The Boy I Once Hated: Love & Hate Duet

Eighteen years old

Prom’s here, and that means there’s only a few more months of school left until graduation. I can’t go with Noah obviously, so we’re going separately and trying for a few stolen moments during the dance.

I fiddle with the blue dress as Daisy finishes my hair, feeling a bit of deja vu as I stand in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.

At least tonight promises to be completely different from homecoming…at least I’m hoping it will.

“Just last year I was the one going to prom and now here we are. It’s your turn now. I blinked and suddenly we’ve both grown up,” Daisy murmurs…and she sounds so sad that I can’t help but turn to look at her.

I want to tell her how thankful I am that she’s here on such an important night. Because I am. I couldn’t imagine going through this rite of passage without her. A part of me thinks that’s one of the reasons why she didn’t skip town the minute she graduated last year. That she stayed on this island for me. That she took a waitressing job at The Scarlet Letter Cafe just so she could make sure I survived my senior year. She’s never come out and said as much, but what other possible reason could she have?

Anytime I question Daisy about her future, she always responds with a smile, saying that it will be as amazing as I am. She tells me that she’s just saving up to get off this island and travel the world but I’m not sure how that will work out since she’s always complaining to our mom about how broke she always is. That her money never seems to stretch far enough.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if the real reason she doesn’t leave is because she’s waiting on a certain Harvard pre-law student to return to Thatcher’s Bay to be her companion in her travels. But if that’s the case, if Derrick is the reason why she insists on staying, then why does she always look so sad?

“Daisy?” I start but before I can get a word in, she pulls me into a huge hug, sniffling a bit as she holds me close.

“You’re the best person I’ve ever met,” she tells me. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

I start to tear up now too, and I hold her just as tightly as she’s holding me.

“I love you, sis. Forever,” I tell her, a word that only serves to remind me of Noah and our own promises to each other.

She lets go and holds my arms, staring at me like she’s searching for something.

“You’re beautiful, sis,” she says proudly, and I give her another watery smile before she squeezes me gently and then leaves my room.

Taking a deep breath, I adjust my dress one more time and then head out into the hallway where my mother and Curt are waiting. To my surprise, Noah’s there too, leaning against the wall and trying to look like he doesn’t give a care, as usual. But as soon as I come into view, he glances up and stares at me, his eyes burning as he slowly takes me in. There’s too much emotion there, too many words that anyone could read, and I quickly glance at Mom and Curt to see if they notice. Thankfully they’re chuckling over something on the couch and haven’t even heard me come in yet.

Giving Noah my own besotted look, I clear my throat, dragging my attention to my mother and Curt who start gushing over me. My mother insists on taking pictures of us, and even the slight brush of Noah’s fingertips against my back as we try to look like a sister and brother taking a picture, rather than a couple, sets my skin on fire.

‘What time are your friends picking you up?’ Curt asks Noah, talking about the limo that his crew had rented for the night.

Noah shrugs, giving his best bored impression. ‘I passed on the limo. I thought I’d just give Skylar a ride if she needs one.’

I freeze, because this is a completely different plan than we’d talked about, but I definitely don’t mind. Still, I’m worried that my feelings are written all over my face, with this incredible change in plans. All I want to do is throw myself at him and kiss his perfect lips.

‘Do you need to borrow my truck?’ Curt asks, and Noah shakes his head. ‘I borrowed a car for the night,’ he answers.

Curt frowns for a moment, but then nods his head. After taking a few more photos of us, and telling us to have fun and be safe, we’re out the door, stepping into the cool night.

My jaw drops when I see a shiny black sports car, that’s so fancy it looks like it came out of a Batman movie, parked in the driveway.

‘I borrowed one of Derrick’s cars,’ Noah explains sheepishly. ‘I wanted the night to be special.’

‘It does feel special. This is more than I hoped, just us getting to go together.’

His hand moves at his side, like he’s wanting to reach out and grab me. He keeps it down though just in case our parents are still watching from the porch, opening up my door for me, then jogging around the car and slipping inside.

I moan a little as I slip into the cool leather seats. This car smells like money. A lot of money. I’m not exactly sure how to describe that smell. But the interior of this car is it.

Noah starts the car and it turns on almost silently.

