klancepride with cal

day 13- dance

"Good evening, Mr. Kogane."

"You must be Lance."

"Yes, sir. Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Come on in, son."

The Kogane's screened-in porch was illuminated by an old yellow lamp and the golden rays of the sunset on the horizon. It was a warm spring night and Lance had come to pick Keith up for prom, but he'd failed to conceptualize just how intimidating Mr. Kogane was.

Lance stepped inside the farmhouse, following the man through the foyer and into the living room where a tall woman wearing sweatpants and a muscle tee was taking pictures of Keith. Lance swallowed hard as Keith's eyes flicked from the camera his mother held to Lance.

Keith wore a charcoal-grey suit with a red tie, his hair slicked back and tied at the nape of his neck. Lance smiled hopefully, his cheeks pleasantly pink. Keith looked amazing.

The women turned too and her face split into an easy smile. "You must be Lance. Keith's told us so much about you." She reached over the couch to shake Lance's hand.

"Mooom," Keith groaned in embarrassment, but Lance returned a smile to Mrs. Kogane.

"All good things, I hope," he replied easily, then checked his watch with a flick of his wrist. "Oh, we should go, Keith. It starts soon."

Keith nodded and straightened his tie, kissing his mom on the cheek before heading out the door. Lance was about to follow him outside when Mr. Kogane grabbed his arm gently. "Take care of him, yeah?" the man spoke softly.

Lance smiled. "Don't worry," he assured the man. His eyes flicked over Mr. Kogane's shoulder to Keith's mom and waved. "It was nice meeting you!"

Lance followed Keith outside. The sunset was radiant- hues of pink and orange and purple splashing across the streaked clouds and coating the countryside in gold. Lance opened the passenger side door for Keith, who smiled at him softly. "Thank you," he said quietly and Lance nodded before getting in his own side.

Lance drove a vintage Saab convertible, light blue with leather seats. He loved it like it was his kid. As he peeled out of the driveway, Lance handed Keith his iPod, saying, "You can DJ."

Keith's smile widened and it only took him a few seconds before choosing 'Take on Me' by a-ha. Lance laughed and cranked up the stereo, hitting the gas and speeding down the highway.

There wasn't much that could be said over the sound of the wind whipping by them and a-ha's lead singer belting out lyrics, but the silence was perfect in its own way.

Lance had been so nervous to ask Keith to prom. It was their senior year and Lance had liked the brooding teenager for the past two years, but it felt like Keith had ignored each of Lance's advances.

Lance had eventually caught up to Keith in the hallway after class once and, slightly out of breath, he'd asked Keith to the dance. The teen has stopped short, his dark eyes wide, and Lance had waited in agony for the rejection.

But then, a rare smile had slipped over Keith's lips and he'd looked down at his converse, a murmured "Yes," making Lance's heart beat wildly in his chest.

"Yes?" Lance had asked, wanting to reach out and push Keith's hair out of his face.

Keith had met Lance's eyes and rolled his eyes. "Yes, dummy." Lance thought he could never be as happy as he'd been in that moment.

Keith handed Lance his iPod and their fingers brushed, sending a tingling shiver up Lance's arm. He put the iPod back in the console and, steeling himself, held his open palm out to Keith. It was an invitation he wasn't sure the teen would accept.

Keith looked from Lance's hand to his face, then back. With a shaky sigh pulled from his lips by the wind, he slowly slipped his fingers between Lance's their palms brushing. Lance's hand was warm and clammy, but Keith didn't mind.

They spent the rest of the drive in silence, save for the 80's hits Lance played over the stereo.

When they peeled into the high school parking lot, Lance was able to find a parking spot up front. Their classmates wove through the cars to the school where a giant balloon arch invited the students in happily.

Lance turned off the car and turned, grabbing a small plastic container from the backseat. Inside it lay two matching boutonnières made up of a red rose surrounded by Baby's Breath and tied with a black velvet ribbon. Lance opened the box and took one out, leaning across the console to pin it to Keith's jacket.

Keith did the same for Lance, their faces so close as Keith fidgeted with the pin that Lance could smell his cologne. He wanted to melt into the scent.

Keith pulled back, satisfied. Lance smiled. "Let's go."