Presley

There she was, stepping out of Yasmin's car. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was up in a fancy way with a few strands hanging down by her face.  Her dress was light blue and hanging down by her knees. She had a thin, short sweater on, as well. Something deep in my stomach tightened, as I thought about touching her. I wanted her to be close to me, and now.

   I pushed open my door and got out, fixing the bottom of my suit jacket, keeping my eyes on her. I felt like I'd never take my eyes off her again, if I didn't have to. I saw that Yasmin was getting out of the car, too, but she quickly waved and started walking across the parking lot, towards some other cars.

   "Hi," I said, already reaching out for her.

   She gave me her hand, and smiled. "Hey."

   "Man, you look... gorgeous. This dress is..." I didn't know what to say, and I could not tell her what I was thinking. Sexy. So hot.

   She grinned and came closer, wrapping her arms around my waist. For a second, I thought Fuck the homecoming dance. I could get her into my car and drive around the city, keeping her by my side. I could take her wherever I wanted, and she would be mine for the night.  But I remembered quickly that she wanted to go to the dance. She wanted to experience this "normal" thing. So I resting my hands behind her back and pulled her closer, kissing her head as she rested it on my chest.

   "You look good, too," she told me, but it was muffled a bit.

   I grinned, feeling that warm, tight feeling in my stomach again.

   "I'd rather keep you in my arms for three hours," I told her, not loosening my hold on her yet.

   She lifted her head off my chest and looked up at me, those blue eyes under those long lashes. "But?"

   "But we should get going?" I said, but it sounded like a question.

   It was at least two more minutes before she pulled away, and nodded. "Okay."

"So," I began, after we were in my car and pulling out of the parking lot. "My sister, Jade, and her friends will be there. She wants to meet you."

   Magnolia stiffened, even if only slightly. "Okay."

   "Mostly, I'll keep you to myself," I went on, and saw her smile. "I mean, I don't really have friends at school. Not a lot of people to introduce you to..."

   "I'm okay with that," she told me, making me feel better.  Did she even know that she always made me feel better?

   "If you want to leave, anytime, just tell me?" I said, then added, "I'm sure we can find something else to do."

   My mind was in the gutter now, after seeing her in that dress. I knew I couldn't rush her, but man did I want to kiss her. And touch her. It had been five days since I'd laid her down next to me on my bed. Since I'd touched her bare skin under her shirt. I knew I needed to show some retrain, but I was so addicted to her.

   She smiled over at me, so I gave her my best grin, then looked back at the road. She reached over to link her fingers into mine a moment later, and all was right in my world again.

   At my school, it was only a few minutes before 7P.M. The parking lot was almost full and there were kids being dropped off every which way. The thing about homecoming was that it was for the whole school, even though the juniors and seniors mostly attended. Everyone was welcome, and it was supposed to be celebrating the new school year. I was celebrating that I had Magnolia with me.

   I held her hand tightly as we walked towards the main doors, where Mr. Takk was standing, just inside. He was short and plump, and our school's art teacher. He gave me a real smile and looked at Magnolia, then back to me.

   "Your plus one, Mr. Meyers?" he asked me.

   "Yes," I answered, nodding.

   "Enjoy the evening," he told us, as he stamped our hands for re-entry.

   I heard the noise coming from the auditorium, so I lead the way. Two long hallways and a left turn, and then we were there. There were lots of students hovering outside the doors and groups on their way in. I pulled Magnolia's hand until we were leaning against some lockers. It was loud, and I knew it would be louder inside those doors.

   "You good?" I asked her, right into her ear.

   She pressed her body against mine, reacting to me being close. "I'm good."

   "Ready to dance?" I asked, trying to make her laugh.

   "I'm not sure I am," she told me, but her lips turned up at the edges.

   "Oh, you have to be," I grinned, lowering my mouth to hers. I kissed her gently, then harder once she opened her mouth for me. It had only been a day since I'd kissed her, but it felt like weeks.

