Page 51 of Stuck with You

“You rounded up all these people for an iso-prom in one afternoon?”

He laughed. “You say that like it’s hard.”

“It is hard.”

“Not for me.”

I shook my head before focusing on the screen. I knew Aiden had influence at school, but this was something else. There wasn’t one other person in our class who could gather this many people in such a short space of time.

As I looked at the faces on the screen, I realized our friends weren’t alone. Some were with their siblings while others had gotten their parents involved. Aiden wasn’t the only one with sad-looking balloons and decorations. Zoey had covered her bedroom in so many streamers I couldn’t even see her bed.

“Right,” Aiden said, unmuting our end of the call once more. “I sent everyone the playlist. Don’t forget to put all your mics on mute, and let’s get this iso-prom started!”

I watched as everyone stepped away from their laptops and started dancing in front of their screens. Everyone was doing something different. One girl was dancing with her dad, and the boy in the box next to her was practically tripping over his younger siblings as they spun around. There was a girl who had a life-size cardboard cutout of Shawn Mendes, and I noticed Zoey was dancing with her cat. I quickly looked away when I spotted one of Aiden’s friends dancing with a blow-up doll, which I really wished I hadn’t seen.

The moment felt bittersweet. This was the only prom we were going to get, and it could never compare to the real thing. People were laughing as they danced with their families though. Some had their phones out and seemed to be talking with their friends. While this was different from the prom we’d all been looking forward to, it wasn’t bad.

As I looked over at Aiden, he smiled. His hair had fallen across his eyes, and, in the suit he was wearing, he looked like a wicked Prince Charming. This definitely wasn’t the prom I imagined. Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured going with Aiden or dancing with him. I certainly couldn’t have imagined him looking at me the way he was right now.

“Will you dance with me?” Aiden asked, offering out a hand.

I nodded and slowly stepped toward him. His skin was warm as he took hold of me, and my fingers tingled in his grasp. My stomach tightened as he pulled me closer to him and lifted my arms so they were wrapped around his neck. My heart was racing as he rested his hands on my hips. We weren’t even dancing yet, and already it felt like too much.

We slowly started to move to the beat of the music, but my heart was rapidly pulsing out of sync. I didn’t know where to look, so I settled my gaze straight ahead on the small sliver of skin peeking out of the collar of Aiden’s shirt. It seemed safer than looking up into his eyes.

“So, what do you think of iso-prom?” he asked.

The tightness in my chest eased at his words. Dancing together felt far too intimate. Talking made it all feel a little less surreal.

“It’s great. And I still can’t believe you organized this so fast.” I glanced up and found him smiling down at me.

“It would have been quicker if I hadn’t had to decorate.”

I laughed and eyed the sad-looking balloons. “Yes, well, I’m glad you took the time. The balloons are the best part.”

“Are they? I hoped dancing with me would be the highlight.”

I swallowed and tried to ignore the alluring tone in his voice and hint of playfulness in his eyes. Aiden was like a flirt machine whose basic programming always reverted to seduction mode. He couldn’t seem to help it.

I had to wonder if Aiden’s charm was starting to work its magic on me, because the more time I spent with him, the more I had to remind myself how much he annoyed me and how I wasn’t supposed to like him. Right now was one of those times, and I was really struggling to remember why I’d ever disliked him in the first place.

“You must think your dance moves are pretty good if you believe that,” I finally replied.

His lips lifted in a half-smile. “Never had any complaints about my moves before.”

I got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about his dancing.

The door to the room burst open, and I jumped out of Aiden’s arms as I turned toward the sound.

“I’m here, party people!” Elliot announced.

He was dressed in a bright blue suit that was covered in drawings of fluffy, white clouds. I let out a laugh. “What are you wearing?”

He tugged on his lapels. “My prom getup. So, do you like my threads?”

“Well, they’re different.”

“But, amazingly different, right?”

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