First & Forever

Chapter 26: William

MAY

"We'll leave it unlocked for when you get back. She'll have no idea," Mrs. James whispers with a delighted smile.

"Will, catch!" Emett yells just in time for me to catch the small football coming straight for my head.

"Because every not-prom night should start with a black eye." I hear Elle laugh from behind me and turn to see her coming down the stairs.

Woah. She looks... Damn.

She smiles with a knowing look as she reaches the bottom.

The short white dress with its off the shoulder black bow brings back a vivid memory of the first time I saw it on her, but now with heels.

God bless. The heels.

"You look - Is that the - " I clear my throat.

Clearly struggling for words here.

"The dress I got when we went to Belmont. Still like it?" she asks, smiling over her shoulder as she grabs her little black bag off the kitchen island.

I swallow and nod, trying not to gawk too much with her mom in the room.

We make it out the front door and I catch myself smiling, watching her walk a step in front of me, all long legs and bouncy hair.

"Hey..." I slowly turn her to face me before I open the passenger side door, knowing that as soon as I place my hands to either side of her, fencing her between my arms, her breath is going to catch. Like so.

She peers up at me with those emerald eyes as the wind blows a silky chestnut curl across her neck. I carefully brush it back over her shoulder. "You are seriously gorgeous, Elle James."

Her cheeks flush as her dimples pull into a soft, shy smile. A shyness that quickly morphs into confidence and I love when my words have that kind of effect on her.

"So are you," she flirts, tilting her head while she looks across my face and down my chest, taking in every inch of me.

Her eyes focus on the top button done up on my shirt. She reaches up, locking one finger over the top of it barely grazing my bare chest in the process. "I like this," she muses, looking over my button up with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Yeah?" I smirk.

She worries her bottom lip, popping the button open. "Yeah," she breathes, reaching behind her to open the car door as she slips out from under my arms. She shoots me a half smile that somehow manages to be the perfect combination of sweet and sexy and I groan, ready to skip dinner.

I run a hand behind my neck. 

Who needs three meals a day, anyway?

We get to the restaurant where we've spent nearly every special occasion since we've been able to drive and I reach for her hand, like the reflex it is, as we walk in.

"Rhodes!" I hear someone yell on the way to our table. We turn to two full tables of our classmates dressed in tuxes and long overly embellished dresses and I feel Elle release my hand. It felt reluctant, but still. I wish she hadn't.

"Hey. Looking good," I answer, recognizing most of them as juniors from the football team. Their eyes shift to Elle beside me and I instinctively slide my hand onto her lower back, sensing her nerves. Okay, yeah, maybe it's a protective male ego move too. She's with me. They shouldn't be looking at her like that.

"Oh my God! Are you guys back together?!" one of the girls asks, obviously eager for gossip.

"Oh, no. We're friends," Elle replies, looking up at me with a casual smile. God, I hate hearing her say it, but that's us. Friends.