   "Okay," she smiled, once I pulled away from her mouth.

   Inside, it was loud. Dark. And crowded. I kept her hand in mine and we walked through the groups of people. I was looking for a good spot for us to stop, but what I saw instead was Jade. She was dancing, with Trina and a few other girls. The DJ was playing party songs and the scene was pretty epic - teenagers dancing and shaking their bodies, laughing, talking. This was normal. This was what I thought I wanted. Part of me wanted to avoid my sister for now, but I knew I had to get it over with.

   "Jade," I said loudly, stopping near her.

   She glanced over with a big smile on her face, still dancing. "Presley!"

   I forced a smile, but realized this was the first time she and I were at a school event together. I'd missed a year of school and she'd only been in high school for two. If things had been normal, I'd be long gone by now.

   "Hey, this is Magnolia," I said, looking at her and then back to Jade.

   My sister froze, then pulled at Trina's arm. They both just stared at Magnolia and I for a minute, then looked at each other.  It was this very surreal moment, for all of us. My stomach was in a knot.

   "Hi, nice to meet you!" Jade yelled over the music, throwing her hand out towards Magnolia.

   "Hi," she answered, shaking her hand. "You too."

   "Presley is good," Jade went on, still squeezing Magnolia's hand. "And I seriously won't tolerate anyone hurting him."

   "Jade," I warned her, but smiled at Magnolia anyway. She looked unaffected.

   "Well, I'm glad he's got a sister like you," she said, pulling her hand back, finally.

   She didn't say anything about not hurting me, which surprised me. I mean, Jade just wanted to know that Magnolia was serious about me. But Magnolia didn't even give her that.

   We were in the middle of the dance floor, so I grabbed her hand again and lead her toward a corner, where there were some chairs set up. We didn't sit, but we were fairly far from the DJ and it was not as deafeningly loud.

   "Sorry," she told me, right in my ear. "I sort of didn't know what to say."

   "No, it's fine. Jade shouldn't have... threatened you," I said, then laughed. "She's harmless. I think."

   Magnolia smiled, which was what I was hoping for. "Should we dance?"

   "You want to?" I asked her, then pulled her closer. "You really look amazing."

   She blushed a little, and I only saw because I had her so close to me. She nodded, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and started swaying. I wasn't a dancer. I hadn't danced with a girl since I was fourteen.

   "Thank you," she said, and I barely heard her.

   "For what?" I asked her.

   "Everything. All of this. And for saying that I look... good."

   I nodded, pressing my mouth to her ear. "Once thing you'll figure out about me is that I don't lie. And I say what I think."

   She reacted by dropping her hands around my back and swaying with me. Her head fell onto my chest. It wasn't even a slow song, but we didn't care. I didn't care who was there or who saw us. I didn't care about anything.

   As the song ended, I didn't want to pull away, but Magnolia lifted her head and smiled at me.

   "Let's get a drink?" I offered, and she nodded.

   Across the large room was a long table against the wall. There were hundreds of bottles of water and a few huge bowls of something pink. I knew there was a good chance it was spiked, even with a teacher standing near by, so I grabbed two waters.

   "Mr, Meyers," Mrs. Thomas said loudly, making me turn to see her.

   "Good evening," I said to her, My English teacher.

   "Didn't think I'd see you tonight," she went on, then glanced at Magnolia and smiled.

   I nodded and finished, "Have a good night."

   After we drank some water in silence - in the middle of a very loud room - the music cut and then blended into a slow song. It was Gravity by John Mayor, who happened to be one of my music idols. Was this fate? Was this song playing at the exact right moment that I needed it to play?

   Of course this song was playing for a reason, and I knew it. I slipped my hand into Magnolia's  again and pulled her into the middle of the room. We fit perfectly together and those four minutes while the song was playing were my favourite. Ever. Her body pressed against mine was exactly what I wanted.  Always.