The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(36)

At that, I wrinkled and my nose. Ew. Josh’s teammates were just gross.

“TMI,” I muttered as I wrinkled my nose with disgust.

“Imagine how I feel,” he grunted. “But it’s true. And I just want to look out for you. I don’t want to have to punch someone in the face. Because I will. Whether it’s Micah or….”

“Aw.” I came to sit down beside him. “Thanks for caring about me, Grumpy.”

“Duh, of course I do,” Josh nudged me. “What sort of brother wouldn’t care? Dork.”

“True. Though, I’ve been banking on the idea that you’re actually an alien, just pretending to be a human. It would explain your weirdness.”

“You wish,” he chuckled.

“I appreciate your caring,” I added sincerely.

“Don’t get too used to it. I do have a reputation to uphold.”

“Whatever that is.” I stood up.

Josh pushed himself off the bed. “Whatever you do, just say no, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, Dad,” I teased.

“Hey, I look too good to be ancient history.” He coiffed his gleaming blond hair.

“Maybe to a toothless, bar-hopping old lady.” I laughed. He tossed a pillow from my bed at me. “Go away, already!” I giggled.

He retreated back to his room. Sometimes, I was grateful for him…sometimes.

I emerged from my room. Mom’s eyes widened as she saw me, but she quickly refocused on the mail again, hiding her grin. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I replied, opening the fridge for a water bottle.

“Are you dressed up for the dance?”

I nodded as I closed the fridge door.

“That’s nice. I like that you’re getting out, Charlie. Dinner will be in a few minutes.”

Thankfully, dinner was quick, despite everyone focusing on my appearance. I guess it had been a while since I was last seen wearing a dress. Before I knew it, seven o’clock rolled around and Micah pulled into our driveway in his black Grand Am.

“No drinking,” Dad reinforced sternly. “I mean it. If he drinks, you call me. I’ll come and get you.”

“It’ll be fine, Dad,” I reassured him. “He won’t.”

“You say that,” Dad responded as I hugged him tightly and pressed a small kiss on his cheek, hoping that would bring him some comfort. I might have only been sixteen, but I certainly felt old enough to make responsible decisions.

I bolted out the door before my dad changed his mind. Micah was getting out of the car just as I shut the front door behind me.

“Oh, I was just coming to get you,” he said, pushing his hands into his pockets.

“I’ll save you a trip,” I said, heading down the path to the passenger side of the car. He eyed me, and then opened the car door to get back in. As he sat down beside me, I took notice of his clothing. He was wearing jeans and a nice light blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, and he smelled good. Really good.

“So, this dance,” Micah began as he pulled out of the driveway, “is this a whole school thing?”

“No, I don’t think so. Rachel told me her youth group is hosting it to support veterans. Any money they raise tonight goes to them.”

“It’s not going to be full of ‘I love Jesus’ music, is it?” He looked me over again, but didn’t make any comments about my appearance.

“I don’t think we’ll be listening to Eminem, if that’s what you were hoping.” I smirked.

“Damn,” he teased with a playful smile. “It’ll feel so empty without him!”

It didn’t take long to get to the fire hall. The great thing about the size of Grand Lakes was that everything was nearby, only a few minutes away. The fire hall was already crowded as we pulled into the parking lot, and it took some time to finally find a free space. Micah sat for a moment, nervously wiping his hands on his knees.

“You ready for this, C?” Micah glanced at me.

“Are you scared?” I smiled. “It’s really not a big deal. It’s just a dance.”

“Heck no, I’m not scared!” His body language said otherwise.

“We don’t have to stay long, if you don’t want to. I just promised Rachel I’d—” I started, but Micah cut me off.

“No, no. We’ll stay for a bit. It’ll be fun.” He turned off the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Let’s get in there. I can’t wait to see your moves.” Anxiety filled me and twisted in my stomach like a pretzel as we got out of the car and walked side by side into the building. I fought off the desire to hold his hand, the same way he had held mine as we left Samantha’s house. We paid the few dollars for admission at the front door, and were greeted by loud music coming from the adjoining rooms. I was pretty sure the song playing was by Fall Out Boy.

Rachel was the first to wave at us from the dance floor. There were flashing lights everywhere, and a glittering disco ball was set in the middle of the ceiling. I was surprised at how cool everything looked. I had expected just a table with some fruit punch and someone manning an iHome. But the youth group had gone all-out with decorations, a DJ, and a photo booth.

“It’s kinda busy in here, huh?” Micah shouted over the music to me.