Aimee Laine - Little White Lies

An aquamarine stone sat in between two smaller amethysts. The trio hung from a silver chain that sparkled like the moon on a cloudless night.

She took a deep breath, hands over her lips. In more than two hundred years, Charley had never been given a gift like it.

“Wow.” James whistled over her shoulder. His “oof” reached her hair as she elbowed him in one quick move.

“You like?” Wyatt mimicked her.

“I do.” She reached for the necklace.

Wyatt held the box wide as she lifted it and let it fall into the palm of her opposite hand.

“May I?”

Charley nodded as he took it from her. She turned her back to him as his hands came down like a curtain-the necklace glittered with the room’s light. Her hair tickled as Wyatt moved it to one side, clasped the necklace and let her hair fall back into place.

James whistled again-from farther away.

“Shall we?” Wyatt extended one arm toward Charley.

She draped hers over his. “Absolutely.”

Charley’s fingers found her pendant whenever her hand fell free from Wyatt’s. She’d see the sparkle as it reflected in a window, on her plate or in her glass. The need to reach out and touch it prevailed over every other desire. Cool against her naked skin, it lay as if glued. Only when she leaned too far forward would it dangle free before it returned to its exact spot when she straightened. Each glance from Wyatt chipped away at her resolve, her strength to let him go.

She could love him, provide for him, and still push him through the experiences of life. James had all but given his blessing. Cael would be pissed, but she always came back to the promise she made to Lily.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Wyatt’s hand caressed hers.

“That’s an old saying,” she said through her smile, tilting and righted her head. “Just remembering.”

“Night’s young. We got loads of time to make stuff to remember.” Wyatt stroked her back.

Charley leaned into him, laid her lips upon his, moved her hand behind his head and pulled him closer.

“Dude. You got company here.” Stuart’s voice carried through the wide expanse of the leather and lights in the limo.

Charley ignored him.

“Ahem!” Lily coughed into her hand.

Charley drifted from Wyatt, turned toward Lily and Stuart and graced them with an extended tongue. “Spoil sports.”

As their limo slowed, her heart raced. So little time .

Due to kick off the event, they arrived before the other students, and their entry rivaled the Oscars’ red carpet. Flashes of light popped as Wyatt exited the limo, and they continued as she stepped from within. Students who weren’t invited had lined the make-shift runway-cameras in hand.

“Oh my, there are a lot of kids here.” Lily leaned toward Charley’s ear after Stuart helped her to her feet. The dress pulled tight as she maneuvered out the door.

Wyatt held himself and Charley still for a moment and let the underclassmen get their assignments completed before he nodded and motioned the group forward. Cat-calls, whistles and screams of ‘Go Wyatt!’ followed.

“Where did they come from, man?” Stuart asked.

“Just a little something the Events Committee cooked up.” Wyatt walked Charley onto the dance floor. “We got the underclassmen to show up as paparazzi along with some of the parents.”

The first to arrive, on purpose and alone in the space, she and Wyatt waltzed to a pure symphonic classic. The croon of a male’s voice pushed them forward. Left foot, left. Right foot, right. He led. She followed both Wyatt and the music. Barry Manilow? Charley grimaced to herself. Where did they find this DJ?

She gave up trying to figure it out and put her focus on Wyatt as the piano keys tinkled along with the regular low swish of cymbals. “I didn’t know you knew how to dance,” she said.

Their bodies moved to a slow cadence as words of love poured through the speakers and warmed her heart. No matter the singer, the lyrics were enough.

Wyatt pushed them through the steps as the voice and keyboard came to a close. “I learned. For tonight.”

Together, they made the rounds as the school’s silver and gold glittered above them, reflecting across a dozen disco balls and bouncing against the stage. Their eyes stayed riveted to each other as they came to a halt. Wyatt pressed forward as he dipped Charley into a low bow. He traced her contour with his eyes until they reached her lips where he placed the softest of kisses before he moved to her neck.

Charley let go, her balance resting in his hands. She ran her fingers through his hair, buried her face in his neck and shifted to offer him a kiss better left for darkened spaces.

Students who’d arrived while they danced broke into a rumble. Feet pounded and cell phones raised as shouts rang through. They gathered on the dance floor with and around them.

Wyatt laid his lips against hers again before they rose together and moved to the DJ’s table. Cheers grew until Wyatt smiled and raised both arms. He flipped his watch toward himself, grabbed the mic and signaled with a wave of his hand that everyone should ‘get their groove on’ as the DJ said it.

As laughter rang out, Charley smiled. She couldn’t remember a time she’d been happier.

Music blared, lights flashed, bodies bumped, and spiked punch crept its way into cups. Charley’s curls lost their strength as a light sheen of sweat coated them. Lily’s dress paid the price of her wild antics on the dance floor. With every song, the decibel level grew as did the speed at which dancers moved-Charley and Wyatt no different than the rest.

“I’m gonna get a drink!” Charley cupped her hands, shouting over the beat of the music.

Wyatt nodded and led her out of the foray toward an open table.

They fell into chairs as Stuart and Lily did the same-new drinks in hand. Mr. Miter found the punch, the culprit and a replacement. The whispered groans from many disappointed students passed in near-silence from one to the other.

Lily pulled her dress back down for the hundredth time after it inched its way up yet again. “This is fun!”

“You guys act like you’ve never done this before.” Stuart’s voice, while clear to Charley, barely broke over the decibel in the room.

Lily shook her head. “Haven’t!” As the music shifted, a new beat pumped out. Lily’s eyes grew large. “I love this song!” She pulled Stuart back out onto the dance floor.

“He’s going to crash when he gets home.” Wyatt’s lips brushed Charley’s ear. “Want to get some air?”

She nodded.

They rose from the table, passed couples in various states of physical engagement and broke through the line of those who waited for the photographer. The cool night air rushed through the double doors as they pushed through.

“Oh! It feels good out here.” Charley strolled to a low ledge and leaned her back against it.

Wyatt shifted his body in front of hers; his hands found their place at her hips. Hers snuck their way up his chest. Eyes on one another, their lips met with no hesitation.

“It does feel good.” Wyatt grinned.

Charley moaned. “It’s quiet out here, too.”

She could see at least two other couples who’d taken refuge in the night’s calm. Music from inside added to the ambiance of Christmas-light twinkles under a clear sky. The moon lit the space enough to see but not be seen.

“I could stay out here all night.” She murmured words against his lips and started the kiss again.

He teased her lips open, pressed with his tongue and built a fire within Charley. She grew as hot inside as she’d been indoors.

His hands crawled up her uncovered back, caused a shiver to run her length. Their lips remained fixed as Wyatt tangled his fingers in her hair and curled a lock taut. His gentle tug brought forth a sigh of pure pleasure.