‘I love this car,’ Noah murmurs, sounding like he’s having an almost orgasmic experience himself.

‘Me too,’ I breathe, admiring the insignia on the dashboard in front of me.

As we pull out of the driveway, he grabs my hand and squeezes it.

‘I have a few more surprises for you, if that’s okay.’

I nod and blush. One thing about getting to know Noah, it’s so surprising how thoughtful he is. He’s always doing sweet things that I wouldn’t have expected before he opened his heart to me. A little part of me wonders if he acted this way at all with Stacy, but I push the thought aside.

We drive down the road, but it only takes me a minute to realize we’re not heading in the right direction. ‘Is this a shortcut I don’t know about?’ I quip. He squeezes my hand again.

‘Just part of the surprise,’ he says with a sexy wink.

Noah looks like a wet dream tonight. His golden hair is slicked back and he’s wearing a black suit and a black undershirt that he manages to make look super expensive, even though I know they’re not.

‘You’re beautiful,’ I blurt out, my cheeks flushing, because I realize it’s the same thought I had at homecoming. I just couldn’t say it then.

His eyes soften, and to my surprise, there’s a slight blush to his cheeks as well. ‘You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Sky. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.’

A girl wants to hear that, but it’s not just the words that are doing it for me, it’s how he’s saying them. I know he actually means them.

We drive for twenty minutes until he pulls down the same dirt road we’d taken that night we made love on the beach.

I’m always up for sex if that’s what he has in mind. I’m up for anything that means I get him alone without the rest of the school and town pawing all over him and trying to get his attention.

He parks in the parking lot and we get out.

“Hmm,” Noah says when he sees my stilettos.

‘I can take them off,’ I tell him quickly.

But he shakes his head. ‘Keep them on. I need some more time to admire how fucking perfect your legs look in them.’

Before I can say anything, he’s scooped me into his arms and we’re setting off down the path like I weigh nothing. I wrap my arms around his neck, and lay my head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

I take a deep inhale, not feeling creepy at all about sniffing him, because I’m pretty sure Noah Fontaine is the best scent in the world.

I forget all about how he smells though when we get down the path to the private beach, and I see a table and chairs set out, and lights strung across the top of them. There are plates of food set on the table, and soft music is playing from a portable speaker. I stare up at him in amazement and find him watching me.

‘What is all this?’ I breathe.

‘I didn’t want to share you tonight. I don’t care about anyone else. I just care about you. So I thought we could have our own private prom. Is that alright?’

I nod in a daze, at a loss for words for a moment. He sets me down gently on the sand and I slip off my shoes, dangling them from my fingertips as we walk towards the table set up.

I gesture to the fairytale in front of me. ‘How did you pull this off?’

He smiles smugly. ‘I did a few favors for old man Winter over the last few years, and then I rented the rest. You don’t have to worry tonight about someone coming and busting us.’

I smile, thinking about that night that I’ll remember forever. I didn’t mind the little bit of danger.

He helps me into my chair and lifts the silver lid covering up our dinner with a flourish. There’s a delicious looking lasagna, cheese bread, and Caesar salad laid out.

‘I have chocolate strawberries for dessert,’ he says shyly. “But we really can go to the dance if you want.” He pulls at his suit jacket anxiously, and I reach out and grab it, pulling him down so I can kiss him softly.

“This is the most incredible thing anyone’s ever done for me,’ I murmur, loving the way his eyes light up.

He settles into the chair next to me and we eat and talk for the next hour. The food is incredible, but the company’s even better. Afterwards, we feed each other chocolate strawberries like besotted fools…and then he switches the song and takes my hand and pulls me out of my chair.

‘Dance with me?’ he murmurs.

The song’s haunting, one I haven’t heard before, and it almost brings a tear to my eye as he takes me in his arms and begins to sway us back and forth, the twinkling lights and the moon shining down on us.

‘I love you,’ he says, as his hands play with the curls in my hair and his head rests on top of mine.

‘I love you too,’ I whisper, but not for the first time, a thread of uneasiness flickers through me.

Because right now, in this moment, my life feels completely perfect. And I want to hold onto it so badly that I would do anything, give up anything, to keep it.

I only hope that I can.