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Chapter 12: Homecoming Queen?

Homecoming Queen?

Jack, October

Bree is beautiful tonight in a long gold gown that reflects the light like sun glint on water. I'm standing next to her as her friends gather around taking selfies outside the dance entrance.

"Get one of me and Chap!" She calls to Cookie. We stand together under the balloon arch in the outdoor photo station while her friends snap pictures with their phones. She turns to me and adjusts my boutonniere.

"It keeps falling sideways," she says, twisting her mouth up. "I probably did it wrong."

"I like things sideways," I say looking down at my lapel as she tries to re-pin the damn flower.

Bree shakes her head like she's annoyed. She is a bit of a diva at times.

She rushes over to her friends to examine the pictures for flaws, to see if we need to retake them.

The gravelly growl of a motorcycle echoing through the night gets my attention. One bike with two riders rolls into the parking lot. I have to squint in the partial dark to see that the girl on back is showing a lot of leg, tanned and muscular. The driver dismounts and extends a hand to help her. The hem of her silver dress skims along her upper thighs as she reaches up and removes the helmet from her head.

My heart skips a beat when I realize who it is.

Peyton's hair shimmers like a silver halo in the light of the streetlamps. She hands her helmet to Lowrey and scans our group gathered by the building. She smiles when she recognizes me.

It takes my breath away.

In my mind, she was going to show up to this dance in a pair of Levi's and a t-shirt. That says a lot about the limits of my imagination. Now that I see her in that low-cut dress that falls loosely over her body and stops abruptly at mid-thigh, I can't unsee it. And I can't stop imagining what she's wearing underneath, and how her skin would feel soft and electric as I peel the dress up and over her head.

Lord help me.

Bree grabs my arm and drags me along with her into the gym.

It's a whole ordeal when we're announced as king and queen and have to do our first dance. "Homecoming Queen?" is the song they picked. Interesting lyrics—very fitting for Bree, almost like she wrote it herself. We sway to the music a bit before the DJ cuts in with something a little more upbeat, and for the first time in my life, I'm relieved to hear Justin Timberlake. Bree walks off the dance floor when they start playing "Can't Stop the Feeling," but I keep dancing. She's probably going to take some more shots in the bathroom.

I scan the floor looking for Peyton and spy her sitting with Lowery at a table. He stands up, grabs her hand, and leads her to the bar. Then they walk out the gym doors. Are they leaving already? I'm so laser focused on them that I don't notice Bree standing there.

"You okay?" She asks with her eyebrows stitched together.

I nod. Then I nod some more.

"Okay, I need to go out to my car. Ran out of supplies." She looks at me with her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, alright. I'll walk you out."

We're heading across the parking lot when she starts laughing. "Holy hell!" she shouts. "I guess she's not a lesbian after all!"

My eyes follow to where her finger points. Lowery has Peyton backed up against a tree. I swear to God it's like my guts turn to liquid. I feel sick, dizzy, full of rage. He's kissing her. Kissing her! And she...she has her hands in his hair like she's totally into it.