They walked to the front door, just as a limousine was pulling up to the curb. Candi saw them out the window that was just next to the front door and squeezed Sarah’s hand. “Don’t!” Candi yelled, when she saw that Sarah was about to go outside.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“They’re here!” Candi squeaked, her palms instantly going sweaty and her face heating up. She dropped her grip on Sarah and rubbed her hands together, barely resisting the strong urge to rub them on her dress.
“Oooo, let me see,” said Sarah, pushing Candi out of the way so she could look out the window. “Oh. Em. Gee. Look at my date. How adorable is he?”
Candi got one eyeball into position - the rest of her view blocked by Sarah hogging the whole area - and saw her brother coming up the walk. “Oh my. He does look nice, doesn’t he?” He’d been at Jason’s house getting ready with a whole group of guys - the ones who’d gone in together to pay for the big limo and arranged to all eat dinner together before the dance.
“Nice? Try hot. Try smokin’ hot.”
“Ew. That’s Jonathan, Sarah.”
“I know.” She looked at Candi with a cheshire cat grin.
Candi laughed. “You’re a sad woman, you know that?”
“Sad? No. Just hormonal. Rawwrr,” Sarah said, imitating a cat scratching and winking before going back to staring at her date as he came up the front walk.
The mothers came in as the doorbell rang. Mrs. Peterson said, “Step back, girls. Try not to look so eager.”
Mrs. Buckley waved them back, gesturing for them to stand at the foot of the stairs so the boys had room to enter. She walked over and opened the door, exposing the two tall boys wearing rented tuxes, both of them carrying small plastic boxes in their hands.
***
“Hi, mom,” said Jonathan, stepping inside the foyer and bending down a little awkwardly to give her a kiss on the cheek. He set a clear plastic box down on the front hall table.
Candi watched him, amazed at how good he looked. For some reason, even though they’d been back for over a month and he’d only gone from island-fit to even more-fit - now that he was training with the rugby team - she still sometimes expected to see the skinny, pale braniac walking through the door. He was still a brainiac, but everything else about him had changed. And as soon as his eyes lit on his date, Candi remembered why.
Jonathan’s face turned a pale pink below his tan. “Hello, Sarah. You look … like the most beautiful girl in the entire world.”
Sarah stepped up to him and patted him lightly on the cheek. “You say that every day.” She stood on tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the mouth. He reached an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. “Okay … how about, you are the most beautiful homo sapiens-sapiens on this terrestrial body?”
She nodded. “I like it. I can work with that.” She closed her eyes to accept the kiss from her goofy boyfriend, the father of her unborn child.
Candi rolled her eyes. “You guys are dorks.”
A movement at the door caught Candi’s eye, making her heart stop beating for a moment. Oh my god. He’s here! Her throat went dry and she thought she was going to choke. She coughed once, but it didn’t help.
“Are you okay?” asked Jonathan, staring at her with concern in his eyes.
Candi waved him away, unable to answer verbally. The most amazing-looking guy Candi had ever known was walking through her door right now, and it literally took her breath away. Tall and broad-shouldered, blonde hair and bright blue eyes, he was every inch her dream date.
His eyes scanned the room, his gaze stopping when it reached her. She knew the instant he laid eyes on her because his relaxed stance went instantly still and tense. And then he reached up and tugged a little at his collar, the box he held in his hand tipping its contents sideways.
“Hey, Candi,” he said in his deep voice.
“Hey.”
He smiled, his shoulders relaxing a bit. “Ready to go dancing?”
She smiled back, only a little tremble in her lips. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“Pictures first!” said Mrs. Peterson. “Everyone out on the front lawn. I have a full battery, and I’m not afraid to use it!”
“We need help with the corsages,” said Candi’s date, still standing in the doorway, looking down at a plastic box on the front table where Candi had put it earlier. “The guy ones.”
“They’re called boutonnieres,” said Jonathan, walking over and picking the two boxes up. “My mom can pin them on. Come on; we’re going to be late for our dinner reservations.” He looked down at his watch as he balanced three boxes in one arm, a small frown on his face. “We have exactly eight minutes and thirty-five seconds to do pictures before we have to be rolling away from the curb.”
Sarah pushed him towards the door. “Tell me you didn’t calculate to the second how long it’s going to take to get from here to the steakhouse.”
“No, just to the minute.”
Sarah sighed, talking to herself. “Baby steps. Baby steps to normal, Sarah. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Before they made it all the way outside, Candi caught Jonathan’s little smile. “Who wants to be normal? Normal’s boring.”
Sarah pinched his butt lightly, making him jump out the door. “I’ll give you boring …”
The mothers followed them out, leaving Candi and her date in the front hall. He advanced towards her, never taking his eyes from her face. When he reached her, he looked down, towering over her at over six feet tall.
“You look petrified,” he said, smiling to reveal his perfectly straight, bright white teeth.
“I am,” she whispered.
“Is it me? Or just the prom in general?”
Candi nodded, unable to totally focus on what he was saying enough to formulate an intelligent answer.
He smiled, leaning down to kiss her gently. His lips were warm, and his familiar scent washed over her, overwhelming her with his maleness and the way he always made her feel so vulnerable and strong at the same time. She sighed with pleasure.
