It was fine.
It was going to be fine.
It would be better if the Marine Corps ball weren’t falling on the night before my brother’s death anniversary. Like, couldn’t they have picked a better night? And why couldn’t my father have made the trip to the East Coast to attend instead of sending me?
Why did I agree to this again?
Because Alex deserves it. Ah, that’s right. He did deserve it.
“Why are you staring at your dress like it’s the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen?” JoJo plopped down on my bed, while wearing her light pink, silky robe. Her curlers bounced right along with her.
“I don’t want to do this, JoJo,” I said, turning around again to stare at the dress.
“I’ll be there with you, and so will Ryan. And all your other friends. We can support you, Cammie.”
I’m thankful that my friends will be there to help me through this. It’s just…I didn’t want to sit there at that table during the Marine Corps ceremony, listening to an older, weathered Marine spew about his time in the military, and then go on about Alex and how he’d lost his life and what an honor it was to receive a purple heart award…even if you weren’t alive to see it. I didn’t want to listen, because it was going to make me feel even sicker to my stomach than I already felt.
I was going to be spending it alone. My mom was off in Mexico, according to the last postcard she’d sent…in which she also said she just couldn’t handle being home at a time like this. Then there was my father, who was off in California with his new family…not that I would want to spend the day with him, anyway.
I would grieve alone. I would remember Alex the way I wanted to, while crying over a tub of ice cream and blaring my favorite movie on the TV.
It was going to be fine.
“You know you can’t back out, right?” JoJo said, breaking me of out my pity party.
“I know. Trust me. My father has called me twelve times in the last two days and t
hen resorted to texting me to get the point across that I, and I quote, ‘made a commitment.’”
My father didn’t even have the courtesy to say something like, “I wish I could be there with you.” But, what did I expect? I’d been a raging bitch to him. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but I couldn’t blame him for trying to steer clear of me.
“Well, what if I snagged you a date?”
I retorted, “I don’t date—“
“For the love of God, Cammie. I’m your best friend. I know you don’t date Marines. You two can go as friends, plus… he leaves in a week, so it’s not like even if he did fall madly in love with you tonight, there would be much he could do about it. Chill.”
A light bulb went off in my head as I paced the room. A date. That would surely get my mind off Luke and my raging attraction to him. I had already prepared myself for the fact that he was going to be absolutely breathtaking tonight in his dress uniform. Those uniforms could make the ugliest man on earth look attractive, and Luke…he was already dripping with sex appeal. He didn’t need any extra help in that department.
Plus, what would happen when I saw him with a date? I would drown in jealousy. He would probably bring one of the lucky ladies he’d picked up who knows where. Actually, thinking back to the last couple weeks… I hadn’t seen many women at his house. Like, none. Maybe he was taking a small break. Or maybe I just hadn’t been paying attention…
“Yes.”
JoJo sat up a little straighter. “Yes?”
“I need a date.”
I watched as she narrowed her amber eyes at me. “That was too easy; what’s going on?”
I said, “Nothing,” a little too quickly.
“Try again.”
I let out a gasp. “What? Nothing’s going on.”
A devious smile was plastered on her face. “I know what’s going on…”
I propped my hands on my hips and acted completely confused. “Nothing’s going on, JoJo.”