21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

ANNIE

"Sit still, sis," Izzy fussed, and I huffed, tapping my nails against the bathroom counter as I looked back at the mirror. I was barely recognizable with the makeup Izzy had forced on me. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but I was still not a fan.

"You're going to look gorgeous, Annie. I can't wait until I'm old enough to go to prom." Harper beamed from where she sat on the toilet beside us, and I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. "Will you do my hair for me then, Izzy? Yours is so pretty."

"Aw, thank you, and of course, I will." Izzy smiled, her hair done in some kind of waterfall braid that curved around the back of her head to fall into gorgeous waves over her shoulder. Somehow, I'd managed to talk her into a simple high pony for mine, but she insisted on curling the strands before calling it done. I was officially her hostage, but she was literally beaming, her eyes bright and happy, and I didn't want to chance bringing her down. She could make with me what she wanted if it meant she was doing okay .

This past week had been a rough adjustment since Mom had come home, and even if I was subjected to my sister's whims first in order to do it, I was looking forward to the night out.

"Girls?! Are you almost ready?! The guys should be here soon!"

My eyes snapped to Izzy's in the mirror.

"Almost done!" she called back, and I raised an eyebrow.

‘Liar,' my look told her. We didn't even have our dresses on yet.

Archer yelled from his room. "Yeah, right!"

Izzy laughed and then grinned at me in the mirror. "We already know what we're wearing. It won't take us that long to get dressed."

The doorbell rang, and my stomach swooped. "Of course, Tucker and Jet would be early today. Shit."

Harper smirked and handed Izzy the curling iron when she motioned for it. "They'll wait, Annie. You know they will."

Still…

A tap sounded on the bedroom door a minute later, and Emma slid through into our room, a garment bag draped over her arm. "Hey, guys. Oh, wow. You both look so good."

"Thanks." Izzy beamed again, looking at our friend in the mirror. "What are you doing here? I thought we were picking you up in the limo?" She jerked my head back into place by my hair after I leaned over to look, and I bit back a curse. "Stay still. I'm almost done."

Seriously, the things I do for my sister …

Emma came to stand in the doorway behind us and waved a dismissive hand in the air. "My mom and I thought it would be better if my dad didn't get a chance to say anything to Nic, so she called your mom, and she said to come over here. Jet and Tucker were already coming over, so Nic could, too."

Fucking great. Just more time I have to deal with him. I sighed, watching as Izzy unwound the curling iron from what I hoped was my last lock of hair. "You're done?"

"Just a sec." She grabbed a brush, doing something in the back I couldn't see. "There. Perfect. Now, let's get dressed before the guys get here."

"Finally." I stepped around my sister and into our bedroom. My bedroom? I didn't know. It was still weird. Izzy's stuff was in here, but it was less and less that she spent much time in here.

Our dresses were hanging on our closet doors, and we quickly pulled them on, followed by me grabbing the sparkly sandals I'd already conceded with Izzy to wear. She and Emma helped each other with their zippers while Harper hurried downstairs ahead of us, and I waited a few more minutes as Emma and Izzy slipped on their jewelry and heels. I had Jet's ring and necklace. I didn't need anything else.

Finally ready, they scooped up the backs of their dresses to carry the long material as we headed out of the room. We stopped at the top of the stairs, and Harper's voice carried up from the bottom.

"God, Jet. Annie dressed up, and you can't even wear a suit?"

"It's slacks and a dress shirt. It's good. Now, stop messing with me. "

I grinned, excitement coursing through me. "I wouldn't have wanted him in a suit anyway! Y'all ready?" I called down.

"Like yesterday!" Archer called up, and I heard Mom shush him.

"Yes, y'all come down. One at a time."

I rolled my eyes and looked back, wanting to check, but Izzy urged me forward.

Embracing the awkwardness of knowing everyone was waiting below, I headed down the stairs, finding Jet first in the sea of our families to avoid their gazes. I wasn't prepared for what was in his.

