The doorbell rang downstairs.
My stomach tightened so fast that I pressed one hand to the dress again.
I let go. “What if he thinks it’s too much?”
“Noah?” She gave me a look. “The boy who saves your coffee order in his phone like it’s a medical allergy?”
“That doesn’t mean he’s ready to walk into prom with me like this.”
“Then ask him.”
“I hate when you make sense.”
She stepped behind me and squeezed my shoulders. “Say it first.”
“That you chose this.”
The dress wasn’t a dare. It wasn’t a costume. I’d bought it because, for once, I wanted to walk into a room without dressing for other people’s comfort.
“I chose this.”
“There he is. Now, let me run home and get dressed. I’ll see you at prom.”
When I opened the front door, Noah stood on the porch in a black tux, holding a green corsage. He froze so completely that my stomach dropped.
“Okay,” I said quickly. “Use your words, Noah. I have my suit upstairs. I’ll change.”
He blinked. “Damien. You look incredible.”
I looked away before my eyes could betray me. Noah stepped inside.
“Can I?”
I nodded.
He pinned the corsage to my strap with careful fingers, then glanced up. “You’re shaking. What’s going on?”
He smiled, but his eyes remained rooted on me. “Is this the dress you wanted?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s not too much.”
I swallowed. “I don’t want to embarrass you.”
His hand stopped on the pin. “Damien.”
“What?”
“You could walk in wearing a traffic cone, and I’d still be proud to hold your hand.”
Inside, music thumped behind the ballroom doors. I stopped with my fingers on the handle.
Noah waited.
I breathed once, then opened it.
The room went quiet.
Someone near the photo booth whispered, “Oh my God, Damien?”
A small laugh came first. Then another followed. Then more joined in.
Phones came out.
Noah’s hand tightened around mine. “Damien.”
“I know,” I whispered.
But I looked at the phones.
Jada appeared beside me, close enough that her shoulder brushed mine. “Don’t give them fear.”
I swallowed and lifted my chin.
Noah looked at me. “We can still go.”
“No,” I said, though my voice came out thinner than I wanted. “We came to prom. I’m nervous, but I’m okay.”
Jada nodded toward the dance floor. “Then go dance!”
