Always a Friend

Chapter 61

We followed Braedon and Chloe to her house, where pictures were taken for about thirty minutes. Chloe finally told her mom we had to leave, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her cheek. Her mom kept trying to say just a couple more; Chloe nodded at me as she grabbed Braedon's hand, heading for the back gate.  Chloe's mom was nice enough to take some of Ashton and me by ourselves since my mother couldn't stay home to see me before my first real dance. Chloe and Ashton were trying their hardest to cheer me up, and I felt bad for not enjoying myself more. 

Ashton and Braedon got us reservations at a nice restaurant near the building where the dance was being held. I was way too nervous to even think about food. I also knew anything I tried to eat would be on my dress. I was surprised we were able to walk past the line of people waiting to get seated and get a table. I leaned to the left toward Chloe and asked how the guys had gotten us a table here. Chloe told me that Braedon's Dad was the restaurant manager and made sure we had a good table. The place was magnificent with its padded, high-back chairs, white linen tablecloths, and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 

Our server walked up, took our drink orders, and then told us to order whatever we liked for dinner because the bill had already been taken care of. He said he'd give us a few minutes to look over the menus while he got our drinks. I glanced down at the menu but found my eyes wandering around the fancy restaurant, at the other girls in their fancy dresses with their dates. I wondered if I looked as pretty as they did in their dresses. I leaned back in my chair, looked down at my dress, and then back at them. 

"You look beautiful, Gemma," Ashton whispered close to my ear. 

I lifted my menu more, glancing at him from the corner of my eye, smiling. He knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. He returned to looking at the menu, then asked Braedon what he would order. 

"Everything is so good here. I'm going to have a filet," Braedon said, placing his menu on the table. 

"That does sound good. I think I'll get that, too." Ashton agreed. 

That left Chloe and me trying to decide what to get that wouldn't be messy. Chloe settled on a salad with chicken, and I figured that was the safest thing to eat. The server came back with our drinks and took our orders. Chloe and I talked while the guys talked about sports and whatnot. For a split second, I looked away from Chloe and out toward the dining room, and that's when I saw Rhys sitting with Olivia about four tables over from us. The look on my face must have given it away because Chloe asked what was wrong and then cussed under her breath. "Who cares if he's here? And he's with the perfect girl for him. He's a dick, and she's a bitch."  

"Who's a dick?" Ashton asked. 

My eyes flashed to Ashton, who had figured out who we were talking about by his clenched jaw and narrow eyes. "What the fuck is he doing here?" 

"Dude, he's not worth it." Braedon grabbed Ashton's arm. "Besides, you're with Gemma. He's with bitchy Olivia. Don't give him a second thought." 

"Man, you're right." Ashton agreed, and then he turned and stared at me, smiling.

We finally arrived at the dance an hour later, and much to our surprise, many other kids were arriving, too. I flipped down the visor, checked my hair, and applied more lip gloss for the picture. Ashton reached over and flipped the visor back up. "Gemma, you're beautiful. Trust me." He leaned over and kissed my bare shoulder, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. "Let's go have fun." He smiled, kissed my shoulder again, opened the driver's side door, and was out before I could say anything. I sat there, looking in the side mirror at the long line of cars pulling up behind us. I glanced away as my breathing quickened and my heart started to race.