The intense blue of his eyes darkened before they traveled down my body, lingering along my chest and my hips before settling on the slit of my dress where he was treated with a glimpse of my thigh. He swallowed, slowly dragging his eyes back up to mine, and hurried forward to take my hand as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You look beautiful." He pulled me close and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

Emotion filled me that I didn't know where to place, and I ran a hand over his chest, smoothing the crisp material of his dress shirt.

"Lookin' pretty sexy yourself." I winked.

Uncle Blake cleared his throat, and I flushed, Jet then pulling me aside with my back to his chest as we waited for our friends to come down.

Emma was next, her dress a pale shimmery pink with a train of material that flowed down the stairs behind her. Her cheeks were tinged with a flush as she glanced around the room, and Rachel pressed her hands to her mouth when Emma reached the bottom. "You look beautiful, baby."

"She does." Nic stepped forward, holding out his hand to take Emma's and guide her to his side, the perfect model date in a sleek black tux.

Everyone looked back to the stairs when Izzy began her descent, getting a glimpse of her sparkling shoe peeking out from beneath the pale, icy blue material of her dress. It shimmered as she moved, the swirls of glitter and crystals along her skirt traveling up along her waist. The material spread out behind her, waves of sparkles following her along the stairs. Even her hair sparkled. She looked like a breathtaking ice princess. But it was the glimmer in her eyes that surprised me and the intensity in my sister's gaze as she held it locked with Tucker's. An intimate look passed between them, and I almost looked away, afraid to disturb their moment.

Tucker was staring in awe, floored speechless, and it took his dad giving him a tiny nudge to his back to get him moving.

He reached out for Izzy, pulling her close before kissing her smile, and her arms lifted to wrap around his neck, the two of them lost in each other until Jet was the one clearing his throat this time. They lingered in the kiss for another few seconds before Izzy tucked her face into Tucker's side, avoiding our gazes.

"Pictures!" Jenna declared, and the guys brought over our corsages before we spent the next chunk of time posing in front of the stairs and then the honeysuckle covered fence in the backyard. We were smiling and making goofy poses in front of the limo in the last few shots, well, except for Nic in some of them, before he pointed out that we had to go if we were going to make it to dinner on time.

Jet was helping me into the limo when I saw Mom grab Izzy's arm and pull her aside. I immediately stopped, watching the tension fall over my sister's body and the way her eyes hardened with whatever Mom said.

"I'm serious, Isabel," I overheard Mom hiss at the end, and Izzy just shot her a cold look of indifference before walking off. Tucker pressed his hand to her back as my gaze met my twin's, but Izzy shook her head, telling me she didn't want to say.

Irritation filled me, and I sent Mom my own glare before finally crawling into the limo, sliding over next to Emma where she waited beside Nic. Jet slid in after me, followed by Izzy and Tucker, and when the door shut, I couldn't hold back anymore. "What did she say?"

Izzy shook her head, her jaw tight. "Just telling me not to be stupid and get knocked up again, basically."

Tucker's look darkened with mine, but Jet was already running his hand along my arm, soothing my tension.

"As a parent, you can't blame her for being worried," Nic said, and my eyes whipped to his.

"Who asked you?"

"Don't," Jet whispered.

Nic just held my stare, nothing changing in his expression, like it was sealed. It was infuriating. "I'm not saying that Izzy and Tucker don't know to be careful. I'm just pointing out that your mom is worried, given what happened in the past."

"It's fine, sis," Izzy cut in. "I'll get over it. I want tonight to be perfect, and I refuse to let Mom ruin it. "

Jet whispered in my ear, encouraging me to let it go, and I shivered at his breath on my neck, his ministrations quick to divert my thoughts.

By the time we reached the Boardwalk Cafe, a classier but still comfortable restaurant along the beachfront, the vibe was back to normal. Nic and Emma chatted off and on, sometimes joining my conversation with Jet, but my boyfriend was having more fun flirting and teasing me, making me blush, and I played back, his attention making it easy to get over the fact that we were sharing this special dinner with his cousin.

