Ten Years Later.... Marie Ferrarella
“See you around,” she echoed with a quick nod of her head.
“Well, what do we have here? Sebastian Hunter and Brianna MacKenzie, the king and queen of prom, together again!” Tiffany Riley, the official reunion coordinator, gushed ecstatically as she came up to them.
Chapter Three
Before she had a chance to recover from Tiffany’s suddenly popping up, or to come up with a polite way to deny that they were “together,” Brianna found herself being abruptly ushered to the center of the room, as was Sebastian. He seemed just as stunned by the former head cheerleader as Brianna was.
Aided by the element of surprise, Tiffany had brought them both over to stand before the band. The five-man group appeared to wait for some sort of signal from the woman.
In a voice loud enough to be heard not just across the populated gym but all the way across the street as well, Tiffany continued doing what she had always done best: talking and manipulating.
“Hey, everyone, what d’you say we get our king and queen of the prom to re-create that last magical dance for us?”
She definitely did not want to go there, Brianna thought.
Especially not with everyone staring at them. It stirred up too many memories, too many feelings. Memories and feelings she wasn’t sure she would be able to contain once aroused.
She slanted a look at Tiffany, who had a very smug expression on her face. Why? In high school, Tiffany had done everything she could to try to win Sebastian back. He’d dated the blonde cheerleader before he’d become her boyfriend, Brianna recalled, and although he’d once told her that he’d never considered himself and Tiffany to be a couple, Tiffany obviously had.
So why was Tiffany bringing attention to them now? Brianna wondered, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. This made no sense.
“No, I really don’t thin—” Brianna began to beg off.
“I haven’t danced since—”
Sebastian’s voice blended with hers, but it was as if neither one of them had spoken, for all the effect it had on Tiffany. She apparently had decided to turn a deaf ear to both of them, focusing only on getting them to dance.
For just the slightest second, a smirk crossed Tiffany’s full lips. She was enjoying their discomfort, Brianna realized. Still hateful after all these years.
“Aw, they’re shy. Looks like they need some encouragement,” Tiffany mocked. “Okay, give it up for Sebastian and Brianna,” she cried, beckoning for the attendees to applaud or chant the couple’s names. Or better yet, both. The crowd complied immediately.
Tiffany’s smirk turned into a look of satisfaction. “Music, please, boys,” she called out to the band, then tossed a final, somewhat condescending bone to the audience. “And, for those of you who don’t remember, that last ‘magical’ song they danced to was Etta James’s ‘At Last.’”
Tiffany, a commando in bright lavender taffeta, narrowed her eyes as she appraised the couple she had hustled to the center of the dance floor. The look on her face seemed to say, “So, what are you waiting for?”
Sebastian was far from happy about this turn of events, but the last thing he wanted was to cause a scene. The thought that no good deed went unpunished crossed his mind. If he hadn’t come here to please his mother, he wouldn’t be going through this now.
“Tiffany’s going to bully us into dancing to that song. You realize that, don’t you?” Sebastian whispered to Brianna, barely moving his lips.
Brianna did her best not to shiver as his breath slid along her bare shoulder. A wealth of old, repressed sensations and feelings came cascading down on her before she had a chance to block them again.
She focused only on what Sebastian had just said, not on what she’d just felt. “Bullying comes naturally to Tiffany,” Brianna whispered back, recalling several instances during her high school years. Tiffany had always been obsessed with holding court and being the center of attention. The cheerleader had been utterly furious when she’d lost the bid to be crowned prom queen, especially to someone who hadn’t lobbied to win the title.
Despite the fact that, the whole time she’d been driving here, she’d done her best to anesthetize herself against Sebastian should she run into him, she could feel that old thrill trying to break through.
It had just about succeeded when Sebastian suddenly took her hand and said, “One dance can’t hurt.”
A lot you know, she thought grudgingly. Nobody broke your heart the way you broke mine.
Brianna pressed her lips together to keep the words back. If she was lucky, they’d have this dance and then he’d leave.
If you’re luckier, you’ll have this dance and he won’t leave.
The thought startled her.
Out loud she said, “Guess not,” as she forced herself to smile broadly up into his face—strictly for appearances’ sake.
The strains of the classic song filled the carefully decorated gym. The next moment, someone had the bright idea to dim the lights. And just like that, Brianna felt herself being teleported back across time and space until she was right there, at the prom, with the last song surrounding her like a soft, warm wrap.
Before she realized it, or could do anything to prevent it, her body was blending together with Sebastian’s.
Just as it had that night.
The whole world had been at her feet that night. Everything had been fresh and new and it had whispered the promise of such wonderful things to come.
As it had turned out, it was the last time that she had felt sure of anything. The last time she’d felt secure. It had been just hours before her entire world was upended. While she was dancing with Sebastian, her father had been involved in that awful car accident, when an underage driver had jumped the light and plowed right into him.
Her whole life had changed in a matter of seconds. Instead of going away to college with Sebastian and beginning a new chapter in her life, not only going away to college but also moving in with Sebastian, she’d opted to remain home and help her father recover from the accident.
She’d thought her heart would literally break as she watched Sebastian leave, even though she had been the one to encourage him to go.
Was that really all those years ago? she wondered now. It seemed like just yesterday, especially with all these old feelings ambushing her.
Maybe her father was right. Maybe she really did need to take a short break from everything. From constantly shouldering problems that weren’t always just her own. Her ability to empathize helped her be the kind of nurse every patient wanted, but at times it wreaked havoc with her own life, continually draining her.
So just for tonight, she decided abruptly, she was going to allow herself to reminisce, to go back to a time when she’d believed that her life was going to be absolutely nothing short of perfect.
“You still wear that perfume.”
Sebastian’s voice, low and still incredibly—and unintentionally—sensual, crept into her consciousness, catching her off guard.
It took her a second to play back the words and understand them. It took her another second to realize that she’d laid her head on his shoulder.
The way she had that last night.
Blinking, Brianna raised her head and looked at him.
“What?”
“Your perfume,” he repeated. “It’s the same one you wore that night.” He remembered how it had eroded any defenses he might have had and had made him want her in the worst way.
“It’s