151 Days (55 page)

Time slowed as I looked down at him, my heart bursting with love and my brain screaming in shock. I felt my face start to burn from embarrassment as I looked down and saw he had his ring out. I know he was asking me to prom, but he looked like he was asking me to marry him, and in that moment I froze.

“Kyle?” he asked. I looked up. “Go with me?”

I nodded mutely, feeling my eyes begin to tear up with emotion. I gave him a small smile as he slid the ring on my finger.

I swore I would never again take it off.

His face exploded into a smile as he leaned in and kissed me. I barely noticed that the other guys were kissing their girls too.

Including Jennifer and Josh.

I pulled away from the kiss and looked over at them. Brad followed, and we watched them kiss. And kiss. And kiss.

Everyone in the lunchroom began to cheer and clap as the other guys stood up, pumping one fist up in victory. Brad was still kneeling, looking over at Jennifer and Josh still kissing. Slowly the rest of the crowd noticed too, and the room got quiet as the kiss extended into something epic. The song went on and on, but no one was singing. They were all looking at the two of them. The song ended, and they continued to lock lips.

“Wow,” Brad said as the kiss went on and on.

Finally they stopped. Josh pulled his face back. “So that’s a yes?”

Jennifer, who looked like she had just been mugged, nodded with wide eyes.

He jumped to his feet and screamed a rowdy “
Yahoo
!” and the room went wild.

Brad pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me as everyone celebrated around us. “I hate you,” I said to him before he could kiss me.

“Prove it,” he said, leaning in to call my bluff.

How could I not kiss him back?

“How long have you been planning this?” I asked him after catching my breath.

“Since I was a freshman,” he said with a goofy grin on his face.

“You’ve been waiting since you were a freshman to sing and dance for me?” I asked him, shaking my head.

“Oh that, no that has been since I gave you my ring before break.” He leaned in, and his voice dropped to an almost whisper. “But I’ve been waiting for you all my life, so does that answer your question?”

I nodded and just enjoyed the moment as best I could.

“Did you know about this?” Jennifer asked, shattering the moment.

We looked over and saw Josh with his arms around her waist, a look of complete and utter love in his face. She was pointing at his face.

“I had an idea,” Brad admitted. “But some things are best done as a surprise.”

Josh kissed her neck, and I could see her close her eyes for a moment and then shake the feeling off. She moved out of his embrace. “Look, pal, I said yes to the prom. Not to be your piece of ass. You wanna be my boyfriend, you have to earn that.”

Josh nodded so earnestly I almost lost it right there.

“You will wine, dine, and court me to the best of your ability.
If
you don’t make a complete ass of yourself, then I might go out with you. If you do, then we are prom dates and nothing more. Got it?” She sounded like a drill sergeant, which seemed to be exactly what Josh needed, since he nodded again and looked more than ready to follow her orders. “So… just keep that in mind.”

“Can I kiss you again?” he asked, and I covered my mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

“Maybe,” she answered, a small smile crossing her face. “That’s on a case-by-case basis, so don’t push it.” He nodded again, but the look of devotion in his eyes never wavered.

He had it bad for her.

“So we should go together,” Jennifer said, looking at us. “Safety in numbers and all that.”

“We can get a limo,” Brad suggested.

“The town is like five blocks wide,” she said in disbelief. “Even if we could get a limo all the way out here, where would we go with it?”

“Limos are cool,” Josh added.

She looked at him. “
No
they aren’t. They’re big cars that are nothing but eyesores unless you’re driving in one.”

Almost immediately his face changed, and he looked at us. “Yeah, limos are lame, Brad. Bad idea.”

“Oh God,” Brad said, covering his eyes with his hand. “This is going to be fun.”

We spent the rest of lunch making plans for the prom. Jennifer said we should all have matching colors, which made me confused since she was the only one who was going to be in a dress. I got worried for a moment. “Wait, how am I going to rent a tux?”

“I got it,” Brad said casually.

“You’re going to pay for both of ours? That’s not fair.”

He shrugged. “I already own one, so it’s just a matter of getting you one.”

