Page 65 of What I Like About You

“And that, gentlemen, is my cue.”

A few steps later and he was on the dance floor, tugging the beautiful brunette into him. He quickly found her lips for a searing kiss, once again not caring who saw.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he whispered, pulling back from the kiss.

“Hey there yourself.”

“Are you having fun?”

“Time of my life.”

A familiar melody filled the air around them as the next song started to play. Dalton was still for a moment as he watched Zara, waiting to see her reaction. Though he was pretty sure he knew what that reaction would be, he still wanted to make sure he caught the exact look on her face. The soft piano notes continued as Vanessa Williams’s voice started to serenade them about snow in June.

“Is this…?” Zara asked, her breath catching on the question. He could see the light reflect in her eyes as tears started to form. Pulling her closer, he placed his hands on the small of her back and started to sway back and forth in a slow dance.

“’Save The Best For Last,’” he answered her, singing along with the song.

“I love this song,” she said, still fighting back the tears.

“I know,” he said, placing a feather-like kiss on her forehead. Humming along for a few bars, he let those words sink in before continuing. “The moms used to play this and tell us it was our song because we were the youngest. But to me, that’s not why it was our song.”

“You thought this was our song?”

“I did. I do. Somewhere along the way I started to think it was about us, because you were always going to be my last.”

“Your last?”

“I had a plan, Zara. I was a dumbass for not telling you sooner, but you were always my future. Prom was just the first step. And then, I fucked that up just about as badly as one can fuck something up,” he admitted. He heard her sniffle as the first tear escaped and fluttered down her cheek. “All because I wasn’t man enough to admit my feelings.”

“Tripp…” she said, her voice wavering.

“I paid the DJ that night to play this song. I had hoped that it would be the start of something. Not that I had any idea what I was gonna say. I guess I thought I’d know what to say in the moment. But, between that and my actual plan for post-prom, I was hoping you would see just how I really felt about you.”

Zara halted their movement as she silently wiped a tear away from her cheek. He watched as she drew in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before exhaling slowly. A knot started to form in Dalton’s stomach as he wondered if those were happy tears. She stepped around him and walked to the edge of the tent, where they were out of earshot of the rest of the group. That knot was starting to turn into a rock, weighing more and more by the second. Shit, had he really just fucked this up all over again?

“Zara…” he said, his voice cracking as he walked up behind her.

“Ten years ago, I would have given anything to hear you say those words to me,” she said just above a whisper, still facing away from him.

Oh, fuck. I came on too strong. Just because she echoed ‘love’ last night doesn’t mean she’s in love with you, dumbass.

“Zara, I—” Turning around, she held up a hand, telling him to stop.

“I spent so much of that evening leading up to…you know…reminding myself that we were just friends and that you didn’t love me the way I loved you. And then when you said what you said, it just confirmed what I ‘knew.’ I might have spent the last decade so mad at you that it hurt, but that was only because I still loved you that much too.”

A rush of relief washed over Dalton like he’d just stepped under a running faucet. So she did love him. Thank goodness. He wasn’t sure how he was going to live with himself if he really had fucked this up twice.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you, Zara. I just wanted to give you the night we never got to have.”

“It’s a good overwhelming, I promise. It makes me feel less crazy about how I've felt all these years.”

The soft melody faded out, and the fast, upbeat tempo of “What I Like About You” quickly took its place. Immediately, Dalton started to nod in time with the beat and shift his shoulders back and forth in an awkward dance move he knew she would find amusing. This had been another song played on repeat during their childhood, and he’d done these exact moves every time this song had come on when they were kids. It never failed in getting a reaction out of her, and he was hoping that hadn’t changed.

“Maybe this is more our song?” he asked, not letting up on his moves.

“Can’t they both be our songs?” she returned playfully.

“Every song can be our song if you want it to be. Dance with me?” he asked, holding his hand out to her. Laughing lightly, she placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor. The rest of the group was still out there, dancing away like the two of them hadn’t been off having a moment.

The rest of the night played out exactly as he had hoped, with lots more laughter and dancing. The resort's resident DJ busted out a great mix for the group to party away to, giving them ample opportunity to enjoy every moment. Dalton even got Zara to dirty dance to a couple of the tunes.

As the night wound down, Kyle and Drea, quickly followed by Leona and Cullen, excused themselves to “turn in for the night,” complete with knowing winks. Once they were gone, Maeve and Antwan took the opportunity to exit as well, heading to The Casbah in search of some “regulation hotties.” Just like that, they were the last two left standing under the stars. All in all, Dalton couldn’t complain though. The look on Zara’s face told him that she was just about as happy as he’d ever seen her, and that was all that mattered.

Zara let out a loud yawn as she and Dalton left the tent a little while later. “Thank you. That was amazing.”

“Night’s not over yet, beautiful.”

“What?” she asked, her brow knitting.

“We have post-prom plans.”

“We do?”

“Yes. I told you, I had a plan. And that plan included post-prom.”

“Then who am I to mess with a plan?”

Her words were music to his ears. Now, if the rest of the night could just go as smoothly as the beginning, all would be perfect.