In the Spotlight (22 page)

Claudia’s parents had gone all out, and the catered spread of food was phenomenal. After such a long day, everyone chowed down as soon as we got there. And then people hung out and danced as a DJ played music in Claudia’s gigantic living room. Josh and I mingled separately, but kept a close radius.

Truth be told, the whole thing was a little boring, but that might have been because I was so exhausted from the weekend. I was zoning out, when I found myself face to face with a very angry Claudia.

“You sleazy whore!” She screamed inches from my face. “I can’t believe you kissed my boyfriend!”

I took an instinctive step back. “What are you talking about?” I asked in what I hoped was a calm, non-‐-trembling voice. I was vaguely aware that people were staring at us.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she yelled.

“Kyle told me everything. All those phony extra help rehearsals just so you could throw yourself at my boyfriend. And you were supposed to be my best friend.”

The yell turned to a howl, and before I even had the chance to defend myself, she hauled off and slapped me hard across my cheek. I flinched. Through tears blurring my vision, I saw Kyle smirking a few feet away. It was too much. I turned and fled up the stairs to the nearest bathroom. Cowering inside, I slid down to the floor with my back to the door and let the tears flow. Hopefully no one but Josh would come looking for me. He was the only one who knew, and the only one I trusted enough not to judge me. Even Kaylee and Maggie wouldn’t understand completely. That made me cry even harder. Had I really thought that I was over everything that had happened with Kyle? Had I really thought that I had forgiven him and it was all over? I traced the scar from the deep gash caused when he pulled me into his coffee table. This was ridiculous. Kyle wasn’t going to get the last say in all of this. I took a deep breath and stood up. Splashing some cool water on my face, I tried to calm my jangling nerves and set my resolve.

I pulled open the bathroom door to see Claudia pressed against Josh, kissing him like her life depended on it. Josh was struggling to get away, and in my heightened emotional state bordering hysteria, the whole scene struck me as really funny. I let out a tinny laugh that sounded strange to my own ears.

Claudia swung around and frowned. “There,” she snapped.

“Now we’re even.”

Josh’s face was contorted in agony. He kept opening and closing his mouth trying to say something, but I shook my head at him. I already knew what had happened. It was pretty transparent.

As I headed down the stairs, I hoped that Josh understood what I had to do.

I didn’t look back, but I had a pretty good feeling that both Josh and Claudia were right behind me. Storming back into the living room, I spotted Kyle hitting on some random girl across the room. Before I could talk myself out of it, I stalked right up to Kyle.

Kyle saw me coming, and that disgusting, lustful smirk returned to his face. “Come back for more?” He drawled.

“Shut up, you snake,” I clenched my fists and glowered at him. “How dare you tell Claudia that we kissed.”

Kyle leaned back and crossed his arms. “But we did.”

I felt myself flush with anger. “I didn’t know you were dating Claudia. You knew I liked you and you took advantage of it.”

“Whatever,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes. “You know you wanted it. Too bad you have to settle for sloppy seconds.”

“Josh is a better guy than you could ever hope to be.”

Turning away, I saw Claudia watching us uncertainly. I walked up to her and said, “I didn’t ask your boyfriend to shove his tongue down my throat or his hand up my skirt.”

I was breathing hard by then, trying not to cry, when Josh grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

The cool night air jolted me back into reality. I sagged against Josh, who wrapped his arms around me until we got to the car. When he slid into the driver’s seat beside me, I said, “Just start driving.”

He nodded and put the car in gear. Josh drove away from Claudia'ʹs house and out toward the edge of town. We passed the university and eased into the country. The cornfields had just been planted, so the little dots of light from farmhouses across the fields were visible as Josh drove. The night was warm so Josh cracked the windows, and a pleasant breeze filled the car. Josh reached across the center console and took my hand.

"ʺI didn'ʹt want to kiss Claudia,"ʺ he said. "ʺWait, I mean, she kissed me. I came up to find you and she grabbed me."ʺ

"ʺI know,"ʺ I said softly. "ʺDon'ʹt worry about it. Really. I know what she was doing."ʺ

"ʺAre you okay?"ʺ Josh asked. "ʺI mean, really okay, not just right now, but with what happened with Kyle."ʺ

"ʺI don'ʹt know,"ʺ I admitted. "ʺI hadn'ʹt really thought about it since I told you and Hayley. I thought I was over it. I really did. I even thought I’d forgiven him. Guess not, huh?"ʺ

"ʺHey, it'ʹs okay to not be okay,"ʺ Josh said, squeezing my hand. "ʺHe hurt you."ʺ

I looked out the window at the dark punctuated by cozy farmhouses where I imagined old farm couples watching TV on this late Sunday night. "ʺI just feel so...violated,"ʺ I admitted finally.

