May, 1987
Lindsay looked in the mirror of her vanity as she meticulously curled her hair, which had fallen slightly flat since her trip to the salon. It was prom night and she wanted to look perfect.
"Hey, Linds," she heard Michael say. She turned to see him standing in the doorway in his tux.
"Hello, handsome," she said. She smirked at the look of surprise on his face.
"Uh, hi," he said, laughing embarrassedly. "Thanks."
She laughed and set the curling iron down on the desk. "How do I look?" she asked, standing up and spinning around so that her black velvet dress fanned out around her legs, dangerously high. She had ended up getting the dress they'd seen the night of the concert.
"You look nice," he said.
"That's not a very descriptive word," she said teasingly.
"It's the only word I'm comfortable using," he laughed, not meeting her eyes.
She smiled flirtatiously at him. "Try to overcome the discomfort."
He laughed and shook his head. "Okay, you look beautiful," he said. "How's that?"
"Better," she said. She sat back down and resumed curling her hair. He sat on the bed.
She'd gotten a little bolder since they'd danced together. She still couldn't believe she'd almost kissed him, after telling herself so many times that she would never do anything, but it was hard to be mad at herself when she was so distracted by the fact that he would have kissed her back. She was sure he would have, she could just tell. She still wasn't planning on telling him how she felt. He might feel the same way, but she couldn't imagine them actually being together. It would probably end in disaster, and even if it didn't it would change their relationship forever, and she wasn't sure she wanted that. She was crazy about him, but the thought of him actually being her boyfriend was still a little too weird for her, though there was some appeal in the wrongness of it.
She was still trying to figure out what he thought about all of this. She didn't know how he could continue to ignore his feelings for her after last week, but this was Michael. He had seemed very nervous around her for the rest of that day and she suspected he'd been avoiding her, so some part of him must have realized what had almost happened, but now things were back to how they'd been before like nothing had happened. She was glad they were, as she didn't want him to avoid her, but she also wished he would admit to himself that he was in love with her.
"So, are you excited?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I guess."
"That wasn't very convincing."
"Yeah. Prom's not really my thing, I guess."
"I guess Lisa's not really your thing, either."
"No, she's fine," he said, surprised.
"Also not very convincing," she teased.
"No, really," he protested. "I'm lucky to be going with her."
"Okay, okay, I believe you," she laughed. She set down the curling iron and tousled her hair with her fingers. She noticed Michael watching her in the mirror and smiled to herself.
"You're wearing the necklace I gave you," he said.
"Yeah, I wear it everyday."
"I know, but I thought for the prom you'd want to pick something out yourself."
She turned to him and smiled. "No, I like this one," she said.
"I'm glad you like it," he said, smiling back. He stood up. "Well, I'd better go," he said, suddenly embarrassed. "Don't want to be late."
"Okay, see you there," she said.
"Yeah, see you," he said as he left the room.