None of us even tried to talk to Izzy and Tucker at first. They were too wrapped up in each other to be remotely capable of focusing on an outside conversation, not joining in with us until the food arrived. I was relieved to see them so happy, and I prayed they stayed that way the rest of the night.

When Emma pointed out the time, the guys paid the bill, and the six of us headed off to the dance, heading straight to the flowered arch for pictures and making fun of the balloon and crepe-paper decorations as we waited for our turns.

Nic stood off to the side with Emma, waiting dutifully with his date until Mateo arrived, and when her real date finally came up, we waited a few minutes while they had their own pictures done.

"My dad cannot see those." She shook her head as they walked back over to us.

"I know, baby. I put my name down for them. Don't worry."

"Hey, man."

"Hey. "

The guys exchanged fist bumps, and Jet slid his arm around my back. "Y'all ready to go dance?"

"Yes!" Izzy was already dragging Tucker out onto the floor while Mateo quickly twirled Emma out into the crowd.

I raised my eyebrow in a look. "I'm not going to be out there the whole night," I warned, and Jet just grinned, pulling me into his embrace.

"I'll take what I can get."

We joined our friends on the floor, leaving Nic to his own, but before we were even through the second dance, I was tapping Jet's shoulder to watch as Nic intercepted Emma. Mateo glared, but Nic jerked his head in warning before guiding Emma seamlessly into the next dance. Emma frowned up at him until he twirled her to the back of the room, and Jet and I exchanged looks and hurried to follow, catching Izzy and Tucker's attention along the way.

"He's what?" Emma's expression creased as we approached.

"What's going on?" Mateo barged up, furious and barely holding back.

Nic leveled him with a look. "You need to go stand somewhere else. Emma, your dad's here. I saw him come in. He has a chaperone's badge."

Mateo cursed but refused to leave, and without missing a beat, Emma pulled her phone from her clutch and took a few steps away, pacing the edge of the room as she made a call. Tears were leaking down her cheeks when she came back, all of us watching her in concern.

Nic passed her his handkerchief from his jacket pocket, and she dabbed at her tears, giving him a watery smile. " Thanks. I, uh, called my mom. She just found out that my dad decided to chaperone when she got home after our pictures. He signed up after that night he caught us kissing in the gym. He doesn't trust me." She looked up at Mateo, her expression filled with hurt and apologies, but when a look of unsurpassed pain crossed over his features, she looked back down.

"So, there's nothing we can do, huh?" Jet asked, eyeing Mateo.

"Doesn't sound like it." I scowled, hating this for my friends. They deserved tonight. They deserved a chance to feel like a normal couple for a change. There was nothing wrong with them wanting to be together, and her dad was a complete asshole for making them feel like there was.

"Mateo? Are you okay?" Izzy asked.

His expression hardened, his breaths harsh with his rising and falling chest. He glared, but I knew it wasn't really directed our way. "How can I be when my girlfriend's dad is a racist asshole?" he spat before storming off.

I looked around at the guys. "Y'all aren't going to check on him?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go check on him? Guys aren't like girls, Annie."

I rolled my eyes back. "No need for sarcasm, Tucker. I was just asking." I'd have followed any of my girlfriends in a heartbeat if they'd taken off like that.

"I vote we drop it, okay?" Emma cut in, her voice strained. "We all know what my dad's like. I should have expected it."

"Expected that he's so obsessed with who you date that he'd personally come spy on you at your prom ?" I replied .

Emma shrugged. "Unfortunately. Look at everything else he's done."

"Do you want to text Megan?" Izzy asked, and Emma's brow furrowed, fresh pain passing over her features.

"No, we're in a fight. My dad."

Fuck. She just couldn't get a break. I glared over at the man who was eyeing us near the snack table. Fucking dick .

"But, hey, at least, I've still got a date, right? Feel like helping me piss my dad off more?" Emma looked up at Nic. "Maybe a dance?"

He gave her a small smile. "It would be my pleasure."