Oliver moved to the door but I’m stuck in place.
“What?” he asked with a frown.
“You think they’ll laugh when they see me? Do you think they know what happened?”
He pulled me against his chest. A group of younger girls in low-cut, pageant-style dresses walked by. They looked forty years old. They didn’t giggle when they passed but I saw wide eyes and dropped jaws as they took Oliver in.
Oh, the Allendale Four. The stuff of legends.
“I think that you’re beautiful and a survivor, but if you don’t want to go in, then that’s fine too. I’m ready to get out of this suit and go eat some waffles down at the diner.”
I tugged at his lapels. “You literally just put this back on.”
“For you? I’ll take it off again.”
God he was so cute.
“We have to go in,” I said. “The guys are here.”
He nodded. “They’re definitely going to want to see you in that dress.”
It was sparkly, covered with a million silver sequins. I carried my tiara in my hand, ready to hand it over to the new winner.
“Heaven!”
I spun in the direction of the voice. Amber and Ginger strolled up.
“What are you doing here?” I asked after giving them both a hug.
“Ginger wanted to see where we grew up.”
Amber and Ginger…they were a real thing now. They’d moved into a suite with Samantha after I withdrew. Sam didn’t have a roommate right now, saving a spot for my return next semester.
“How are you doing?” Amber asked. It took her a long time to believe me when I told her I didn’t blame her for being MIA during a lot of my drama. She had a life and I was really good at keeping secrets.
“Better. I think every day is a little better.”
“I can’t wait until you get back.” She squeezed my neck.
Oliver held up his phone. “We need to get inside. The guys are getting antsy.”
I took a deep breath and with Oliver and Amber at my side, going through the door wasn’t as difficult as I expected.
The inside of the school seemed smaller too, and we took the back hall to the side of the stage where the other Allendale boys were waiting. They each wore a suit, of various shades. Jackson looked deadly in black. Hayden like a dream in charcoal, and Anderson found a color of light gray that brought out the green in his eyes.
“Damn,” Jackson muttered when he saw me. He gave Oliver a dirty look. “No wonder you’re late.”
Oliver grinned like the cat that caught the canary. It wasn’t lost on anyone. If Oliver broke through the mental health sex embargo, then the others knew their chance would come soon.
Yeah, I was as excited as they were.
“You guys look pretty handsome, too,” I said, walking by and running a hand over their chests. “Who knew when you took off those T-shirts and uniforms you’d clean up so well.”
“I did,” Ginger said. “I mean, I’m not surprised.”
Amber beamed and kissed her on the cheek. Ginger turned and kissed her on the lips. The rest of us watched, eyes wide.
“Huh,” Anderson said, watching them more closely than necessary.