“Happy?” he asked.
“Yes, Kevin. You always make me happy.”
“Wellll … not always.”
Candi smiled. “Okay, that’s true. You’ve made me happy every day since you finally took your head out of your butt two weeks ago, and every day on the island before that.”
“And the month in between those two times I made you crazy.” He tipped his forehead down to hers until they were touching. “I’ll never not be sorry for that, Gumdrop. I was an asshole, and you deserved much better than that. If another guy had done it, I’d have kicked his ass for you.”
Candi pulled her head away so she could give him a deep kiss, filled with the passion she felt for him and the love that had never gone away, even when he’d been so heartless. When she was done, she stepped back. “Enough of the past. Now it’s time to just enjoy the now and the possible tomorrows.”
Kevin took her by the hand and led her to the door. “Photo session time.”
Candi grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
Just as she was passing through the door, the phone rang. She let Kevin go out ahead of her so she could go back quickly and answer. Their dad called home a couple times a day and had promised not to forget to call before she left. She smiled warmly as she lifted the phone to her ear, not even bothering to check the caller ID.
“Hey, Dad. Perfect timing.”
A voice on the other end hesitated. A man cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Mrs. Buckley? Mrs. Candace Buckley?”
“Uhhh, no. This is her daughter.”
“May I speak with Mrs. Buckley, please?”
“Sure,” said Candi, resting the back of the phone on her shoulder, grabbing the nearby pen and paper so she could take a message. “May I ask who’s calling?”
“Yes, absolutely. This is Agent Charles Caffey with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Candi’s pen hand froze over the
paper.
“Excuse me? Can you … repeat that?”
“I’m with the FBI. Charles Caffey.”
The pen fell out of Candi’s numb hand.
“Di … did something happen to my father?” she whispered, her heart spasming painfully in her chest.
“What? No. No, no, no, this call isn’t about your father at all.”
Candi put her hand to her chest, breathing out heavily. “Oh my god, oh thank goodness. I almost had a heart attack there.”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to alarm you. Is Mrs. Buckley there? May I speak with her?”
“Yeah, sure. Just hold on a second, okay?”
“Not a problem.”
Candi walked out the front door, stopping on the top step. All of her new friends were standing out on the front lawn. There were four couples, everyone dressed to the nines and posing for pictures being taken not just by her mom and Kevin’s mom, but the other parents who’d followed the limo over. It was like a bunch of paparazzi had descended, reminding Candi uncomfortably of the days after her rescue, all those cameras pushed in her face when all she wanted to do was see Kevin - the one guy who wanted nothing to do with her. There was even a big black SUV across the street with dark tinted windows, causing her to remember how they’d lie in wait and jump out to take pictures with little warning.
Kevin saw her for a moment, looking confused. He jogged up the stairs, frowning the whole way. “What’s wrong?” He pulled the tophat he’d been wearing off his head.
“It’s the FBI on the phone for my mom.”
Kevin turned. “Yo! Mrs. B! Phone call for ya!”
“Tell whoever it is I’ll call them back! Take a message!” Mrs. Buckley shouted, staring through the lens at her son and Sarah who were posing with their arms around each other, smiling hugely.
“Mom, you have to take it now,” Candi said, trying not to sound as freaked out as she was.
Candace looked up from her camera, her head tilting to the side as she took in the image of Candi standing on the stairs with the phone held out. She lowered her arms and walked over at a rapid pace.
“What’s wrong, sweetie, who is it?” she asked as she came up the stairs.
“It’s the FBI,” Candi whispered, making sure no one else would hear.
Candace took the phone gingerly. “Hello?” She disappeared into the house, leaving Candi and Kevin alone on the porch again.
“What’s that all about?” asked Kevin, his tophat dangling at his side.
“I don’t know. Just that it’s not about my dad. I almost died when I thought they were calling to tell us that …” She couldn’t finish.
Kevin took her in an embrace. “Shhhh, it’s fine. Come on, let’s get some pictures done. If I let you cry, Sarah will kill me.”
Candi choked and laughed at the same time. “You’re right. She’s already smacked me twice.”
“You’ve gotten off easy. Come on,” he said, bringing her down the stairs, setting the tall hat back on his head.
Candi looked up at it. “Nice touch. The hat, I mean.”
“You like it?” He grinned. “I thought it was pretty cool. At least I know I’ll be original.”
Candi said nothing in response, joining the others and posing in several different spots with various groupings, until Jonathan announced it was time to go.
“We have exactly three minutes to get into the limo and on the way!” he said, coming over to stand near Candi. “Where’s Mom? She’s missing everything.”
“She had to take a call.”
“From Dad?”
Candi nodded absently, knowing her brother would insist on knowing every fact about the call otherwise. There’d be plenty of time to get the details after prom was over. Her mom would text if it was something that they needed to come home for. She pushed her brother over towards Sarah. “Help your baby momma get in the car. That dress is pretty tight.”
“I know,” said Jonathan. “It’s not very practical, but I appreciate the way it causes my heart to palpitate when I look at her.”
