Disclaimer: The following fictional story and its characters are intended for entertainment purposes only. All individuals portrayed in this story are fictional and are represented as being 18 years of age or older. Any references to personal relationships, actions, or events are entirely fictitious and should not be interpreted as reflecting real-life situations or individuals. Please remember that this story is purely a work of fiction and does not endorse or promote any illegal or inappropriate activities. Reader discretion is advised.
"Are you home? Is she home?"
I typed on my phone and sent the message, hoping he was still awake and that she wasn't home. The music from the reception hall echoed in the bathroom. I snuck away from the Homecoming dance because it was overwhelming, the music, everyone dancing with each other. Not to mention my "date" was a friend who I noticed was giving signs that he wanted to be more than friends. He'd been asking me what cologne that guys wore that I liked, what kind of guy I was into, did I see myself getting married, and all kinds of questions he never asked before.
I did not have any feelings for him, besides enjoying hanging out with him, we were friends and that was it. I guess it was my fault for never making it that clear that I wasn't interested in him. I just never thought he'd ask me out because he was always so shy. So, when he asked me out to the homecoming dance, I froze and stared at him for a little while and I just said I'd go with him. He was excited when I said yes, I could see his eyes light up, and the smile on his face was ear to ear.
He's not ugly, he's far from unattractive, he was just, not my type. He was five-ten, he had a little muscle in him from his dad forcing him to get into wrestling, but his true passion was in art and other nerdy stuff. I love the nerdy stuff, so that's why our friendship worked out so well. He had a face that wasn't wrecked by acne, but he never chose a haircut that matched his face. Plus, he was the same age as me, and my kind of guy has always been a man much older than myself.
The night of the dance, I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I let my hair flow down, I made sure I washed it well, brushed it till it was silky smooth. The dress I picked out was one I was going to wear to last year's winter formal, but I got sick and couldn't go. It was a beautiful peach pink silk dress, with thin straps that went over my shoulders, the sides of the dress were lace, so you could see my skin underneath. I decided to wear lace panties that matched the color of the dress but decided not to wear a bra. It was risky, but I figured it would be dark and no one would really notice.
I got a text from him around 6:30 PM that he was on his way, I put my phone away in a little purse I decided to bring with me, to hold my phone. I walked into my bathroom one last time to check my makeup, check my dress, and then I walked back into my room. I stood in front of my bedroom window, and I looked to see if he was standing in his window. Sadly, he wasn't, so I just paced in my room for a few minutes until I felt my phone vibrate.
"Hey. I'm outside. You ready?"
I rolled my eyes at this pathetic attempt, he'd never impressed any girl like that, he should've parked his car, walked up to my front door, and rang the bell. So, I walked out of my room, down the stairs, and out the front door to his car. He got out and waited for me in the car and when I got close, he opened the door for me, and even held my hand as I got in. He shut the door and walked back around to the driver side and got in. He looked over at me and smiled, "Gosh Lynn. You look beautiful tonight." He said looked at my eyes at first, but I could see his eyes drift down. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked back at him.
"Well, I'm ready to go, are you?" I said to him, the tone of my voice annoyed by his lack of effort. He nodded and started his car and we drove off to the venue the dance was being held at. This year they held the dance at the school's gym, which was normal since that's where they usually held most of the dances, only going all out for Prom. It was a thirty-minute drive from my house to the school, and it was mostly silent. He really didn't ask me much, and I could tell he was avoiding looking at me as much as he could, but he would still steal a few glances at me. I noticed he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as well, so I won't lie when I smiled a little when I realized the effect, I was having on him.
We pulled into the school parking lot near the gym, he got out first, and walked over to my door, opening it for me, and offering his hand to help me out of his car. I let go of his hand once I was out of the car and we walked to the gym together, there was a line forming by the doors of the gym as people were showing up. We could hear music playing inside, and as we stepped closer to the doors, the music grew louder. He gave the tickets to the lady at the door, who complimented how we looked, and they had us stop and stand by the door which had a sign above it that read, "Homecoming 2024". He stood close next to me, keeping his hands to himself, while I just crossed hands in front of me, we smiled, and they took our picture.
We walked inside and it was nicely decorated, banners of red, white, and blue, our school colors, with some lights that lit up the gym. The music was nice and loud, and there weren't a lot of people dancing, mostly people sitting at tables alone at the sides of the gym or just standing around. I could see my friend Shy with her date and when she saw me, she smiled, and waved me over. So, we joined her at their table, we sat down, and we both just gushed over how beautiful one another looked. She pulled me close, and we took a few pictures together, before we both got up and walked over the tables lined against the wall, which had a few snacks and drinks. I just grabbed a cup of bottle of water, and we stood there, leaning in to talk to each other, shouting loud enough to be heard over the music.
"I didn't think you'd be coming to a dance with him!?" she said to me, sipping her drink from her cup and giving me a look as if she wanted to really ask if this was a "date."
I rolled my eyes; I knew that this would happen, so I shook my head, leaned in close to her ear and let her know, "No. He asked me, and I didn't know what else to say, so now I'm here. We're not dating, this isn't a date, and I just did it to be nice."
When I pulled away from her, I could see her look at me as if she were questioning what I said, but she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Leaning into to say, "Well, I don't blame you. I don't see you and him dating anyway. I mean, he's just not your "type"." She gave me a look, a flirty wink and smile. She knew what kind of guys I was into, and she even encouraged me to go out and find a guy like that. She didn't know I had found a few already, and one I was really wanting to see that night.
We walked back to our table and the gym was starting to fill up with more and more people. I could see all the cliques starting to form, the jocks, the band kids, the anime kids, the goth group (which I hung with from time to time when I wasn't with Shy), the gamer boys, and they all found their tables or their side of the wall to hang out at. Then I could hear them, the worst group of all, they were loud, obnoxious, and always thought they were funnier than everyone else. It was the "country boys," and I don't have a problem with country, I really do love a lot of the older country music like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and guys like that, who spoke out against the government and stood on the side of civil rights issues. These guys listened to modern country which was always some guy talking about his lifted truck, drinking beer, or "loving America." Worst of all, on their ugly lifted trucks they had those stupid political stickers of their favorite "President."
