiled down at me. “Uh…hello.”

“I was wondering if this guy was going to hog you all night or if I could get in one dance.” He said arrogantly. I raised my eyebrows and was tempted to tell him to shove off but then I sighed. It would probably do Kevin some good to sit down.

I looked up at Kevin and saw his narrowed eyes. “No?” I asked him. He forced his face into a relaxed smile that looked more like a grimace.

“Sure, go ahead.” He relinquished his hold on me and the blond guy stepped into place.

“So what music do you do?” He asked me as we twirled around a bit.

“I…sing.” I finished randomly.

“Cool! I play guitar and piano myself. Maybe I could take you to a music room and serenade you?” This guy obviously thought he was being smooth. I rolled my eyes but did it so he couldn’t see.

“I don’t think so.”

“Is that guy your boyfriend or something?”

“Yes.”

“Pity.”

“What?” I was confused. Was he seriously hitting on me even though he now knew I was taken?

“All I wanted to do was this.” He gripped the back of my head and smashed his mouth against mine, forcing his tongue into my mouth and holding me there. I struggled and gave muffled shrieks but couldn’t pull him off. I was too damn short and weak.

Just when I thought I was going to suffocate, I was freed. I fell onto the floor of the dance room and stared up in shock as Kevin landed three quick punches in quick succession into the blond boy’s face. My legs felt too shaky to stand up and my hair was undone. I felt so freaked out.