Prom

Prom was everything I’d hoped for and more. The food was a bit mediocre, but the company and dancing more than made up for it. In a way, it reminded me a lot of our usual Friday get-together only with fancy clothes and dancing. The girls were all stunning and everyone was in a festive mood. It was a bit weird seeing Mike with two dates, though it was clear that it was one of those, ‘went as friends’ things. He was the only one with two dates in the group. Callie and Nina had dates of their own from outside the group. During one of the slow dances, Emma filled me in.

“Callie and Parker have had an on-again-off-again thing since sophomore year.” Her voice was soft as we swayed to the gentle beat of the music. “Looks like Parker wanted to try the whole dating thing again—or he was **** for a date.”

“Does she like him?”

“Enough. It never lasts long. Eventually one of the two will start hooking up with people on the side and the whole thing falls apart again.”

“And yet they try.”

Emma chuckled. “Parker has a…thing. He likes casual sex, but he doesn’t like the whole sex friend thing. So it ends up with him in a ton of short-term ‘relationships’ that sate his need for multiple partners, but still gives him the…moral standing…of being in a ‘committed’ relationship.”

“Sounds needlessly complicated.”

She shrugged and moved a bit closer. “Like we are in any position to judge. Anyway, Callie says he’s pretty good in bed, so she entertains the whole, ‘I’m dating him’ thing until they get bored and move on.”

“What about Nina?”

“That…is a good question. The whole Noah thing is an unexpected development. From what she’s told me, they’ve been friends since forever. It’s always been obvious he’s had a crush on her, but seeing him finally making a move took her by surprise. I don’t know too much about him since he’s a shy guy and certainly not the type of person who would be comfortable in our group.” She looked thoughtful. “I think she’s going to give it a serious attempt.”

“So no more ‘Prize Pool’ for her?”

She frowned. “Shouldn’t matter to you.”

I grinned. “I like to keep my options open.” I winced as she stomped on my toe. “Like I would actually do anything when I’m dancing with the prettiest woman in the world.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Uh-huh.” I leaned forward to give her a quick kiss. That seemed to improve her mood.

The dance ended and the next song was with a much faster beat. Emma and I danced to that before a few others from the group joined us. Needing a break and some water, I excused myself and headed back to the table. It seemed I wasn’t the only one taking a break. Mike and Ryan were there.

“…was looking forward to the threesome. She had a blast last time with Maggie. Just remember that this is the first time Hailey has been in one, so things might not go as smoothly as it did last time.” Ryan looked over at me as I took a seat with a sigh. “Hey, Isaac!”

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Nah. Mike was just trying to offload one of his dates on me,” he said with a chuckle. Mike looked flustered.

“That wasn’t—”

“Even if I wanted to, no way I’m getting in the way of Sarah’s plans,” he said, slapping Mike on the arm. “She’s been hyping this threesome up to Hailey all week. No way I’m going to get involved in that.”

Mike sighed. “No pressure or anything.”

Laughing, Ryan got out of his seat and stretched. “Trust me, if Maggie approved of you, there is nothing to worry about.” He downed the last of his water. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a dance floor to light up.”

I watched him walk away before looking at Mike. “What was that all about?”

“I felt kinda bad he was flying solo tonight, you know? I guess Nina was his date until…”

“Noah asked her out?”

“Yeah. I think she really likes him.”

I raised my eyebrow. “How would you know?”

“She told me.”

“Uh-huh. When was this?”

“Not what you’re thinking. We got coffee the other day after school. You know how he asked her last minute and all that?” I nodded. “Well, she needed someone to talk her feelings out to.”

“And that person was you?”

“Apparently?” He sighed. “Not going to lie, she isn’t the first one. From what Sarah’s told me, I’m, ‘really good at listening.’ I think half the reason they all want to sleep with me is because of the pillow talk after. They tell me all sorts of stuff—and don’t ask. Not telling.”

I lifted my hands up. “Wasn’t going to ask.” I gave him a concerned look. “You okay?”

“Yeah… It’s just…”

“Feel like you are being used as an emotional dumping ground?”

His eyes widened slightly. “Yeah! I mean, I don’t mind. Turns out I really enjoy talking to them even if it is a bit awkward having such intimate conversations after having crazy sex just before.” He glanced away. “It’s a bit…lonely though.”

Reaching out, I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m always ready and willing for a little pillow talk with you.”

He swatted my hand away. “Fuck you,” he said with a laugh.

“I mean if that’s what has to happen before, but I have to ask Emma if it’s okay first.” We both had a good laugh.

“Thanks, man.”

“No need.”

“I mean, for pushing me into this. Not going to lie, it’s been a hell of a ride since Emma and I… uh…”

“Screwed each other’s brains out?” I offered.

“Rude. I was a gentleman.”

I grinned. “So I heard.”

“But really. I know it sounds like I’m complaining, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. These guys are so much better than our previous group.”

“The hot girls certainly help.”

“Beyond that. These people actually care about each other. It’s nice to talk about random shit with them. Always seems like something is going on. Bored? Ask if anyone wants to catch a movie and you’ll find one or two people happy to go.”

“I know. But you don’t have to thank me. As great as this group is, it wouldn’t be the same without my best friend.”