“What kind of teenager owns a tux?” I asked incredulously.

He looked a little embarrassed. “My dad bought it for me freshman year for parties.”

“I don’t need you to rent my tux,” I declared, even though I badly needed him to rent my tux. “I’ll get one on my own.”

How, I had no idea.

We spent the last of that lunch and the next few days making plans and generally enjoying ourselves. I was going to head to fifth period when Jennifer pulled me aside. “Nice speech, but we both know a tux is out of your price range. You thinking Robbie?”

I froze, not sure what to tell her. Robbie always seemed so damn private. I’m not sure he would appreciate me passing it around he was in a funk. But on the other hand, Jennifer had known him longer than I had, so maybe she could help. I just decided to split the difference and tell half the truth. “I was, but I hate asking him for so much stuff.” I tried to sound as pathetic as possible.

“Screw that. Come on, let’s go ask him,” she declared as she headed toward the parking lot.

“What about prom committee?” I asked her, following behind.

She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, please. We’ve had everything planned for months. All we do is sit in there and bitch. It’s a waste of time.”

It did sound like a waste of time, but I wasn’t going to say that. Instead I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text before getting into her car.

Robbie’s car was there, even though the place looked like it was completely closed. I let her go up and knock on the door as I stood behind a little bit. I wasn’t sure he wanted to see me all that much. After the fifth knock the blinds pulled back, and his face peered out from the other side of the glass. He looked even worse than before. He still hadn’t shaved, his clothes looked slept in, and his hair didn’t look anything like the old him since there was no product in it. The worst part was the dark rings under his eyes that made it look like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

He looked at Jennifer like he didn’t even know who she was, and then I saw his eyes flicker past her to look at me. I could almost hear him sigh through the glass as his head vanished and the door unlocked. Jennifer looked at me, wondering if that was an invitation in. I nodded my head, knowing it wasn’t going to get any nicer than that. When we walked in, the entire shop was packed up. There were empty fixtures on the wall and racks in a corner, but minus a couple of things on the ground, it was all gone.

“What’s going on?” she asked, clearly not sure what to make of all this.

“Okay, please,” he answered, retreating behind the counter. “Like Encyclopedia Brown over there didn’t tell you what was going on?”

Jennifer looked back at me and I shrugged, feigning innocence.

“Are you moving?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” Robbie replied, putting his head down on his arms. “I have no answers for you, Jennifer.”

I tapped her on the shoulder and gestured we should leave. She shook her head.

“Brad asked Kyle to the prom,” she announced like it was actual news.

“Of course he did,” Robbie muttered, head still facedown on the counter.

“And Kyle doesn’t have anything to wear,” she added.

Robbie slowly looked up, and I knew this was a bad idea.

“Oh, Kyle needs something,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “I didn’t know it was an emergency. Kyle needs something, so let me put my midlife….” He paused and reflected on it. “My early midlife crisis on hold so I can help him. What are you, a thirty-two waist? Twenty-eight inseam? By all means, let me gather some mice up and get them to working. Any color you have in mind? Particular style? Please, allow me to be your own personal sweatshop.” I said nothing as he came from around the counter. “Or wait, I have a better idea. Why don’t I just find something of Riley’s, and you can….”

“
Robbie
!” a voice bellowed from behind me, and I might have pissed myself a little.

Tyler was standing there, looking six different types of pissed.

Told you I knew who Robbie would listen to.

“He goes five years without even acknowledging my existence and now twice in the same month,” Robbie bitched, turning away from us. “I think I liked being ignored.”

“You kids get on out of here,” Tyler warned more than said to us. “This is personal.”

“Take it easy on him,” I whispered to Tyler.

From the way he glared at me, it was pretty obvious that he was not going to be easy on him.

“Come on, Jennifer,” I said, grabbing her hand. “Let’s get out of here.” We retreated out of the door like they were going to have a shoot-out.

I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be that different from one.

“What was all that about?” she asked me once we were in the car.

I thought about telling her but then thought better of it. If Robbie hadn’t told her the story of Riley by now, he didn’t want her to know. It wasn’t my place to spread it around. Instead I just gave her a shrug and said, “Looks like typical Foster drama to me.”

