First Magic by Raven Steele (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

truth was deep down I felt the same way. Instead of voicing my feelings, I said, “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.”

His gaze returned to mine. “I hope you’re right.”

After Christian left, we headed into my room to do hair and make-up.

“I don’t think my dress will cover it,” Tracey said while looking down at her thigh. A bright purple paintball bruise the size of a baseball peeked out from beneath her shorts.

“It should. I don’t think the slit goes that high,” May told her.

“Do you want some ice on it?” I asked her. I felt pretty lucky ending up with only a couple of bruises. Poor Tracey had several.

“No, I can barely feel it.” She paused. “This dance better be good. I want Matt to have fun.”

“He will,” I assured her as I pinned up her hair.

“Do you have any mousse, Llona?" May asked. "I forgot to bring mine."

“I don’t, but Jake has some,” I said and left the room to get it.

“What do you use for your hair then?” May called after me.

“Nothing.”

“You will tonight,” Tracey called. May laughed, and I had to wonder what they were up to.

I didn’t have to wait long. Within twenty minutes my hair looked like a princess’s right out of a Disney movie, tiara and all. It looked incredible, but they’d used so much hair product that it felt like a brick was sitting on top of my head.

“Wow. Thanks guys. It looks really good. I just hope I don’t sprain my neck,” I said while turning my head back and forth.

“You’ll get used to it,” May said, fluffing her hair. We had put May’s hair in curlers. It made her look different, beautifully so. I couldn’t wait to see her in the dress she’d chosen.

“So I’ll see you guys in a couple of hours?” Tracey asked.

“Sure thing. Don’t be late,” I answered.

Tracey disappeared, followed shortly by May who gave me a hug before she left.

I couldn’t have been happier. I had awesome friends, a great relationship with my uncle, and sort of a boyfriend—well okay, I’m stretching the truth. Christian and I couldn’t have a relationship, but when he looked at me I knew there was something more.

I carefully pulled my silver-blue dress over my stiff hair and looked at myself in the mirror. The dress hung off my shoulders by an almost invisible strap. The material was so sheer it looked like a spider had spun a web all around me. The dress flowed outward from my waist mimicking a waterfall from a melting glacier.

In a matter of months, I’d completely transformed myself. I wished Jake could be here to see me, but he wouldn’t be back for a couple of days. He and Heidi went away for a long weekend together. Jake had seemed nervous, and I wondered if maybe he was going to propose.

A knock at the door tore my gaze from the stranger in the mirror. Before I could get to the front door, Christian walked in and froze.

“You look—” He breathed a heavy sigh.

“I know, I know, my hair looks like the top of an ice cream cone.”

He stepped toward me. “No, it’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said. He really did look amazing dressed in a black tux and his hair slicked back. He reminded me of a movie star, minus the strange, almost painful expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He moved one more step until he was standing right in front of me. “I thought this would be easier."

“Easier than what?”

“Than watching you from afar with someone else. I shouldn’t be your date.” His eyes met mine.

“What’s the big deal? We hang out all the time together and you’re always Mr. I-don’t-even-know-you’re-a-girl. Just keep playing that role. You’re good at it.”

“I’m tired of that role.”

“You’re the one that created it.”

“It’s the rules, Llona.”

“Right, the rules.” I placed my hand on his chest and gave him my most encouraging smile. “You can do this, Christian. I’m leaving soon and then you’ll never have to see me again. You won’t have to be tortured anymore.”

He glanced away. “I guess you’re right.”

I wanted to scream at him that, no, I wasn’t right. The thought of not seeing Christian again was enough to make me double over in pain, but he acted so cavalier about the whole thing that I forced myself to think of something else.

“Let’s have fun tonight,” I said. “It’s been such a perfect day. I don’t want anything or anyone to ruin it, okay?”

He smiled. “It has been perfect, hasn’t it?”

“The best. Now let’s go before I throw a beanie over my princess-do.”

Christian held my hand as he led me into the magically transformed high school gym. At least I think it was the gym. The walls were covered in black material; bright lights peeked from holes like stars in the night sky. More lights covered the ceiling and in the corner of the room, a single bright light had been made to look like a full moon. Navy blue and white sheer material draped gracefully across parts of the gym and clusters of real pine trees were spread sporadically throughout. It was like walking through a setting of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“And the award for the best prom decorations goes to Highland,” I breathed.

“Someone sure went all out,” Christian agreed. “This is a hundred times better than my last prom.”

“You went to prom?”

His cheeks reddened. “Yeah.”

I attempted a shrug. “Who’d you go with?”

He grinned. “Jealousy doesn’t become you.”

“I’m not jealous, just curious.”

“Right.” We stood in silence for a minute, looking around the gym, until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“What did she look like?” I said. “Again, just curious.”

He laughed hard. When he finally stopped, he held his hand to my face. “No one compares to you.”

This satisfied me, for the time being anyway. It wasn’t until just now that I realized how much I didn’t know about his past. He could’ve been with lots of girls before me. I closed my eyes tight to shove the image from my mind.

“Let’s dance,” he said and pulled me onto the dance floor.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the others?”

“They’ll find us.”

The song playing was a fast pop song by a female singer I didn’t recognize, but that didn’t surprise me. This wasn’t my type of music, but it was much easier to dance to than my twisted, dark favorites.

When the song ended and another began, a much slower one, Christian didn’t ask, he just pulled me close to his chest and wrapped his arms around me. Together our bodies swayed as one to the beat of the music, our hearts beating as one. I raised my head until our cheeks touched. His five o’clock shadow scraped against my skin sending a pleasurable chill up my spine. A sigh slipped past my lips. The sound made his fingers dig into my hips with unspoken need.

“Please,” I begged, not knowing exactly what it was I wanted. All I knew was I wanted him.

He tilted his head and grazed his lips across my neck, while pressing my body even tighter against his.

This is what we wanted—to be together, without feeling guilty, without having to worry about the rules, without having to worry about the consequences. Whether we’d admit it or not, we were two teenagers in love.

My head lifted until our eyes met. He leaned his head toward mine, and his lips parted just barely. I lifted on my toes to meet him halfway and closed my eyes.

“Hey guys!”

The words were like the sound of two trains crashing together forcing Christian and I apart. We both opened our eyes and stared at each other. He gave me a weak smile. I didn’t return it.

Christian turned away from me but kept his hand on my back. To Matt and Adam he said, “Where are the girls?”

Adam shrugged. “Late, I guess.”

“You look,” Matt said to me with a sly grin, “good enough to—“

Christian shot him a dark look cutting off Matt’s words.

“—be very jealous of Christian,” Matt finished.

I laughed and so did he. “You look good too.”

Matt was the type of man who was born to wear a tux. It looked natural on him, like a second skin.

Matt turned to Christian. “Could I have one dance with Llona?”

Christian visibly tensed but ever the gentleman, he said, “If it’s all right with her.”

“Sure”

Matt took hold of my hand and tugged me away from Christian.

Adam playfully shoved Christian forward to get his eyes off me. “Come on, Christian. Let’s raid the dessert table.”

Matt stopped us on the opposite side of the gym and circled his arms around my waist. Even though a song played with a quick beat, he pretended it was a slow dance and swayed his hips with mine. Occasionally, he’d spin me