The Rest of the Story(54)

“You’re not,” Roo said, still typing.

“He has a girlfriend.” Her voice broke on the final syllable. “Why did he even ask me if he already had a date?”

I thought back to that night at the Campus apartment, how Colin had gotten up and left when the subject of Club Prom came up, only to finally invite her when they were outside. He probably figured he’d just dump her before the dance, so it wouldn’t come back to bite him. And now he was at the Club, far away from the pain he’d caused.

Jack slowed the car, turning down a dirt driveway. It was long, and bumpy with tree roots, but as we came over a rise, I saw a little green house, the lake behind it. A skinny dock extended out into the water. April and Vincent stood on it, a cooler on a bench nearby. The sun was just going down.

“I can’t do this,” Bailey said as we parked behind a blue pickup. “It’s so embarrassing.”

“These are your friends,” Jack told her. “Nobody gives a shit.”

She sighed, but pushed her door open. Then she bent down, undoing the strappy sandals she’d been so excited to find almost new at Bly County Thrift. She left them on the floorboard as she climbed out, shutting the door behind her.

I kept my shoes on. “What is this place, again?” I asked.

Roo, a few steps ahead, turned back to look at me. “My house. Come on.”

I raised a hand to cover my eyes just as Bailey started down to the dock, her dress flowing out a bit behind her. When she got to the end, April, who was standing there, looked up at her.

“Boys STINK,” she announced, then opened her arms. Blinking fast, Bailey stepped into them. Vincent, standing just nearby with a beer in his hand, looked at them for a second, then out to the lake.

“Yacht club boys,” Jack announced as the rest of us made our way out to the end. “Get it right, please.”

“I’m so stupid,” Bailey groaned, now resting her head on April’s shoulder. “I thought he was a good guy.”

“Because you are a trusting, wonderful person,” April told her, patting her on the back. “Vincent, get this girl a beer. She needs it.”

Vincent complied, kicking open the cooler and pulling out a dripping can. He wiped it on his shirt, then handed it to Bailey, saying, “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth.”

“Nothing,” she replied, and he laughed. “But thanks anyway.”

“Great dress,” April said to me.

“Thanks.”

“I picked it out,” Roo said, helping himself to a beer. When he held one out to me, I shook my head.

“Really?” April cocked her head to the side. “Wow. Since when are you a stylist?”

“Sixth job,” he said, popping the beer.

She looked at me. “Is he kidding? I can never tell if he’s kidding.”

Suddenly, I was the expert. I didn’t mind. “I think so,” I told her. “But again, I’m new here.”

She smiled at me, then turned back to Bailey, who was now facing the water, looking at the yacht club in the distance. “Hey,” she said, “don’t torture yourself, all right? You’re better off. When Dana went to Club Prom last year, she said everyone was super snooty and into themselves. Who wants to deal with that?”

“Me,” Bailey said softly. “For just one night, anyway. And I couldn’t even get that.”

“There will be other dances,” April said. “Trust me.”

“What?” Bailey scoffed. “Prom in the gym with some guy I’ve known my whole life? Sorry, not the same.”

Vincent, hearing this, turned and looked back up at the house, putting his own can to his lips. I caught his eye and smiled. A beat later, he smiled back, although his mind was clearly on other things.

“Then let’s have a dance,” April said.

“Where?” Jack asked.

“Here.” When we all just looked at her, she sighed. “What? I’m on the party committee at my sorority. All we need is some lights and music.”

“You want to throw a dance in my house?” Roo asked. “Have you forgotten how small it is inside?”

“We’ll move the furniture,” she told him.

“Where?” Jack asked again.

“Outside,” she replied, sounding annoyed. “Look, our friend is sad and this will make her happy. Saylor, too.”

“I’m not really sad,” I pointed out.

“But you are all dressed up for a magical night, and you should get one,” April told me. She clapped her hands, grinning. “Okay, I love this idea. It’s perfect.”

“Perfect would be us over there, where we’re supposed to be,” Bailey said morosely. “And anyway, I’m not in the mood.”

“But you are in a dress,” Jack said. “What else are you going to do?”

“Drink away my sorrows,” she replied.

“You can still do that while you’re pushing the couch outside,” April told her. “Follow me.”

When Taylor arrived a little later, I was nervous, considering our first face-to-face encounter had almost ended with her kicking my ass. But her apology had obviously been for real. So far, she was being perfectly nice.

“Okay, who needs a corsage?” she asked from the small kitchen table where she was sitting, bent over a bowl of gardenia blossoms and some stickpins. “If you don’t look too closely, they’re actually not bad.”