Page 62 of The Prom Queen Project
He was seething.
“Did you hear that, Clarke?” Elliot asked, feigning enthusiasm. “We enrolled in her class next semester.”
“Mmhm. I guess we did.”
I forced the corners of my lips upward. Mrs. Hawthorne seemed to smile with far too many teeth as she held her arm outstretched toward the door.
“You both may be dismissed.”
Without another word, we trudged out of her class and into the hallway.
“So, we passed…”
Elliot glared at me through thin slits. “Andwe have to do it all over again.”
“Yeah.” I grimaced, lowering my head in shame. “Sorry. I didn’t know she was the AP Lang teacher.”
He let out a sultry laugh. “Don’t care. You owe me one, Princess.”
My breathing hitched as he prowled toward me, placing his body flush against mine. Using his thumb and forefinger, he lifted my chin, causing my eyes to slowly trail upward. From his toned jawline to the soft smirk on his lips to the deep pools of ocean blue in his eyes—I was mesmerized.
I tried to swallow, but all the saliva in my mouth had dried up as though it had been replaced by sandpaper. I couldn’t close my mouth as my lips remained slightly parted. He put his hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer as if there was any space left between us.What was he doing?His eyes flitted to the right, causing mine to do the same.
That’s when I saw Ryan and some girl standing in the corner.Oh. His eyes were locked on us as he whispered something into the brunette’s ear, causing her to chuckle. I groaned, watching the two of them before Elliot’s hand found my waist, shifting my attention back to him.
Lying my palm on his chest, I exhaled, trying to rid myself of the nerves brewing inside my rib cage, but the air was forced from my lungs as Elliot pulled me closer, our lips practically touching. My breathing hitched as my eyes flicked down to his lips, then back up to his eyes. He gave a slight nod. Without hesitation, I pushed my lips against his. My eyelids drifted shut, the darkness enhancing every sensation in my body.
Thoughts of Ryan faded into oblivion, disintegrating from my mind. It was just me and Elliot. He moved his hand to the side of my face, pulling me in closer as I clawed at his neck, desperate to taste more of him. My skin tingled, causing me to shudderagainst his body as he pulled me closer. Our lips moved together in synchronicity with a kind of rhythm that didn’t require music. His lips were rough, but somehow gentle. I was breathless when we pulled apart. He swiped his thumb along my bottom lip as I looked in the direction where Ryan had been, only to catch a glimpse of his fuzzy figure disappearing around the corner. I tried to hide my rosy cheeks as I pulled Elliot in for a hug.
“That was amazing,” he muttered into the top of my head.
I couldn’t hide the shock on my face as I pulled away. “Uh, I—”
“How’d you come up with that plan on the spot? I was just gonna stroke your hair or something, but I really think we really sold it, don’t you?”
Oh,the plan.Yeah.The plan was amazing.
“Um, yeah.” I bit my lip, tearing my gaze away from his. “It was pretty good, right? Like I said, I’m smart and stuff. Plans come naturally to me. Haven’t you seen my plan to win Prom Queen?”
“I’ll never doubt you again.”
“Good,” I spoke, my voice coming out shaky. “Let’s go, then. The pep rally’s about to start.”
“Wait,” he called out, gripping my forearm. “I have something for you.”
“Huh?”
“I did a thing.”
“Athing?”
Elliot nodded. “A thing.”
I couldn’t hide the inquisitive look on my face as I watched him shrug the straps of his backpack off his shoulder, twisting it around his torso as he rifled through his belongings.
Pulling out a large green folder, he grabbed a piece of paper from inside and held it against his chest. With a cheeky grin, Elliot wiggled his brows before flipping the papers toward me. I froze. My hand instinctively cupped my mouth as I sat in pure shock. Looking back and forth between Elliot and the paper, Itried to figure out what the hell was going on. There was no fucking way I was awake right now. I blinked a few times to see if my imagination was playing tricks on me, but each time I opened my eyes, I was met with the same sight. In his hands, he held a mini poster of me in a pink ball gown with the phrase ‘Vote Clarke Taylor 4 Prom Queen’ written at the top.
“Holy hell!” I pushed my hair out of my face and leaned closer to get a better look at the art. He twitched as my hair grazed his fingers. “Did you draw this?”
