That One Moment...

Chapter 40

As Sarah walked up the stairs, she glanced down at herself. The heels might be too much, would she even be able to walk in them tonight? Sure they were just 'kitten heels,' but still. 

Turning the corner, Sarah saw him. Ryan was dressed in a suit, looking like a god again (as if he ever looked bad...). It was a sharp contrast to her dad. He looked even older and fatter than she remembered, sickly even when she looked at his skin tone. Ryan's face was a bit strained as he was listening to her dad talk about something. She must have moved because Ryan's gaze turned to her quickly. A smile appeared as he looked her over.

Once Sarah reached the top of the stairs, her mom insisted on going outside to get some photos. It was prom and Ryan had insisted he was going to pick her up at her house and that she was going to tell her parents she had a date. Sarah had been adamant it wasn't a good idea, but she lost the debate. Shockingly, her parents had taken it well. Her mom had helped her pick out a dress, while her dad hadn't stopped making slightly crude jokes about what happens on prom night. 

Now, they were acting like perfect parents. Her mom was gushing over the dress, which was a deep blue. The sleeveless top hugged her body and dipped lower than usual at her chest, while the skirt gracefully fell over her hips, loose and swinging to her ankles. They had picked out some strappy silver kitten heels and  silver hoop earrings to finish the look. Ryan had a blue pocket swatch to match her dress, having asked her the specific color over a week ago.

As they posed and her mom took pictures, Sarah tried to ignore her dad's backhanded comments about how he never would have thought she could get a date. Sarah sensed that Ryan was about to say something to him, so she quickly excused them from more pictures. 

"I think we need to go so we can meet everyone at dinner. Right, Ryan?"

"I just cannot believe you have made so many friends lately. Soccer was such a good idea for you." Sarah's mom adds with a half smile. Hopefully her dad turned away before Ryan could notice the scowl on his face. Sarah sensed that he was less than thrilled, but knew he couldn't say anything right then. Plus, it was interesting that neither of them had picked up on the fact that she had started collecting friends, or maybe they had adopted her as a friend, much earlier than soccer...but, she didn't expect anything better from them.

"Bye now. Have fun." Her mom waved as Ryan opened the truck door for her to enter.

"Thanks." Sarah murmured, adding more quietly to Ryan "for holding your tongue."

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During dinner at a local buffet, Sarah had moved between different groups, trying to not let her anxiety get the best of her. She started out sitting near Ryan and when she asked why a buffet and not a fancy dinner, she learned that it was somewhat a tradition that they started in freshman year. The story turned to more than she needed to know about some of the males involved, so she left the mix. Ryan barely noticed her leaving as he laughed at some raunchy story.

After going up for some food, Sarah gravitated over to where a group of girls were sitting. Abby smiled a welcome as Sarah sat next to Anna and Laura. The conversation over here wasn't much better though. They were discussing who might still be a virgin and what hook-ups were possible. Sarah laughed along with the group, glad she didn't do it in some cliché way. Of course, Sarah's latest memory with Ryan had been slipping in a quickie in his truck recently, so she wasn't totally innocent in high school clichés. 

As dinner wrapped up, Abby shrieked out making Sarah jump.

"I forgot your birthday!" Abby yelled over in her direction. Sarah could only grimace slightly since the entire group of around 10 people, plus the rest of the restaurant, was now staring at her. "We have to sing."

As the group went into a loud rendition of Happy Birthday, Sarah felt Ryan's arm come around her waist. Looking up, she could see his laughter as he also belted out the lines. Ryan had already wished her a Happy Birthday earlier in the week, giving her a Michigan hoodie and real sport bag. It was what had led to the quickie after he picked her up at work. He was apologizing for the lack of a real date this week, when Sarah had pounced on him to thank him for the gifts since they were so thoughtful. One thing led to another and Sarah had been sporting a bruise on her him from the gear shift. 

When the song wound down, Sarah heard the whole restaurant clapping as she was wrapped in multiple hugs. The love she felt now was something she had never dreamed about and still couldn't wrap her head around. Good thing she had been introduced to waterproof mascara!

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There was going to be an afterparty at Jennifer's house. Sarah didn't really want to go, but since Ryan had been crowned the prom king he was expected to party the night away. Luckily, they had stopped the dance to announce the winner of school votes just after Sarah had gone to find the bathroom. She hadn't planned it that way, but was pretty happy that she was just returning to the ballroom when the presentation began. She wasn't able to move through the crowd to get to their friend group and could only watch from the back as Ryan and Jennifer were crowned the seniors, while Kimberly and Drew were their junior court. She was surprised to be tangentially known by all of them. Sarah saw Ryan scanning the back of the room as he thanked everyone for voting and made a joke about this being his 'crowning' achievement as a senior, even though he had helped take three athletic teams to state (winning two of those). Sarah had to stop watching as Jennifer hung on Ryan's arm for the pictures. She tried to tell herself that it meant nothing, but self-doubt ran deep and it was hard not to think they were a better looking couple. Sarah had never known jealousy before, but she had a feeling this was it. Trying to turn her mind to something else, she scanned the crowd to find her friend group, or at least the larger portion of it.

By the time she could move through the crowd, back to where their friend group was, Ryan was also returning from the front. There was a slideshow running now that highlighted some of the events over the year. Sarah had to look away when there were images of the girls injured during the Halloween crash. She still couldn't come to terms with that. Rumors were at least one of them would return for senior year, next year. Hopefully Sarah could get over some of the guilt by then.

Grabbing her hand, Ryan pulled her to his chest and pulled her out of her mind, "You missed my crowning achievement."

Sarah groaned, "That joke only works once."

"So you were here and hiding? Too bad, I was going to sweep you off your feet when the spotlight was on me." Ryan half joked at her.

"That is not funny you know." Sarah pointed out. "It was just fortuitous that I had to leave the room so that you could not use me in your show."

Ryan's smile faltered. "You know I wouldn't actually embarrass you like that? I know you don't like the attention."  

Sarah stared at him, having to admit "I don't always know when you are joking or not." She smiled sheepishly at that admission.

Taking his crown off, Ryan smiled at her, "I will try to be more obvious for you. Now, this is not a joke..." He pauses, "Want to get out of here for some quiet before the afterparty? I know you are probably at your socializing limit right now. I want you to be able to go to the afterparty with me, so how about some quiet first? I promise not to try and get in your pants."

"I like that idea." Sarah responded, thankful that Ryan knew her so well.

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Sarah found herself sitting in the bed of Ryan's pickup, staring at the stars and half reminiscing about their relationship over the past months. It was bittersweet since Sarah could sense the end coming.

"Hey, Sarah." She glanced over at Ryan. His eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. "No matter what happens with us, if you don't have a date next year..." he paused, swallowing a bit. "I will be here to take you to prom. I promise. No matter what. Ok?"

Sarah smiled. "Thanks Ryan. I like that, but...I won't hold you to it." She leaned into his side as he tossed his arm around her and pulled her close. Even though the future was weighing heavy tonight, Sarah tried to think about the now, the present and the small life adventures she was having.

After a while, Ryan asked "You ready to head to the afterparty?"