Page 270 of Something Rad
And, boy, do I smile.
I tilt my head up at Robbie as we start to sway together. “You know, this song isn’t very on theme with the Prom.”
“Sure it is,” Robbie insists.
“How?” I question him.
Robbie catches me off guard, spinning me around and dipping me back. He holds us there for a second, his glossy chocolate eyes boring into mine as a smirk pulls at his lips. “If fire was a person, it’d be you, Sara Cooper. No questions asked.”
I can’t even help the smile that breaks across my face right at Hall & Oates’s cue.
“And maybe…” Robbie adds, as he stands us back upright, “I just happen to be very charming. And the singer of the band was very receptive to that.”
“Now that sounds about right,” I say.
Robbie presses his lips to my forehead as we continue to dance. I can faintly smell the tequila on his breath as it fans over the top of my head, and I can tell his movements are looser and less sure as we sway about the dance floor. But I don’t mind, because this is him. He’s having a good time. Because he’s always having a good time. And he makes me have a good time. And I love him.
“I love you,” I whisper, my face against Robbie’s chest.
I feel his hands tighten on my waist as he lets out a shaky breath. “I love you too, Cooper,” he mutters into my hair.
I smile, glancing up at him. “Is it you and me forever, Summers?” I ask, playing off of the lyrics in the song.
Robbie’s face drops for a moment, like I caught him by surprise. His parted lips turn up at the corner a few times before he breathes out a soft laugh, grabbing me by the face and kissing me.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, the dance officially comes to an end and the chaperones are corralling us out of the gym like cows.
Robbie lets me know he needs to run to the restroom before we go home and tells me I can wait for him by his car before kissing the top of my head and dipping inside the bathroom.
I start to walk towards the door, but, with the traffic of every student trying to leave at once, I opt to just wait for Robbie outside the bathroom.
By the time he reappears a couple of minutes later, the hallway is almost entirely cleared out. I see Robbie’s back first as he pushes out of the door, but then, when he spins around, I see him pulling the flask away from his face.
I cock my head to the side, waiting for him to notice me standing there, and, when he does, his spine steels.
“Cooper,” he says.
“Having a little nightcap without me?” I ask, chuckling.
“Um…” Robbie trails off, glancing down at the flask and moving to put it back in his pocket.
“Nuh uh,” I say, darting forward and grabbing it from his hand. Robbie is slow to react, and I’m able to uncap the flask and throw back a small sip before he takes it back from me. I register just before it leaves my hand how light it feels.
“Let’s go home,” Robbie says, throwing his arm around me and walking us towards the door.
We make our way out to Robbie’s Camaro in the parking lot, Robbie releasing me just as we approach it. He gives me a funny look when he realizes that I’ve followed him over to the driver’s side, cocking his head at me.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I’m driving,” I say, holding out my hands for the keys.
“What?” he questions. “Why?”
“Because, I’ve had one and a half shots of tequila, one of those being over two hours ago, and you’ve had basically whatever else makes up that flask.”
Robbie’s brows pinch. “Cooper, I’m golden–”
