Page 40 of The Promposal

“I would love to go to prom with you, Deacon.” She smiled at him, and he hugged her gingerly, being careful with his armor.

Cue the cheers and applause that accompanied every public, successful promposal. I was sure that all anyone else saw was her smile. And that I was the only one who witnessed the tiny bit of pain in her eyes as she accepted.

The horse chose that moment to take, um, use the facilities. Deacon and Ella backed up as several people made grossed out sounds. The poop happening right next to Deacon’s “yea or neigh” sign felt like a cosmic message meant for me.

My promposal hopes had, once again, been crapped on.

But I was happy for Ella. She officially had a date. I didn’t think that Ella knew Deacon all that well, but he seemed nice, and Jake had always spoken highly of him. I was sure she would have fun, and now she wouldn’t have to feel like a third wheel. She had a very cute boy to have a good time with.

“I thought Ella was going with that Trent guy.”

I turned to see Mindi standing a step behind me, wearing a very confused expression. How could she not know Ella’s relationship was kaput? As I’d walked through the halls today it was literally all people were gossiping about. “Trent and Ella broke up. Everybody’s talking about it.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard.”

Mindi’s crowd included some of the biggest gossips I’d ever met. How could she have not heard a single word of it?

And it dawned on me that she didn’t know because of how wrapped up she was in Victor Herboyfriend.

Much as I must have been with Jake, just like Trent had accused me of.

I decided to be better. To do better. To not be so focused solely on my relationship that I didn’t see things happening around me. To pay more attention to other people. I glanced at Mindi. Even the ones who annoyed me.

Ella gave Deacon her contact info on his phone and handed it back to him. He grinned at her, and his enthusiasm was kind of contagious. You could tell how excited he was, even if he was trying to play it cool.

The bell rang, and they said goodbye to each other. My sister came over to me, still sporting the smile that almost reached her eyes.

“Congrats on the promposal! That dude moves fast,” I told her. “That school’s only known about the whole Trent thing for a couple of days. I don’t know who’s telling everyone—”

“Me. I told everyone.”

Ella was the one oversharing about her breakup? That was so unlike her. “Why?”

“Because by talking about it, I made it real. It would have been easy to pretend that I was still in that state of limbo, waiting for Trent to come back into my life. This way, it’s final. There’re no delusions. I’ve forced myself to face the facts that it has ended and we’re over.”

“I guess that’s good.”

She nodded. “It is. And now I’m even a little bit glad. How sweet is Deacon? I can’t believe he went through all this effort for me.”

“Why not? You’re totally worth it.”

She squeezed my arm with a real smile this time. “Thanks. I know I’ll have a good time with him.”

“If you don’t, just say the word and I’ll take care of him. But if you start calling him Deacon Myboyfriend, I’m not sure we can stay friends.”

“There’s no chance of that happening,” she reassured me. “And don’t worry. I know your promposal is coming.”

I desperately hoped so.

For a second, I thought I heard someone calling my name. I turned in the direction of the sound, and I saw someone running toward us. It was Shoshana. She was head of the other regular dances, but was currently taking care of the decorating for the prom committee under Ella’s direction. Her face was animated, and she called my name again.

I let out a groan. Had she just gotten a promposal, too? I didn’t want to hear about it.

“Mattie!” she gasped when she finally reached us. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“I had to see a guy about a horse.”

She stared at me, not getting my joke. “What? That ... whatever. Doesn’t matter. I have important news. I’ve been trying to find you because ... there’s not going to be a prom.”

---