Chapter 11

As soon as the limo pulled up in front of The Archfield, the hotel that their prom was being held, Mark quickly hopped out of the car and proceeded to help Callie out, wrapping an arm around her waist then leading her toward the ballroom. They were followed by Addie and Derek, then Alex and Teddy.

Stopping at the entrance of the ballroom, Mark let out a low whistle, "Wow," he commented, "Swanky." The entire group let out a ring of laughter as each boy lead their date into the room.

The ballroom was decorated in elegant black and white decorations. Round tables encircled the middle of the floor, leaving a big area for dancing.

Making their way to an empty table, Mark, Derek and Alex all pulled out chairs for their dates before plopping down beside them. Suddenly, Principal Webber took the stage and tapped the microphone getting all their attentions.

"Alright students, settle down" He began and waited for the room to quiet, "Thank you. Now I'd like to thank all of you for coming out tonight and please let's make this fun and enjoyable for everyone. DJ," He turned toward the DJ that was at the end of the stage, "Give them something with a beat." Everyone clapped and began to stand when a song began to play.

Mark turned to Callie and smiled, "Wanna dance, gorgeous?"

"Hmmm..." she tapped her chin with her finger, "Yeah, Let's go!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. Mark laughed at Callie's eagerness and wrapped his arms around her waist, as hers came to circle his neck.

They danced in perfect sync, so much that Callie was impressed at how good of a dancer Mark Sloan really was. With a devious smirk, she turned in his arms and began to grind her ass a little too low on his body. Mark watched Callie, mesmerized by the way her hips swerved and dipped to the beat of the music. His hands moved from her waist and came to rest at her hips.

She smiled at feeling his fingertips digging into her hips, definitely making a mark. Bringing her closer to his chest, Mark leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You look absolutely beautiful tonight."

Callie turned back around and wrapped her arms around his waist, still grinding on each other, "You don't look so bad yourself."

The song came to a finish before the opening notes of a familiar Stevie Wonder song began to play. Both Mark and Callie smiled at each other and pulled the other closer as the slow song played around them.

They swayed perfectly and reveled in the feel of the other's body pressed against their own. Callie's fingers tangled in Mark's hair, gently scraping her nails against his scalp. Mark's arms tightened around her waist, as he tenderly massaged the muscles of her lower back.

After dancing around for what felt like hours, Mark looked down at Callie and caught her eyes. Slowly, he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers. Pulling back slightly, he smiled down at her, which she happily returned and brought his head down for another.

Before Callie could part her lips for him, someone cleared their throat, causing them to pull apart.

"Mr. Sloan, Ms. Torres," Principal Webber addressed them, "Please keep it PG. Or I will be seeing both of you in my office, Monday morning."

Callie blushed and Mark only smirked at the older man, "Yes Principal Webber." They said simultaneously

Once he was out of their hair, Callie looked up at Mark and both burst into fits of giggles. Their laughter died down, as did the music in the ballroom. "You look like you could use a drink. I'll be right back." Mark stated then leaned down to kiss her cheek before setting off to get them both some punch.

As much as she tried, Callie could not hide the smile that had appeared on her face and stayed there while she watched Mark walk away. Scanning the crowd, Callie laughed as she watch Addison try her hardest to dance with Derek. Her best friend had no rhythm at all, she definitely had two left feet, and never let anyone think twice about it. Shaking her head, she made her way over to her friends, easily finding a way to move to the beat.

"Addie," she said over the music, "We all know you can't dance. Maybe you should just start with the basics."

Addison playfully slapped Callie's arm while sending her a glare, "Well not everyone was born with perfect Latin hips that cause all the boys around here to drool, Callie."

Both girls let out a bark of laughter as they moved to dance with Teddy. All three girls hopped and pranced around the dance floor, catching all the eyes of the boys, and even girls, around them. It was easy to say they were the most gorgeous girls there that night.

Mark stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the scene before him. Addison and Teddy had taken it upon themselves to sandwich Callie between them as all three of them swayed their hips from left to right, their arms on their friends hips. Not being able to help himself, he gazed at Callie, watching as her black locks bounced with every move she made. How the fitting red dress she was wearing hugged every single inch of her curves. His eyes roamed from her daring red stilettos, up her muscular calves and thighs, and up to the roundness of her ass. Smiling, he made his way over to where Derek and Alex were standing, watching the girls with amusement.

"We are some lucky bastards, man." Mark said with a admiring nod toward the girls.

Both Alex and Derek nodded their heads in agreement. "We sure are." They all clinked their cups together and each took a sip, their gaze returning to their lovely dates.

After watching the girls for a few more minutes, Derek tore his gaze from Addison's slender body and looked at his best friend, "So," he started, "You guys have anything special planned for tonight?"

"Special?" Mark questioned, although he knew exactly what his friend was referring to.

"You know," Derek pressed on, "Are you going to seal the deal with her tonight?"

Wordlessly, Mark shook his head. Derek was in complete shock. He knew his best friend very well, and what he also knew very well, was that Mark Sloan didn't have a good idea of patience.

"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously.

Mark sighed and turned to Derek, "She's not ready." He stated firmly.

"So, what, you're just gonna wait?"

"Yup." Mark said simply.

Derek looked at his friend in amazement. This was a side of Mark that he hadn't seen in a while, but definitely missed. "Well," he concluded, "I'm proud of you, man. Callie must be something special."

With a smile, Mark shook his head, "Nah. She's so much more than that." He sent a smirk in Derek's direction before heading toward the girls.

"Ladies," he cleared his throat, "You wouldn't mind if I stole my beautiful date back, would you?"

Teddy and Addison laughed as they let go of Callie and pushed her in Mark's direction. He smiled down at her before giving her cup of punch, taking her hand and leading her off the dance floor.

Instead of heading toward their table, Mark led Callie out of the ballroom and down a hall.

Looking around confused, Callie looked up at Mark, "Where are we going?"

"Do you trust me?"

Callie tilted her head before nodding, "Yes." she said simply.

Mark tightened his grip on her hand, "Good." All of sudden, he broke into a sprint, pulling Callie along with him.

"Mark!" she squealed, "Slow down! These heels are so not made for running!"

He only chuckled and continued to drag her with him. They ran through a few more hallways before Mark slowed down and led her outside and down a walkway that led to, what looked liked, a garden.

Callie gasped as they stepped through the garden arch. The entire place was lit with golden Christmas lights, that reflected off every surface. There were dozens of different flowers, trees, plants, bushes, all of which made the place that much more beautiful. In the middle of the garden, stood a stone, flawlessly carved garden bench, which he led her to.

"This is amazing." she commented as she sat on the bench. Mark sat down beside her and swung an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. "How did you know about this place?" Callie asked, cuddling closer to Mark.

With a laugh, he looked down at her. "I asked one of the waiters where the most romantic spot here was when I went to get us drinks. Then I slipped him a $20 and here we are." Callie laughed along with him before sighing with content and taking in the beauty around her.

The teenagers sat in silence for a while, each of them content with just the feel of the other's warmth. Mark nuzzled his nose into Callie's hair and breathed in her sweet scent.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, and leaned forward to place a tender kiss to her temple.

Callie looked up at him and smiled one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on a person. "I love you, too." she cupped his chin and brought his lips down to hers. They kissed and touched until both were breathless and when they finally broke apart, they looked into each other's eyes, foreheads pressed together. In that moment, both knew that they had truly found someone special and knew how extremely lucky they both were to have each other.