Page 65 of What If It Was Us
Jackson, true to his word, still bought my prom ticket and helped me pick out a dress of Julie’s for the event. Before the dance, we took pictures at the Delvecchios’ house with a group of Sophie’s friends.
Jackson was looking handsome in a black tux with a black bow tie to match Sophie’s princess-style ball gown. Her red hair was in long curls down her back, and she had on these clear heels that made her look like Cinderella. She was radiant.
I was wearing an old dress of Julie’s; a form-fitting light-green gown that tied in a criss-cross up my back. Marie had pulled my white-blonde hair up into a French twist, and I was wearing my black high-top Converse with the embroidered pizza slice.
I stood off to the side during pictures, claiming that Mrs. Delvecchio needed help with the camera, and adjusting where everyone should stand. She forced me to take a picture with Jackson against my wishes, and I could barely manage to smile through the daggers Sophie was throwing at me with her glare. I couldn’t shrug his arm off my waist fast enough after hearing the shutter click.
Jackson drove Sophie and I to the dance, Sophie squeezed in between us with the tulle of her dress overflowing onto my lap and Jackson’s. It was one of the most uncomfortable situations ever, and not just because of the dress.
When we got to the venue the prom was being held at, things went exactly as I suspected they would go. Everything was awkward, and filled with tension. Sophie and Jackson argued throughout dinner, and their bickering continued into the evening. I tried to ignore it, but it was difficult when I knew they were arguing about me.
***
Toward the end of the night, Jackson and I were sitting at the table, rapping along to the song “The Night Is Still Young” by Nicki Minaj while simultaneously eating our second serving of cupcakes.
My feet were crossed at the ankles on the edge of the table, and I had a hand out like I was spinning a record. Jackson cupped his hands around his mouth, tilting his head up toward the sky while he screamed, “The night is still young, and so are we!” Everyone else was dancing like their lives depended on it.
I was having so much fun with him; it was just like how things used to be when we would sing at the restaurant with Julie. It had been months since we did that together.
Sophie was on the dance floor with her friends, and when the song changed to a slow one, she tapped her way over in her heels. I couldfeelthe storm brewing.
“Jackson, come on, just dance with me one time,” she begged.
I couldn’t look up at her. I felt so bad for her; Jackson had been a dick to her all night, refusing to dance, and huffing and puffing whenever she asked him to take pictures. She had been on the dance floor most of the night, jumping around with her friends, trying to get just a little bit of his attention. It hadn’t worked.
After an uncomfortable silence I finally glanced up at her. For once, she didn’t look mad—she looked fucking heartbroken. I had looked at Jackson that same way plenty of times, and I couldn’t handle seeing it on her face.
“Jackson, go dance with your girlfriend,” I said as I ripped his cupcake out of his hand.
Sophie gave me a death glare, even though I was trying to help her out. Even though she was mad at Jackson, that in turn made her mad at me. It wasn’t fair.
Jackson stared at me with an angry look and shoved my feet off the table before finally pushing out his chair and joining her on the dance floor, looking like we stole his lunch money. I watched them dance to a slow song, but instead of kissing or pulling each other close like the other couples around them, they were just arguing back and forth about something.
When the song ended, they both headed in different directions, Jackson coming back to the table with a red face while Sophie rushed toward the bathrooms. He loosened his bow tie. “Come on, let’s go to the restaurant. I need a drink.”
I didn’t question him as I grabbed my purse and we left the venue. I was so done with their drama.
I hopped into the passenger seat of his truck, undoing my hair and letting it fall down over my shoulders in loose waves. The song “In Too Deep” by Sum 41 played on his phone on the way there.
By the time we got to Delvecchios’, everyone who had closed the restaurant was already gone. We let ourselves in through the back door with my key, turning on the lights as we went. Jackson plugged his phone into the speaker, “Sex” by The 1975 playing around us while we searched for a bottle of wine behind the bar.
We walked across the dining room and sat down on the floor with our backs against the wall—something we hadn’t done just the two of us in a long time.
Jackson turned toward me, eyes traveling from my face to my shoes and back up again. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you that you look stunning tonight.”
My stomach did a huge flip, and with such an explicit song playing in the background, the energy around us felt like it was crackling with tension.
“Thanks,” I said as I put my hair behind my ears, trying to act like it was a completely normal compliment from a friend. I took a sip of the wine before giving it to Jackson.
“So, what happened with Sophie at the dance?” I asked, reminding him he had a girlfriend.
Jackson took four large gulps of the wine before passing the bottle back to me.
“It’s just always something with her. I don’t want to talk about it,” Jackson said, grabbing the bottle back impatiently. “Let’s just have fun.”
I didn’t press him, and when the song switched over to “Pursuit Of Happiness” by Kid Cudi, he started bopping his head to the beat with a smile. I couldn’t help myself from singing along, too, and he ran to the kitchen to turn the volume all the way up. He came back to join me on the floor, his hip pressed against mine. We took turns drinking the wine until it was almost finished. I felt the alcohol all at once, and we couldn’t stop laughing.
The song was blasting from the speakers so loudly that we could barely hear one another giggling and screaming the lyrics. We didn’t notice that someone had come in through the back door until it was too late.