Josh tightened his hold on my hand. He was so steady, so secure. "ʺI love you,"ʺ I said suddenly. I realized I’d never actually said it spontaneously out loud. Just those three words. They were the most powerful words I could imagine. Every other time I’d said them, they had been tempered by other things.

"ʺI love you too,"ʺ Josh said, a delicious smile playing on his lips. He really did look dreamy. I stared at his profile as he eased onto a gravel road.

"ʺWhere are we going?"ʺ I asked.

Josh pulled into a little turn off that farmers used to park their trucks when they were working in the fields. He said, "ʺWant to look at the stars?"ʺ

I nodded and we climbed out of the car. Josh helped me hop up on the hood. He wrapped a blanket around us as he pulled me into his arms. Out here in the country away from the city lights, it was so dark that the sky seemed closer. The moon was just a little sliver, and the stars were breathtaking. I remembered how we’d sat and watched the stars outside McDuffy’s less than a week ago. That was when we were still dancing around our feelings.

“What are you thinking about?” Josh asked, nuzzling my neck. “Just how fast things change,” I sighed.

“Good or bad change?” Josh said.

“Oh, good. Definitely good,” I replied. “I just can’t believe that less than a week ago we weren’t…us.”

“Mmm, I like the way that sounds,” Josh murmured.

“Are you always this cheesy?” I giggled.

Josh dropped his head low, his lips just inches away from mine. “I’ve never been in love before, so no. I’ve never been this cheesy before.”

I don'ʹt know how long we sat there kissing and talking, but it was way passed curfew when Josh dropped me off. Luckily, the official cast party was another night of the year that Mom and Dad were willing to look the other way.

Josh kissed me one last time and asked, "ʺAre you going to school tomorrow?"ʺ

"ʺNope,"ʺ I grinned. "ʺMom always lets me take a mental health day after a show wraps. What about you?"ʺ

"ʺNah,"ʺ Josh smiled. "ʺI'ʹll call you when I wake up. We can do something."ʺ

"ʺOkay,"ʺ I replied.

Before I left the car, Josh pressed my autograph book into my hands. “Open this tomorrow,” he instructed.

The next day I slept in. When I did get up, I made myself pancakes from a weird bottle mix. They didn'ʹt even taste that bad, especially drenched in maple syrup. I decided not to take my pajamas off until Josh called. This was a mental health day after all.

And Heaven knew I needed it after my gutsy move of calling out Kyle in front of a room full of people. Although it occurred to me in the broad light of day that other than the freshman he had been hitting on, no one else had probably even heard me because of the volume at which the DJ was playing his music. Part of me was relieved, but part of me was also disappointed because that was nearly the bravest thing I had ever done.

After breakfast, I pulled out my autograph book, which Josh had signed before we were dating. On a page near the back, I found his message, which read, “To the most beautiful girl I know, will you go to prom with me?”

Josh called during the late morning, and I practically shrieked his ear off saying yes to his prom invitation. He just laughed. Then we talked until Mom surprised me with lunch. Josh was disappointed but said he'ʹd talk to me later. Mom took me out to a bagel place that we both loved. I hadn'ʹt been there in years.

Starting around the time I was in fifth grade, Mom used to pick us up at lunch time and treat us to time out, but that had pretty much ended when she'ʹd become Dean of her department. We talked about the show and about Josh. She was still trying to decipher how much she needed to tell me about the birds and the bees, I think. Still it was sweet that she was so concerned.

After lunch, we headed up to the school where I gave Mom such a confused, and apparently concerned, look that she laughed.

"ʺWe'ʹre picking Hayley up from school right now. We’re going prom dress shopping."ʺ

“How did you know I was going to prom?” I asked curiously.

Mom smiled. “Josh told me. He asked our permission days ago.”

I waited in the car listening to music while Mom went in to sign Hayley out. Hayley danced to the car she was so excited. We chattered happily all the way to the mall. It was a fifty minute car ride, and I'ʹm pretty sure Mom'ʹs ears were bleeding by the end of the drive, but she weathered it well.

The mall was fun, and we both found dresses relatively quickly. I thought we looked a little too matchy, but Hayley thought it was perfect so we went with it. My dress was a tea-‐-

length, strappy blue number while Hayley'ʹs was a tea-‐-length strappy pink number.

Josh texted me as we were on our way back. The text said,

"ʺGive me a call when you get home. I have a surprise for you."ʺ I showed it to Hayley who squealed. Who can resist a surprise?

