As we walk out, the boys leave us girls, heading to change. As we walk to the parking lot and to our cars. We chat. Britney pipes up and says, "I think I'm going to ask Keenan to the formal." The rest of the girls think they might ask their dance partners too. Laura and I smile at their happiness. They all paired really well together, so they all might just hit it off. We all say our goodbyes, and I head to my Jeep. I get in and start the engine to warm up, as the weather is starting to get cold. I sit, waiting for Gage to show up. He finally jumps in, rubbing his hands together. "Shit, it's getting cold." He leans over and kisses me. I pull out of the parking lot and call Laura,

"Hello?"

"Hey, we are going to get food. What do you guys want?" I ask her as I keep my eyes on the road.

"Umm, I want a chicken salad."

"So do I." I laugh.

"Okay, what does Ace want?"

"Cheeseburger with fries." He shouts in the background.

"Noted. Be back soon. Meet us at our place."

Gage presses the end call button on my screen and then leans back. He stretches his arms out and says, as he yawns, "I miss our bed."

"Our bed?" I give him a sideways look.

"Yes, our bed." He smiles and kisses my cheek.

"Gage, I'm driving." I say. He leans back and grunts. I roll my eyes and continue to drive as we make our way to the restaurant. We walk in and place an order to go. We stand and wait for the food.

☾

With the food ready to go, Gage takes the bags, and we head to the Jeep. I start the engine, and finally, after a long day, we make our way home. I pull into the driveway and cut the engine. We get out and head inside. Gage places the bag of food on the table, and we all gather together to eat. I can't help but yawn as we eat, and I just want to go to bed.

"So Saturday is the formal dance, and Friday night we are having all the girls here for a sleepover and to get ready for the next day." I start.

"So that means you two are on your own. Can you handle that?" Laura adds, and I laugh.

Gage narrows his eyes and shakes his head. "What colour is your dress?" He asks me.

"Take a wild guess." I test him. "Red." He smiles. I lean over and kiss him. "You know me too well." We all finish eating and part ways for the night.

☾

I head to my room and strip off my clothes. Gage walks in and starts kissing my neck. I feel a rush of excitement and anticipation as I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer. We both know where this is going, and I can't wait to explore every inch of his body. As we make our way to the bed, I feel my heart racing with desire.

As we start to undress each other, I can feel the heat between us intensifying. I can't help but admire his chiselled physique and the way his touch sends shivers down my spine. His hands move up and down my body. I close my eyes and let out a soft moan, savouring every moment.

Our bodies entwine, and I feel a rush of desire wash over me as our lips meet in a passionate kiss. The intensity of the moment leaves me breathless.

He holds me close, and I close my eyes as I lay my head on his chest. I feel his heartbeat and the warmth of his embrace, and in that moment, everything else fades away. It's as if the world stops spinning, and all that matters is this moment of pure connection between us. I look at him and just stare. A small smile escapes as his eyes lock on mine.

"You're beautiful," he says.

"And your..." He cuts me off.

"Stupid amounts of good looking. So you've said." He laughs and lifts my chin to kiss him.

I snuggle up to him and say goodnight. He kisses my hair, and I slowly drift off to sleep, feeling safe and loved in his arms.

☾

The week passes fast, and Friday night comes faster than I had expected. As I stand in my room, making sure Laura and I have everything for this sleepover, Gage wraps his arms around my waist.

"I want you to have fun tonight." He whispers in my ear.

I turn to face him and say, "And I want you not to get into another fight." I smile.

"I can't make any promises." He smirks. I bite my tongue and push past him. The doorbell rings, and Laura answers. I walk out, leaving Gage to pack what he needs. As we all sit in the living room, talking and doing our nails. Gage walks in. "Night, ladies." He says this with his bag in hand and leans down to kiss me. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Be good," I say. He nods and walks out.

Britney pipes up and says, "How in the hell did you get Gage Moon to say I love you? I've known that guy for three years, and he has never settled with anyone. You're one lucky girl."

I respond, "How did you get Keenan to say yes to the dance?"

"Touché," she laughs.

The night continues with a dance party and drinks, lots of them. Laura says we should spy on the boys. We head to my room and keep the lights off. We walk up to my window, and we see all our dates for tomorrow night sitting by a fire with glasses of some type of alcohol in them. They all sit in sweats and hoodies. I look over to see Gage, who has his cap on and the hood of his sweater over his head.

"We should go over and scare them," Mandy says.

"Yeah, I'll need more to drink before I can do that." Ashley says. "Have you seen Johnson? I'm surprised I had the guts to even ask him to this dance." We all nod; he's a good looking guy. They all are.

We all head back to the living room. Laura pours shots of vodka "to scaring the boys." We all down our drinks and take another two. We slip on our runners and pull our hoods over our heads as the wind picks up and the cold breeze wisps by us. We slowly creep up to the boy's house, making our way to the backyard. I can hear the fire crackle in the midst of the night. As we approach, we jump out and shout. I look around and say,

"Where the hell did they go?" Confused, I look around. They were just here a minute ago. We heard them talking and laughing.

"AHHHHHH!!!!" We all jump and turn to see the guys, and they fall to the ground laughing. Our little prank backfired. "What the hell, Gage?" I shout.

He lays back in the grass, still laughing. He finally sits up and asks for my hand. I put my hand out, and he pulls me down, wrapping his arms around me as he lays back in the grass, laughing.

"Asshole,"

"You love me," he laughs as I push off him.

"You guys are really not that sneaky." Ace says. "We knew you were coming." He laughs.

"Fuck off," I say, and I walk away with the girls as the boys continue to laugh. We head back to my place and all sit down. "Ahh, those guys can be such jerks," Ryann states.

"I'll drink to that." I take another shot and down it. I take a deep breath. I play the music and let the music fill the air in the house. We all dance, and I turn around to see the boys all standing there with the door open.