Chapter 41 – Universe Balanced Saturday May 7
I was studying in my apartment when my mom used the intercom to tell me my date for Prom was here. I was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. When I came down and saw a stretch limousine parked in the driveway, I wondered if I should go back up and change. Then I figured it was probably Melinda, and she’d seen me dress down.
I walked in the back door and stopped. Sitting at the kitchen table were Adrienne, Peggy, Tracy, my mom, and … wait for it … Hannah Minacci!
“Yes!” I shouted and began to do my Snoopy happy dance in the mudroom.
All my hard work for the past few years had paid off. When Duke saw how excited I was, he began to dance around with me. Then I remembered she was getting married. Crud!
I took a deep breath and composed myself. Of course, they’d all seen my reaction.
“Hi,” was my smooth opening move.
Hannah got up. She was wearing skintight jeans and a white sweater that showed off her impressive assets. She started towards me and then looked down. Had I known Hannah was here, I would have changed. Sweats were not ideal for hiding arousal.
“You happy to see me?” she asked.
My mom burst out laughing. So, it begins.
If Hannah wanted to play games … I was more than willing to give it right back. Hannah stiffened when I wrapped her in my arms and laid a scorching kiss on her. She had seen evidence of my desire, so I made sure she knew I wanted her. Hannah relaxed and began to kiss me back.
I was weighing the option of doing her right there on the kitchen table when she finally pulled her face back.
“You weren’t kidding,” Hannah said to Adrienne.
My mom was going to have material for the rest of her life, but I really didn’t care. I would take the heat for making out with Hannah in front of my mom. Maybe Mom would call my brother so he could eat his heart out.
Hannah Minacci was going to Prom with me!
◊◊◊
I was sent to get ready. I pulled out my Tommy Hilfiger tuxedo to wear tonight and decided on a black bow tie with a white dress shirt. My belt and shoes were from Louis Vuitton and had an alligator-skin design stamped into the black leather. I checked myself in the mirror and decided I looked good enough to have Hannah Minacci on my arm.
I walked down to the kitchen so Mom could approve of my clothes. Though the limo was waiting, Mom made me wait in the living room. She wasn’t letting us run off without pictures. I agreed completely; I wanted proof.
When Hannah walked in, she took my breath away. She was wearing a dark blue custom Victoria Beckham plunge gown that hugged her body. Hannah showed some serious cleavage, and your eyes were drawn to her best asset. Behind her, Adrienne walked in wearing a red Jovani deep V-neck lace dress with fitted mermaid skirt. I’m embarrassed to say I knew on sight who made them. Adrienne had sent Tracy possible dresses for everyone, and these two were noteworthy.
“Surprise! You get to take both of us to Prom,” Adrienne said.
Something terrible had to happen soon to balance out the universe. My day couldn’t get any better, could it?
After the pictures were taken, Mom hugged me.
“Remember the promise you made me.”
There it was. Universe balanced.
◊◊◊
Prom was held at my dad’s country club. When we pulled up, I had to laugh.
“You and Frank have been busy,” I said to Adrienne.
She just smiled. The number of paparazzi reminded me of either LA or New York. The driver came around to open the door. When he did, I touched Hannah’s arm to keep her seated and slid out between my dates so I could get out first. When I stood up, I was almost blinded by the flashes. I took a moment and gave the photographers a wave. Then I reached in and helped Hannah out of the car, followed by Adrienne.
Every straight male in the world would want to be me. To have these two on my arms was going to cause a problem. How would I top this next year? I would set Caryn on that project first thing on Monday.
Out of respect to Frank and Adrienne, we stood out front for several minutes. When we finally walked in, I had to smile. My dad had hired my brother and sister-in-law to help him with our prom. I’d wondered where Peggy had gone with the boys. They must have gone to Greg and Angie’s to watch my niece and nephews.
Greg acted as the host and took us to our seats. Two eight-couple tables had been reserved for my group. Everyone else was already here. It was just like Adrienne to want to make an entrance. First, there were the couples I’d put together: Halle and Ben Doman; Zoe and Trip James; Pam and Ridge Townsend; Tracy and Jim; Maria Dowe and Ryan Barlow; Brook and Zak Verwood; Cassidy and John Phillips; Gina and Bill; Johan and Leah Johansen; Wolf and Sarah Spence. The added couples were Tim and Brit, Yuri and Jan, and Roc and Piper. The final addition was my half brother Phil with a girl I didn’t know.
Angie was our server and took our drink orders. There was a set menu that you had to preselect, so there wasn’t much else for her to do at this point. Your choice of entrée was vegetarian, beef, or chicken. I’d picked vegetarian because they were serving one of my favorites, eggplant parmesan.
Greg came to our table.
“For those who want a photo to remember tonight by, it’s your table’s turn,” he announced.
Adrienne had arranged for Jackie Chan to take the pictures. I was glad that she did because there wasn’t the traditional arch with plastic flowers. Instead, Jackie used a blue background to which she could add anything later.
It was amusing to have two models there who had been in the business for years. They each had ideas as to what they wanted their Prom picture to be. Jackie bit her bottom lip when I shrugged at her. Whatever they wanted, they could have, as far as I was concerned. When they were finally done, Jackie showed me some possible backdrops. I was impressed when one of the options was the bluff on my farm that overlooked the river.
We got back in time to eat. I then took my dates around to each table and introduced them to my classmates.
We made it back in time for dessert to be served. It was strawberry cheesecake. We’d planted a large plot, but the berries wouldn’t be ready until next year. I loved fresh strawberries.
“You’re on my brother’s list of people he has a ‘get out of jail free’ card for,” I told Hannah.
“He is cute, but I would never do anything to damage a marriage. I’ve heard that line before. While I’ve never done it myself, I know of a few models who have. It never seems to work out like everyone thinks.”
“You should talk to them,” Adrienne advised.
“Yeah, my brother would love that,” I said with a smile.
After dessert, it was time for the band.
“I need David Dawson and his dates to come up here,” I heard.
I recognized that voice. It was Jett with her band Birthrite.
“I had no idea you’d be here,” I said as I got up to the stage.
“We’ll talk at the break,” Jett assured me.
I smiled when they started to play their cover of the Violent Femmes’ Blister in the Sun. Jett was smart when she pulled me out to dance because then everyone came to join us. From there, my night was a blur of fun. Both Adrienne and Hannah were good dancers and would trade off on slow songs. They did dance with several of my classmates. I was happy to see Yuri kept an eye on everything. We didn’t need some ass-hat groping one of them.
I saw that Hannah took a break and had my brother and sister-in-law sitting at our table, deep in conversation. I had to bite my tongue when my brother blushed, and both Angie and Hannah laughed. Greg gave me a dirty look. By the time they were done talking, he wore a big smile. Hannah made sure that he got a picture with her, and then they took one with Angie in it.
I knew how he felt. Spending time with Hannah was a rush and something you would remember the rest of your life. When Greg and Angie had to get back to work, my dad snuck over and got a picture as well. I would bet Uncle John was about to be tormented. It was good to see I wasn’t the only one who had a brother he could give a hard time.