Mom pursed her lips like she wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth shut. I appreciated it because I didn’t want to have that conversation with her.

When we got home, I called Josh. "ʺHey you,"ʺ he murmured, sounding happy just to have me on the phone. It made me smile.

"ʺDid you have fun at the mall?"ʺ The teasing lilt in his voice almost made me giggle.

"ʺI got my prom dress,"ʺ I said. "ʺSo that was good. And my mom was nice enough to avoid the birds and the bees talk with me and Hayley, although I have a feeling that we’ll get a nice lecture right before prom."ʺ

"ʺAwesome,"ʺ Josh laughed. "ʺMy dad had that talk with me a few years ago, and it was pretty awkward. I'ʹm surprised your mom has waited so long. Seems like my dad wanted to get it over with the minute I hit puberty."ʺ

"ʺYeah, well I'ʹve never had a reason to have someone sit me down and discuss those kinds of things,"ʺ I admitted. My embarrassment level ratcheted up a notch, but I kept my voice calm and hoped that I wasn'ʹt betraying my nervousness.

"ʺSo I bet you’re curious about my surprise, huh?"ʺ Josh said.

"ʺWell, at least you aren'ʹt beating around the bush about it,"ʺ I laughed.

"ʺCan you come over?"ʺ

I wanted to run out to my car in a heartbeat. But I knew I’d have to ask Mom, and after today, she might not be too keen on me turning around and running back out. I needed to see Josh. It was like an ache in the pit of my stomach.

"ʺI'ʹll have to ask my mom,"ʺ I sighed. "ʺI could come over there,"ʺ Josh said.

"ʺThat might work better,"ʺ I agreed. "ʺThat way Mom can'ʹt really complain that I'ʹm never home."ʺ

Josh chuckled slightly. "ʺOkay,"ʺ he said. "ʺI'ʹll be there in a few minutes. I have to pick up something on my way over."ʺ

"ʺSee you soon,"ʺ I said as we hung up. My toes tingled in anticipation. A surprise that he had to pick up. What could it be?

My curiosity nearly overwhelmed me. Luckily for me, I thought it best to let Mom know that Josh was coming over. I was thrilled when Mom suggested that he stay for dinner.

I was hovering near the door when Josh arrived, so I opened it before he had a chance to ring the doorbell. That made him laugh. I loved his laugh. As he leaned in to kiss me hello, I realized that I loved every single thing about him. I marveled at how fast everything had happened.

He handed me a familiar paper bag and grinned at me. "ʺI had to stop for cheesecake,"ʺ he said. “We can'ʹt have a fun evening in without cheesecake, can we?"ʺ

"ʺI guess not,"ʺ I grinned back taking the bag. Then my smile fell, because it occurred to me that this might be the surprise, and honestly as nice as it was, cheesecake hadn'ʹt really been what I was expecting.

"ʺCome on,"ʺ Josh said, excitement lacing his voice. "ʺI want to give you your surprise."ʺ

We flopped down on the living room sofa. I’d thought it better not to head up to my room right away. I really needed to avoid that talk with my mom. If we eased our way upstairs, maybe she wouldn'ʹt notice. He handed me a long white envelope.

"ʺGo ahead, open it,"ʺ Josh prompted.

I tore open my surprise a little more eagerly than I had anticipated. Inside the envelope was a pamphlet from the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. It was pretty and shiny and looked like so much fun. I wasn'ʹt sure why he was giving it to me, and I gave him a questioning look.

"ʺThis is your surprise,"ʺ Josh said, waiting for my reaction. I guess my confusion got worse because Josh actually started laughing. "ʺI know how worried you are about balancing prom and your grandma’s wedding. My uncle had some contacts who owed him favors. He pulled some strings and got us all rooms at the Venetian for a few nights. He even got the honeymoon suite for your grandma and Duke. We can give it to them as a present.

Cool?"ʺ I gasped. "ʺSo cool."ʺ My eyes must have been too wide for my face because I was so shocked. How did I manage to have such a cool boyfriend? "ʺWe have to show Hayley."ʺ

I practically pulled him up the stairs and into Hayley'ʹs room.

I threw the pamphlet at her and started giggling and babbling excitedly. And eventually the whole story came out, and Hayley was squealing. We were giggling and squealing so much that Mom came upstairs to see what was the matter or maybe if we had finally gone crazy. Josh was standing by the door watching the display. He gave Mom an amused smile, and started to explain the reason for our joyful hysterics. Mom’s jaw dropped.