We made small talk while I hydrated and recovered. We only had ten or so minutes before Sarah interrupted us by dragging Mike off to the dance floor. Sucked that there was nothing there. I was convinced the two would have made a cute couple.

Rested, I found my way to the others. Emma was dancing with Cameron, a big smile appeared when she saw me. I joined in, dancing a bit with Hailey and Lily as they drifted in and out. Emma didn’t seem to mind, but the dancing was tame. The moment the slow song started, she was right there, butting between me and Lily before the girl could even contemplate dancing with me.

I lost myself in her eyes as we danced, catching our breath as we swayed to the gentle music.

“Having fun?” I asked softly.

Her smile was beaming. “Yeah.”

After the song ended, she guided me to our table. Taking a needed breather, I sipped at my water and glanced at Emma. She was watching the dance floor. A few from our group were dancing together. I couldn’t take my eyes off her—not that I had much luck throughout the evening either. We had come a long way since our study buddy days. Sitting here made all those difficulties and trials worth it.

My girlfriend. My wonderful, slutty girlfriend.

I knew I should have been excited for tonight. We would finally be taking the next step, a step we were both ready for.

So why did my conversation with Mike and Ryan keep bouncing around in my head? Instead of thinking about what Emma and I would be doing, all I could think about were opportunities.

“Emma.” She looked over at me at the sound of her name. “About tonight.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Don’t even think about it.” When I opened my mouth to speak, she pushed on. “Whatever you are going to say. Not going to happen.” I frowned and remained silent. Her stare continued for several seconds before she sighed, shaking her head. “I’m going to regret this,” she said as she gestured for me to speak.

“I was thinking—”

“Probably should refrain from too much of that,” she muttered.

“—we have an opportunity tonight. You know Ryan doesn’t have a date tonight, right?”

She knew immediately where I was going. “You want me to sleep with him.” She shook her head, looking away as she fought the storm clouds full of anger. “Of course. Here I thought we were—”

“I want to watch.” Her eyes found me once more as she waited for me to continue. “I want to be there in the room with you two when you do it.”

She continued to stare and I could see the wheels of her mind work. “Why?”

It was interesting that she didn’t outright reject it. That meant she was at least open to considering it; a reminder that she enjoyed this sort of thing as much as I did.

“Going to be honest here,” I began.

“Please do.”

I sighed. “This whole thing,” I said with a gesture to our surroundings, “a lot less romantic than I thought it would be.”

She frowned. “Explain.”

“The main goal is to have fun, and tonight has been a blast. Dancing, talking with friends, it’s all exciting and entertaining, but all I’m getting is a festive vibe.”

“And that’s bad?”

“No, but…” I took a breath, trying to find the words. “Isn’t that what this part of our relationship is? The fun and playful part? I feel like us advancing that side of our relationship is a better use of tonight.”

She crossed her arms. “You just want to get your fix of me and someone else.”

“I do,” I said, not shying away from the truth. She seemed a bit surprised by my candor. “But this isn’t like at Ryan’s house. My priorities are where they need to be and I recognize this as what it is—something fun we do. I want this to be mutual though. If you still want to go with our original plan, then we’ll do that.”

“But?” she asked, sensing the unspoken word in my statement.

“If you want to do this instead, next weekend we can go out somewhere nice. We’ll dress up a bit and have a long romantic dinner. Instead of all this festive atmosphere, it can be a more intimate one. No outside distractions, no friends cracking jokes, only you and me.”

Emma looked away, clearly torn between the options. I waited in silence as she weighed the two.

“Steak,” she mumbled.

“Huh?”

Her eyes met mine. “For dinner. I want steak.”

Reaching out, I took her hand. “Then that’s what we’ll have.”

Another slow song started, but neither of us moved. We watched as couples formed and began swaying gently to the music.

“The mood doesn’t matter,” she said softly, voice drawing my attention to her. “I don’t want you thinking I’m agreeing to this because you are promising me a romantic evening.”

“Why are you agreeing?”

“Because I believe you. We want this to be a part of our relationship and tonight will have us move forward. It’s not exactly the way I saw us growing closer tonight, but… this is important to us too.”

Her use of ‘us’ in there was not lost on me. This was something both of us were agreeing to; which made me feel better about the whole thing. Unlike the night at Ryan’s place, this was a mutual agreement rather than me selfishly pushing Emma to satisfy my fantasies.

“Sorry for constantly throwing a wrench into things.”

She shrugged. “I’ll admit that I’m curious about this as well. I’ve seen how excited you get watching videos. You being there in person…” Looking like she was remembering something, she crossed her arms in a huff. “But of course, you manage to weasel out of things once again.”

“Promise to make it up to you.”

Her fake anger faded as a small smile replaced it. “Tonight… will be fun.”

Pulling her hand to my lips, I gently kissed the back of it before returning her smile. “I have a feeling you are going to enjoy it.”

She shook her head, amusement radiating from her. “Pervert.”

No denying that.

I felt… grounded. I understood what I wanted, not just tonight, but in general. There were no regrets or second thoughts about bringing this up to Emma. It felt right and I think she felt it too. Surrounded by fun and excitement, this was a natural progression of the night.

After the playful and lighthearted fun of tonight faded, my attention was going to be on Emma. On us and only us.

A new song was starting and the dance floor was getting lively. Taking her hand, I guided her to the dance floor.

The serious stuff could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, we were going to enjoy ourselves.