Candi giggled. “God, you’re such a dork.”
Jonathan looked over his shoulder, confused. “Why? It’s not like I calculated my heart rate or anything.”
“Yeah, right.”
Jonathan had his guilty look on now. “Okay, I might have done that when I first saw her, but I haven’t since. And I won’t anymore tonight. I’m just going to go with the flow, like Sarah suggested.”
“Excellent advice,” Candi responded, looking one more time at her house, relieved to see her mom standing on the porch and waving goodbye. The phone was still in her hand, but at least she was smiling now.
“Bye, Mom!” yelled Candi from the window, waving furiously. The sounds of all the kids in the limo made it impossible to hear anything. The vehicle pulled away from the curb, headed towards the steakhouse where Kevin said he was going to put their all-you-can-eat salad bar out of business.
Candi sat back in her seat, snuggling up to her handsome hunk of a boyfriend - Kevin Peterson … the boy she’d dreamed of going to the prom with for years. She watched the animated expressions on her friends’ faces as they ribbed Jonathan about the itinerary he’d put together for their evening, smiling with contentment. Life is good.
***
The slow song was exactly what the doctor ordered. Kevin was holding his girl in his arms, wearing a kick-ass tux with a seriously cool tophat - the only guy in the place with one - , and his sister wasn’t giving him crap about anything. It was some kind of miracle the way his life had turned out. He squeezed Candi just a little tighter, overwhelmed by the protective feelings he had for her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Jason Hicks staring at them again from across the dance floor. The guy was in charge of the music and had been helping the DJ all night. Kevin had already brushed him off a few times when he started walking over, looking like he was going to ask Candi to dance. The guy was persistent, and if he didn’t cut that shit out, he was going to earn himself a shiner.
Candi squeezed him back. “Stop staring holes into Jason’s head.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not even looking at that guy.”
“Don’t lie, I can see you.” She was staring up at him, giving him her stern look.
“The dude needs to lay off. You’re my girl and not available. He’s having a hard time realizing that I’m serious.”
“He’s just a friend, Kevin. You don’t need to go all neanderthal over it. He’s been very nice to me, unlike some other people around here.” Candi’s gaze landed on Kevin’s ex-girlfriend, and he knew what was coming next.
He spun her around to avoid hearing it again. “We’re not going to go there, remember? We agreed.”
“Yes,” said Candi lifting her chin defiantly, “and you agreed to lay off Jason if I agreed to lay off that girl, so just stop. Or I’m going to have a throw-down with her in the bathroom later.”
Kevin tipped his head back and laughed. “She’ll be in serious trouble if that happens. And then so will you, when you mess up your fancy hair. Sarah will kill all three of us.”
Candi pressed her lips together and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll have to spare Gretchen the butt-kicking she seriously needs, then.” She smiled, letting him know she was joking.
Kevin knew Candi would never fight another girl, even though she was capable of beating every girl’s butt at this school. “Yes. Spare her from certain doom, oh Queen of Peanut Island.”
Candi play-hit him in the chest. “Shush. I’m falling in love …,” she said breathlessly, before finishing with, “ … in love with this song, that is.” She giggled.
He dipped his head and nestled his face into the side of her neck, accidentally knocking his hat off. “You’re mean,” he said, kissing the delicate skin below her ear and lightly sucking on it.
She pulled back, bumping into someone behind her. “No hickies!” she warned, pointing at his face.
“W
hat?” he said, laughing. “I’m innocent.” Then he frowned when he saw who Candi had bumped into. “Dude, give me back my hat.”
Candi turned around to look at the hat thief.
“What’s the big deal, man? I’m just trying it on,” said Barry, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend, the one who’d cheated on her with Kevin’s ex-girlfriend Gretchen. The dude was asking to be pounded. Begging, actually.
“You’ve got three seconds to get my hat off your slimy head and give it back.”
“Or else what?” asked Barry, puffing out his chest a little.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Screw you, Kevin,” he spat out. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Kevin lunged for Barry’s shoulder, but he slipped out of Kevin’s grip, taking off through the crowd.
Kevin was leaving to go after him and deliver the punishment Barry so obviously wanted, but the soft, warm fingers sliding into his hand stopped him in his tracks. He looked down to see his little sand fairy Candi in a shiny green dress looking up at him, shaking her head slowly.
“What?” he asked. “No pounding the asshole into the dirt?”
“No. No pounding anyone into the dirt or anyplace else. Tonight’s our night, and I don’t want to spend it in the emergency room.”
Kevin snorted. “The only one who’s going to end up hospitalized is him.”
“I know. And he used to be your friend, so you’d probably end up following the ambulance so you could apologize. He’s totally not worth it, Kev.”
Kevin cast his eyes down, not sure he agreed with her or not.
“He rescued you from making a big mistake with the wrong girl; and he did the same for your sister, right? So you really should shake his hand, not kick his butt.”
Kevin smiled. “You are positively devious, you know that?”
She sidled up to him, smiling and revealing a very small dimple in her chin. “Are you complaining?”
“Most definitely not.”
“And Kevin … I have another reason why you should be grateful to Barry for taking your hat.”