How to Stay Afloat

~34: Where He Decides to Ask Her to Prom~

CHAPTER 34:

Where He Decides to Ask Her to Prom

|Archer|

~~**~~

Swim practice had been brutal. My entire body ached.

I needed to be at work in half an hour. I leaned my head back and stretched my legs over the wooden bench in the locker room.

Our final tournament was just around the corner so the team had been practicing non-stop. For most of the seniors on the team, it was probably the last time they'd be swimming to compete.

I frowned when I checked my phone. I still hadn't heard from the University of Florida and had a week to give California State University my final answer regarding their offer. My thoughts were a complete mess I had no idea what to do.

If I accepted the scholarship California State was offering I knew that Fallon would choose to stay here with me. And even though she'd told me she was okay with it, I knew she hated this place. I noticed the looks people gave her wherever she went, the way they whispered about her behind her back. I knew how hard it was to live in a place where people associated you with a tragic incident from your past. It was like you had to relive that pain over and over again.

I faced a similar situation after that whole incident with Jordan happened. It was the reason why my family had moved. I couldn't make Fallon live in a place that made her feel that way.

"Heading out, Hastings?" Colton's voice called from behind me.

"Yeah," I said as I stood up from the bench and faced him.

"Want a lift?" He offered. His car keys dangled from his forefinger.

"Sure," I said with a shrug after a moment of contemplation.

For a while, we just walked in silence.

"So, did you ask Fallon to the prom yet?" Colton asked as we headed towards the parking lot.

I gave him a funny look. "No. Why do I need to ask? She's my girlfriend." I told him pointedly.

He grabbed my arm and halted, stopping me with him. It was his turn to look at me in disbelief. "Dude, you seriously can't be this stupid."

"What?" I asked incredulously.

Colton shook his head. "It's supposed to be a gesture."

He laughed at my confused expression.

"It's the effort you put in that counts." He explained.  "It's like a token of your affection for your partner. It doesn't matter if you're already together and it's obvious you're supposed to go together. You still have to ask the girl."

I ran a hand through my hair as I contemplated what he'd said. His words did make sense.

Fallon deserves to be treated like a queen.

She deserves to feel special.

I'd go to any lengths to earn one of her beautiful sunshine smiles.

I could feel my lips tilting in a smile.

I was going to ask Fallon Chambers to the Prom.

I just had to come up with the most perfect way to do it because my girl deserved nothing less than perfection.

"You know. . ." Colton said in a low voice interrupting my thoughts, "If you haven't asked Fallon yet, I could always give it a try. Who knows maybe she'll go with-"