“Yeah, we definitely missed it.” I kept my voice hushed, but it still seemed to fill the large room.
“Aw, c’mon now, where’s your imagination, Legs?”
Finn nudged my shoulder just as Elijah and Cole went to two tables off to the side of the dance floor and turned on the electric lanterns that’d been set on the linen tablecloths. I recognized them as the same ones the guys used to light the clearing in the woods when they’d hosted their illicit fight club bouts off campus.
Except, unlike when they’d been used in the woods, these lanterns had mini disco balls rigged to dangle in front of them. As they caught the harsh light from the lanterns, the silver globes refracted it into pretty white sparks that danced over the floor and tables.
I huffed a surprised, disbelieving laugh, glancing over to see Mason turn on a third lantern.
They didn’t light the whole space, but they provided enough illumination to give our corner of the gymnasium a soft, sparkling glow.
Then Mason propped up his phone against the abandoned centerpiece in the middle of the table, pressing the button on the side to raise the volume before hitting “play”.
Quiet music began to pour out from the speakers of the phone—not nearly as loud as the thumping bass that’d filled the room earlier in the evening, but loud enough for me to recognize the song.
It was the one he’d sent me before my audition for the Pacific Contemporary Ballet.
The one he’d said made him think of me.
He draped his tux jacket over the back of a chair and turned to me, and even in the dim light, the beautiful green of his irises made my breath catch. His lips quirked up on one side as he held his hand out, palm up.
“May I have this dance, Princess?”
I bit my lip, a rush of emotions filling me so suddenly it almost made my legs weak.
They had done this for me.
I’d been only too happy to sacrifice my senior prom if it meant taking Adena down—but the Princes hadn’t been satisfied with that.
So they’d given it back to me.
It was tiny and makeshift, poorly lit, with a bad sound system.
But it was fucking perfect.
“Of course.”
My words were soft, but they were all Mason needed. The other three Princes settled into chairs around the table where the music played, watching us with grins on their faces as I limped closer to the tall boy with the sharp, aristocratic features and he met me halfway, pulling me in close.
One large hand caught mine, holding it between us as his other hand splayed across my lower back. The music drifted over us, haunting and sweet, as our bodies moved together in a gentle rhythm.
It was the first time I had danced since my accident. And although some might not call it dancing at all since our feet barely moved and there were no real steps, it felt like it to me. Like the purest, sweetest form of dance there had ever been
My body was telling a story again.
And maybe this one would finally have a happy ending.
I turned my head, resting my cheek against Mason’s shoulder as we swayed back and forth. I could hear the steady thrum of his heart in his chest, and when he spoke, I felt the vibrations of his words against my skin.
“It was close, you know.”
I lifted my head slightly, meeting his gaze with a confused expression. “What was?”
“The final tally of votes for prom queen.” He smiled, arching a brow. “Don’t get me wrong. We definitely rigged it. But it was closer than you might’ve expected. You had a lot of votes already.”
At the Clarendon Hall party, the Princes had made the rounds, convincing nearly everyone there to vote for me instead of Adena.
“Isn’t that because you told everyone to vote for me?” I asked, smiling.