Solo

Chapter Eighteen: After Party

It seemed like everyone decided to leave prom at the same time. The lobby became a sea of people waiting for elevators. When the doors slid open, the elevators reached maximum capacity. I was pushed into a corner with Lucas pressed against me closer than we'd been on the dance floor.

He smiled down at me. His chest was against mine. I knew he could feel my heart pounding. I got a little claustrophobic, so I closed my eyes and laid my head against his chest. I didn't have a problem with elevators except when packed in like a sardine. The smell of sweat and perfume from the girl next to me turned my stomach.

"Hey, Lucas, what floor?" Jack yelled from the other side of the elevator.

"Fourth."

We stopped at each floor and little by little the elevator cleared. I couldn't wait to get to our room so I could take my shoes off; my feet were killing me. Casey and Jack were the last ones on the elevator with us.

"I'll call you in the morning. Maybe we can meet for breakfast," Casey said, when they exited on the third floor.

"That's sounds good," I replied before the doors closed.

Lucas and I stared at each other while we waited for the next stop. Our floor was quiet. There weren't any parties going on yet. He led me to a room at the end of the hall. At least we wouldn't be in the middle of the after parties. I didn't feel like dealing with noise.

The sleeping arrangements didn't bother me anymore; I just wanted to get comfortable. Lucas fumbled with the electronic key for a minute before the door opened. To my surprise, we had a suite with a kitchenette and a tiny sitting area with a pull-out couch already made into a bed. Adjacent to the sitting area was a separate bedroom with a huge king bed and large bathroom.

"What's this?" I said shocked.

"I told you they didn't have any more rooms with two beds. This was the next best thing."

"Um, this is too much. We could've dealt with a single bed."

"No, I want you to be comfortable staying with me. I'm sleeping on the couch. You can have the bedroom."

I couldn't believe Lucas had done all this for me. "You don't have to sleep on the couch, I feel really bad."

"It's okay. I don't mind." He walked toward me. "Alone at last; I've got another surprise for you."

"What else can there possibly be?"

He walked into the kitchenette and grabbed a movie off the counter. "I rented one of your eighties chick flicks that you claim to love. There's also cookie dough ice cream in the freezer."

"Lucas, that's so sweet of you. This is the best after party ever."

"Well, I had to come up with something. It beats staring at the ceiling all night."

"I think your plan is perfect." I leaned in to kiss his cheek. "But first, I need to get out of these shoes and dress. Where's my bag?"

"It's sitting on the dresser in the bedroom. Let me know if you need help." He grinned a hopeful grin.

I rolled my eyes and went to the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed I removed my shoes and sighed with relief. Taking off my dress was the last thing I wanted to do. The double stick tape made me nervous. I kept telling myself it would be like taking off a Band-Aid—quick and painless. I only had to do it six times.

Finally, I built up my courage. I don't know where my bright idea came from, but I decided to pull all three on one side at the same time. I thought the quicker, the better. I bit my bottom lip and squeezed my eyes closed. Ripping the tape from my body my eyes instantly filled with tears. Every four letter word I knew passed through my head. If Lucas hadn't been in the other room, I would have screamed. Sucking a deep breath, I did the same thing on the other side. It didn't hurt as bad. But I figured that was because I was still distracted by the pain from the other side. I lifted my eyes skyward in a silent thank you when I stepped out of the dress.