I don’t think she bought it completely, but she knew I wasn’t going to share any more.

T
HAT
NIGHT
as Brad and I pretended to do homework at his place, he paused our kissing and asked. “So am I allowed to buy our tickets to the prom?”

“Depends,” I said, leaning into him and gnawing on his neck.

“O-on?” he asked, his voice quivering from my mouth.

“If you’re going to expect me to put out.” I pushed him back onto his bed.

“I wouldn’t expect you to…,” he began to say and then saw me shaking my head.

“Wrong answer,” I said, giving him an evil smile.

It took him a few seconds, but his face brightened, and he grinned back at me. “I would totally expect you to put out, then.”

“Good,” I said, glancing over at the door to make sure it was locked.

“What time is your mom going to be home?” he asked.

“Shut up and get naked,” I said breathlessly.

He did exactly that.

T
HAT
M
ONDAY
tickets to the prom went on sale. There was a line around the student union as everyone lined up to grab tickets. I stood in line with Brad and Josh, who had spent the entire weekend with Jennifer, and if anything, seemed more entranced by her than before. He kept going on and on and on about how she smelled and her laugh, and I saw Brad nod in agreement and then roll his eyes to me when Josh looked away. I wondered if I looked that goofy when I talked to someone about Brad. Most likely.

“And she does this squeak…,” Josh began to say, and Brad’s head snapped toward his friend like it was a martial arts movie.

“Say what?” he asked gruffly.

“I mean….” Josh was getting red now. “Oh damn, I completely forgot you used to be with her,” he stammered.

“You got her to squeak?” Brad asked, not seeming angry but more confused.

Josh nodded.

Brad glanced down at Josh’s jeans and then back to his face. “Did you… you know?”

Josh looked down in curiosity to what Brad was looking at. It took him a couple of seconds to realize what Brad was saying. “Oh. Oh no, we didn’t do that,” Josh answered, half laughing.

“Then how… I mean, why did she squeak?” Brad asked.

Josh put his hand up to his mouth and stuck his tongue between his fingers.

“Oh God,” I cried, looking away but knowing I was never going to get that image out of my head. “Why did you tell us that?”

Josh laughed at my squeamishness. “Your boyfriend asked, dude. Trust me, you can be crazy in bed and all, but if you don’t have any cunnilingus skills, you are a one-trick pony.” I saw Brad’s face turn a little pale, and I didn’t feel so bad. “Oh come on, you guys have to know this,” he joked. “I mean, you guys have to at least have rimmed each other, right?”

“I withdraw the question,” Brad said sternly. “Just please stop talking.”

“Seriously? Oh, you guys have to try that. There is nothing like it in the world. Trust me,” he said, slapping me on the chest, laughing.

“When were you rimmed?” I asked, not even sure how we got on this topic.

Josh held a finger up in front of my face and waggled it back and forth. “A gentleman does not kiss and tell.”

“You just told us you went down on Jennifer,” I shot back. “That is almost the very definition of kissing and telling.”

Josh paused and thought about it. “Damn, you’re right.” He looked back to Brad. “Forget all that. We watched movies all weekend.”

I rolled my eyes at Brad, who turned back to the line.

“Man, for gay guys y’all are prudes,” Josh complained to no one in particular.

When we got to the front of the line, Josh saw Jennifer sitting at the table collecting money with the other girls from the prom committee. He froze as he realized how close she had been to him bragging.

“So you think she’ll mind if I ask what made her squeak?” I whispered to Josh.

“Dude,” he said, looking back at me with wild eyes. “Be cool, Kyle, come on.”

I laughed and shook my head. “I couldn’t do that, ’cause if I did, she would just kill you. Not Tase you, just straight out kill you.” I saw the look on his face when he realized I was telling the truth. “So maybe you should learn not to brag about what you did last weekend, huh?”

He nodded mutely as we got up to the front of the line.

Josh handed his money over to Jennifer. “Two, please,” he said with a huge smile on his face.