Page 11 of If Only You Hurt

Without telling me, I knew Laney did not care for my last girlfriend. Actually, she hasn’t liked any girlfriends of mine that she has met. I guess the feeling is mutual because her past boyfriends are little shits if you ask me.

“So, does this mean we are still on for everything we promised each other last summer?” Laney’s voice is so small, I can’t help but laugh at her when she’s like this.

“Yes, Laney, if you’re still wanting to, I do.” I hope I didn’t sound too eager when I said that. If it were up to me, I’d pull over and start that part of our pact right now. Although that would be a dick move.

“Oh, okay, cool. So, like, you haven’t, you know, crossed that off your list yet?” She’s so shy when it comes to sex or anything relating to it. It’s hard not to find this side of Laney cute.

“Um, no, Bean. I have not. My virginity is yours to take.” I wink and bring my focus back to the road ahead of me.

“Great. Well, I reserved a room at the hotel where prom is being held. I, um, actually got it booked for three p.m. tomorrow, so we can head there early,” she says, still wrapping her hair around her finger. I can tell she’s still nervous about this conversation.

“I thought we were riding with Jessica and Alan?”

“Yeah, that was the plan, but I thought we could get ready at my house and then leave early. I’m on the prom committee, so it’s not weird that I’d need to be at the venue early. My parents just don’t need to I’m going over early for other reasons.”

“Laney, are you okay with this? I mean, I don’t want you to feel forced to do this with me just because we planned it months ago.”

“WHAT? NO!” I look over at her. She raised her voice a bit there, and she sounded like a seagull trying to get attention. What was that?

“What I mean is, no, I really would like to do that with you. I’m just super nervous. I mean, I’ve done stuff with other guys, but this feels like such a big deal.”

Just her mention of other guys makes me grip the steering wheel even tighter. The fact another man has touched what I feel is mine makes me feel like a possessive prick, but here we are. Nothing makes sense when it’s Laney and me because we’ve always set our own rules.

“Okay, well, we can take it slow and see where it takes us.” I give her a smile, even though my heart is racing.

This is happening. Laney and I are going to have sex, and I know nothing will ever be the same for me afterward.

I’m waiting for Laney downstairs, my tux feeling like it’s cutting off my circulation. We are leaving a little later than planned, as Laney’s hair appointment got pushed a bit due to every teen getting ready for prom tonight in this small town. We still have time to get our things situated in the room before heading down to the ballroom.

I’m looking down at my watch and see it’s four o’clock. The event starts at six p.m., and with this delay, we may not have time to do anything before the dance begins. Laney has told her parents we are all sharing a suite together as not to make things extra awkward between all of us.

I hear her steps coming down the stairs, and I make my way to the foyer, corsage in hand. My hands are sweating because I know that Laney will look beautiful no matter what she’s wearing. But I also know that my love for her will grow beyond what it currently is after tonight is behind us. I can feel my heart expanding, and I haven’t even touched her romantically.

The moment she comes into view, I nearly faint. Fuck. She looks gorgeous. She’s wearing a green satin dress, which clings to her breasts, trailing down to her tiny waist, down to her hips, while it flows out at her legs. It’s got thin straps tying behind her neck, which are what I’ve heard my sister refer to as a halter, and her hair is down with large curls framing her face. I can see her makeup is minimal, which I prefer because my Laney looks beautiful without anything covering her natural beauty. Her smile is infectious as she looks at me.

Once she gets all the way down the stairs, she does a little twirl, showing off her exposed back, making me itch to touch her. Shit, her ass looks incredible in that dress too. Every guy is going to be looking at her tonight, and I’m going to have to control myself so I don’t lose my temper with any of them. The fact I am privileged enough to be by her side tonight is not something I will take for granted.

“You look spectacular, Lane. The most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Her smile beams even brighter, and it’s hard not to see that I was put on this earth to receive this type of love from her and only her. My heart soars when I’m around her, and I wish the stars aligned for us to be together beyond friendship.

“Thanks, Grantie. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She walks over to me and places her hands on my lapels as if she’s removing lint while she moves her hands across my shoulders. “You’re so handsome.” She winks at me, and I nearly crumble. I want to kiss her so bad right now, but it takes all my might to reign it in.

Instead, I lean down and place a little kiss on her cheek. Then I whisper, “I’m the luckiest guy tonight because you’re fucking perfect.” I see goosebumps break out down her arm from my words, and I can’t help the smile that follows along my features. At least I’m not the only one feeling this pull.

“Okay, you two. Get outside so we can take some photos. There’s shade next to the house. I need to get photos to your mom, Grant. Let’s go,” Jana calls from the kitchen. The moment she rounds the corner and sees us standing near the front door, she stops in her tracks.

“Oh my goodness. Hold that thought. You two look incredible right where you are. I need to take a photo here first. Grant, put your arm around Laney. Lane, get closer.” I hear Laney grumble, but she complies with her mother’s request.

Once we take about a thousand pictures inside, we move outside, where each second of putting the corsage and boutonniere on is filmed and photographed. Kirk has been put in charge of filming the entire exchange, and I can’t wait to watch the footage later, listening to his little comments about how his wife is micromanaging the simplest task. I hold back laughter when watching Kirk and Jana’s exchange. It’s making this experience take my mind off my nerves a bit. From the way Laney is smiling brightly, I think it’s doing the same for her.

After picture number two thousand, we finally head off to the hotel where prom will be held. We grab our room key and take our belongings up to get things situated. I can feel the pressure mounting as I think about what tonight signifies. Now that we are running on the later side, I know we have to leave our things and head back down.

The drive to the hotel where the prom is held takes less than fifteen minutes. The moment we put everything in the room, Laney looks over at me. I fully take her in and continue to count my blessings that the universe brought us together before we ever understood the meaning of our connection.

“I was wondering if you’d be up for something before heading downstairs.” She looks up at me, fiddling with the ring I gifted her last year.

“Sure, what were you thinking?” I have no idea if she’s going to ask us to pre-party or what. Maybe she’s more nervous than I thought, and she needs to find a way to relax.

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