I picked up a pair of shoes – a pair of black pumps with a red rose on each toe – and examined them for a moment before I set them back down again.
"Hey, can I ask you a personal question?" Vanessa asked, examining a pair of leopard-print pumps that looked like they were in fashion when my mother was in the eighth grade.
"I guess," I replied, pulling out my drink bottle and taking a long swig as she asked, "Have you and Ains had sex yet?"
Shocked more than anything, I choked on my water and stared at her, struggling to get it down. "Wha . . . Why would you ask me that?"
"Curiosity, mainly," Vanessa replied, smiling.
"Well, that's nice," I muttered, picking up another pair of shoes and examining them, hoping that she would give up and move on.
No such luck.
"So are you going to answer the question, Care?"
"No, we haven't," I said. As I turned to fix her with a look that I hoped communicated the fact that this conversation was over, I watched her eyebrows rise into her hairline for the second time in half an hour, making my curiosity spike.
"What?" I asked sharply. "Why is that a surprise to you?"
"It's not," Vanessa said. "I guess not every relationship is like all mine – groping each other in dark corners every spare five seconds you get."
I laughed. "Yeah, we are not like that. We haven't . . . We haven't even talked about it. And there's more to you and Camden than groping in dark corners, Ness. You respect each other."
Vanessa smiled. "Thanks. I do admire your strength, though, Care."
I laughed uneasily, the way I tended to do when someone gave me a compliment I didn't think I deserved. "I'm not strong."
"Okay, so tell me again what the point is of you and your boyfriend crashing St Heart's dance is," Dan said, leaning against the doorframe.
"I need some sense of normalcy," I replied, looking up briefly from my maths homework. "And Ains gets that."
"I still don't see why you need to crash our dance," Dan said. "Why don't you two go and see a movie or something?"
"Because there's no decent movies on and there's nothing else in this town," I said. "And St Hope's is boring – our dance isn't for another six months."
Dan groaned. "You are a pain in the arse."
"Yeah, and you're whipped as hell," I told him, sitting back. Dan opened his mouth to answer, but then my phone vibrated against my thigh and then started playing the chorus of 'Bloodsport' by Raleigh Ritchie. Dan rolled his eyes and walked off as I answered, turning the phone on loudspeaker and flicking my maths closed.
"Caroline Morgan," Ains said, almost gallantly. "Hello."
"Hi," I said, smiling as I stretched, like a cat. "Did you miss me?"
"Incredibly so. I was so distraught that Camden was forced to console me," he replied.
"You're such a liar," I told him, and he laughed.
"You're right, you got me. Did you have fun?"
"Yep. I can't wait until you see my dress."
"You could always send me a photo of you in it."
"I want to see your reaction, so no," I told him, grinning. I imagined his reaction and I bit my lip to hold back my own laughter. I was silent for a long time, my memory flicking back to my conversation with Vanessa about me and Ains, until Ains asked, "Are you alright, Caroline?"
"Hmmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something Vanessa said to me earlier."
"And what's that?" he asked, sounding like he knew that this was going to be interesting.
"She asked if we'd had sex yet," I said, before I could make myself chicken out of it. As I listened, I heard a thump and then Ains said, "Well that's certainly . . . thought-enducing."
I rolled my eyes. "If you're going to fantasise, do it on your own time, Mitchell." I told him.
Ains made a soft noise through his teeth. "You are so lucky you're my girlfriend, Morgan."
"What, because anyone else who called you that would be in serious trouble?"
"Pretty much," he replied, and I laughed. We were both silent for a long time until I said quietly, "I love you."
I could imagine him smiling. Hell, I could practically hear it when he spoke; "I love you too, Care."
"Thank you. For agreeing to go to this dance with me. I know you aren't particularly fond of the idea."
"You're lucky I love you."
"As you continually keep reminding me," I said, but I was smiling. After that we talked well into the night, until I became so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open.
Fighting back a yawn, I twisted my head to look at my alarm clock. "Is it seriously half past one in the morning?"
"I guess so."
I smiled and yawned as silently as I could. "I should probably go to sleep or I won't get up in the morning."
He yawned softly and I smiled tiredly, imagining him lying on his bed in a pair of workout pants and a tight grey tee. "You're probably right. Okay. Sleep tight, Care. I love you."
"I love you, too," I told him, before I hung up. I plugged my phone into charge and then switched my light off, smiling happily as I hugged my pillow. I'd never felt anything like what I felt for him – this boy who was the son of my enemies. Some part of me, deep down, knew that it probably wasn't a good idea, to feel this way about him, but I couldn't help it. I loved him more than I'd ever thought that I could love another person, and as much as that scared me, I didn't want to let him go.
