Page 61 of Bookish Boys Don't Date Social Girls
I laugh. The teachers do strictly enforce the no public displays of affection policy. “Does that mean you want to kiss me?”
Air wooshes out of him like he’s been holding his breath. “So much.”
“I think we can take our chances.”
“Oh yeah? You’re willing to break the rules with me?”
“I mean, I already entered the school through an illegal entrance. I might as well go all out.”
His hands brush against my hips as his arms wrap around me. I’m shivering like it’s a winter day and I have no coat. My palms rest on his chest, and his heart pounds as fiercely as mine. The seconds it takes for him to lower his lips to mine feel like an eternity.
Finally, our lips meet. His are soft but strong, somehow. I don’t even know. I arch against him, eager to deepen the kiss when we hear a very authoritative voice call out.
“What is going on here?”
Webreak apart, but I’m too unsteady to step away. I have to use his chest for balance while my senses stop spinning. The heat in his gaze isn’t helping that along, though.
“I definitely didn’t think this through,” he whispers.
The levity helps me gain my balance. I laugh as I finally find myself steady enough to step away and turn toward the gym teacher storming across the room toward us.
Brent runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry, Mr. Gunn. I expected to be out of here by now.”
“What is all this?” Gunn demands. “You better not have ruined my floor.”
“We’ll clean up and get out,” Brent assures. “No gym floors were damaged in the making of this dateposal.”
I cock my head. “This what?”
Brent gathers the easel and poster, while I turn off the boombox and heft it.
“Dateposal.” Brent shrugs. “You know. Like a promposal, but more permanent.” He throws a worried glance my way. “At least, I hope it’s more permanent.”
At that moment, as we join up with my friends and exit the gym, I feel certain it’ll be very permanent, because I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with a boy who will work this hard for a girl. “Dateposal.” I grin. “I like it. We should hashtag it.”
“And we can make it go viral.” Dylan waves his phone. “I recorded the whole thing.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
There have beenmany more awesome kisses like the one Brent and I shared in the gymnasium the day of our dateposal. There have also been many more than two dates. Part of me was afraid I would find a reason to stop seeing him after the first or second date. Another part of me was afraid he’d find a reason to stop seeing me. I didn’t stop worrying until after our tenth date. Luckily, we’ve seen each other almost every day, so that didn’t take too long.
I give a slight shake of my head and force my attention back to the minister. This is my sister’s wedding and there are no do-overs if I miss it because I’m daydreaming about my boyfriend.
It’s strange to stand at the front of the ceremony and know that everybody is looking at us. I stand between Gayle and Bridget to the right of the minister. Lincoln’s brother and his two other groomsmen stand to the left of Lincoln, who is sweating something fierce with nerves. His hands are folded together in front of his body as he awaits my sister’s grand entrance. He looks calm, but I can see his body quivering. Even as nervous as he is, he radiates excitement.
Movement at the end of the aisle catches my attention. Ines and Dad step into view and I catch my breath. Her gorgeous dress, fantastic bouquet, and stunning headpiece all add to the vision. The barn’s romantic lighting softens her in a way I’ve never seen her before. But what locks my gaze on her is the fact that she’s luminous with anticipation. She glows from the inside out.
As the crowd stands, I glance at Lincoln and bite my lip. He’s clearly blown away by the sight of her. His nervousness has evaporated. I dab the tears pooling in the corners of my eyes with the tissue I wrapped around my finger.
Dad says something to Ines that makes her laugh and then they walk up the aisle together. Ines stares at Lincoln the entire time. Her smile is so big it threatens to reshape her face. I can’t keep up with the tears, so I let them fall.
When Ines and Dad stop at the end of the aisle, she shifts her attention to us. She and I lock eyes first, and she blows me a kiss. She does the same with Bridget and then Gayle. It’s so special to me that she took the time to focus on us during her ceremony.
When Dad gives her away, my heart squeezes. I remember Mom’s words about how hard it is for them to let us go. I look over to her standing at the front of the audience Cisco, Justice, and Layla are next to her. Of course, Mom’s crying. But she’s smiling too. She and Dad grasp hands when he slides into the row beside her. I find Brent in the crowd and startle when I see he’s looking at me. We grin at each other. I look at Ava next to him, and she traces pretend tears down her cheek with a finger, makes a sad face, and points at me. I nod and pretend I’m miserable. We both know they are happy tears. Dylan gives me a thumbs up and Bek only has eyes for Ines. The wistful smile on my friend’s face surprises me. She’s never so much as admitted to liking a boy, so it seems a huge leap to seem so starry-eyed over marriage. But that’s Bek foryou. She rarely makes sense, but is so loveable that she doesn’t need to.
The non-traditional ceremony is packed full of beautiful words and advice. The vows Ines wrote are surprisingly fun and light-hearted. She draws laughter from the crowd as well as Lincoln, who beams at her like she’s his prized pupil. Lincoln’s vows are heartfelt and sappy and cause many of us to cry. It’s touching how they wrote vows in each other’s love language.
When the ceremony ends, we follow the newly married couple down the aisle, accompanied by cheering and applause. I sneak over to my friends before I have to start posing for pictures. Brent wraps his long arms around my waist and kisses my forehead. I wind my arms around him too so that we are encircled in one another.
