Page 43 of Finding You

In his fantasy, they took it slow, but there was no way that was going to happen right now. And it didn’t seem like either of them really cared. So, rather than continuing to obsess about it, Devin did what he’d been waiting all afternoon for.

He loved her.

They were fashionably late to the dance.

After their little escapade on her car, MacKenzie was more than happy to go back to Devin’s house and stay in. But that little plan got foiled when they got home and found a garment bag hanging on the front door. There was a note attached from Ashlynn explaining there were four dresses inside for her to choose from, along with two pairs of shoes. She ended it with, “And the two of you better show your faces because we want details!”

MacKenzie’s face flamed with embarrassment, and when Devin asked her what was wrong, she simply shook her head and murmured, “Nothing.”

They’d rushed to get ready–opting to shower separately, otherwise they weren’t going anywhere–and when she stepped out into the living room and saw him in a suit, she seriously almost swooned.

“Seriously, how are you still single?” she said with a soft laugh. When she was close enough to touch him, she ran her hand over his lapel and just sighed. “The women in this town should be ashamed of themselves.”

All he did was chuckle before kissing her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Smiling up at him, she really wished they weren’t going out with like…a hundred people. Looking the way he did, MacKenzie wished they were going out on a romantic date–just the two of them.

“You ready?” he asked.

And now, here they were. Standing in the entrance to the Sweetbriar High School gymnasium, she looked around in wonder. “Damn. The decorating committee is impressive!”

Beside her, Devin nodded. “Casino Night. Last reunion had a roaring twenties theme. It was cool, but took way too much effort to dress for. I’m glad this one is a little easier on the imagination.”

“Wow! So there’s a different theme every time?”

Another nod. “Oh, yeah. Before the roaring twenties reunion was the wild west. Now that was fun!”

“If you do these every five years, you would have been too young for it,” she reasoned.

“Not really. Once you graduate, you can come to the reunion. I was twenty and this was where everyone was that night, so…”

“Got it.” She glanced around again. “I never really thought about a reunion or themes or anything like that. My ten-year reunion is in August, but I’m not going. And the invitation was just for a regular party at one of the local hotels. Nothing fancy.”

“To be fair, I think most reunions are like that. We just tend to be a little over the top here. Probably because we only do this every five years and we’re a small group.”

“Um…Devin, look around. There are a lot of people here.”

He shrugged. “Still, my graduating class only had 35 people. And we were one of the larger classes.”

Her eyes went wide. “Seriously? Mine had 160. And I’m guessing most of them are going to show up for the reunion.”

“Why don’t you want to go?”

That made her laugh. “You’re joking, right?” Shaking her head, she explained, “How about because I just fled the state to get away from my crappy life? Or…or maybe because I’m going to be living on the other side of the country by then? And who wants to go to a lame party with a bunch of people who I really wasn’t close to at the local Holiday Inn? I mean…take your pick.”

“Fair enough,” he murmured before leading her further into the gym. The music was a little too loud to hold a normal conversation, but there was a huge buffet and tons of places to sit. “Where should we…?”

But he never got to finish because there was a flurry of activity over to the right where it seemed like a large group was waving them over.

“I guess we’re sitting over there, huh?” she asked with amusement.

The same group from the last few nights were waiting for them–Ashlynn, Avery, Billie, Jade, and Choe, along with who MacKenzie assumed were their husbands, boyfriends, fiancés, and dates. After a round of introductions and greetings, they picked their seats and then joined the throngs of people getting something to eat and drink. It took almost a full thirty minutes to get back to their table and sit down.

“Well, that was a lot,” she said as she got comfortable. “But what a great variety of food!”

“One year we tried doing a potluck, but it really didn’t work out,” Billie told her. “Too many crockpots that fed too little. Then we’ve had some of the local businesses cater it, but even then it got overwhelming. Now we hire a catering company that specializes in big events to come in and do it. I think they’re even doing some of the food next week at the re-opening of the ski resort.”

“I think a bunch of food trucks would have been great for tonight,” Ashlynn said. “Fun and casual. Super easy.”

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