“And what have you come up with?”
“Cookie,” I announced proudly.
Xavier scrunched up his face. “No way.”
“You don’t like it? What about Bumblebee?”
“Worse.”
“Snookie-wookie?”
“Do you have any cyanide?”
“Well, some of us are just a bit hard to please.”
We walked past some girls poring over celebrity gowns in a magazine, and I remembered my other news. “Did I tell you that Ivy’s making my dress? I hope it’s not putting her out too much.”
“What are sisters for?”
“I’m so happy we’re going together.” I sighed. “It’s going to be perfect.”
“You’re happy?” Xavier whispered. “I’m the one going with an angel.”
“Shh!” I clapped a hand over his mouth. “Remember what we promised Gabe.”
“It’s okay, Beth; no one around here has supersonic hearing.” He gave me a peck on the cheek. “And the prom is going to be great. Tell me about your dress.”
I pursed my lips and refused to disclose any details.
“Oh, come on!”
“No. You’ll have to wait till the night.”
“Can I at least know the color?”
“Nope.”
“Women can be so cruel.”
“Xavier?”
“Yes, babe?”
“Would you write me a poem if I asked you to?”
Xavier looked at me quizzically. “Are we talking love poems?”
“I guess so.”
“Well, I can’t say it’s my forte, but I’ll have something for you by day’s end.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I laughed. “I was just wondering.”
I was always taken aback by Xavier’s willingness to oblige. Was there anything he wouldn’t do for me if I asked?
Xavier and I were due to give a talk in French that lesson, and we’d chosen to do it on
Paris, the city of love. In truth, we hadn’t done very much research; Gabriel had given us all the information we needed. We hadn’t even had to open a book or Internet page. When Mr. Collins called us up, Xavier spoke first, and I noticed other girls in the class eyeing him with interest. I tried to imagine myself in their place, watching him longingly from a distance but never really knowing him. I looked at his smooth tanned skin, his entrancing aqua eyes, his half-smile, his strong arms, and the locks of light brown hair falling across his forehead. He still wore his silver crucifix on a leather cord around his neck. He was so striking—and he was all mine.
I was so caught up in admiring him that I missed my cue to start talking. Xavier cleared his throat, recalling me to the present, and I quickly launched into my part of the presentation, focusing on the romantic sights and the cuisine Paris had to offer. As I talked, I realized that instead of making eye contact with the class and attempting to engage them, I was sneaking sidelong glances at Xavier. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off him for a minute.
With the talk concluded, Xavier spontaneously swept me up into his arms.
“Urgh, would you two just get a room already?” Taylah called out. “C’est tr?s disgusting.”
“Yes, that will do,” said Mr. Collins, swatting us apart.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Xavier said with a smile. “We were just trying to make our presentation as authentic as possible.”
Mr. Collins glared at us but the class laughed.
News of our performance in French filtered through the grapevine, and Molly bailed me up about it at the first opportunity.
“So you and Xavier are really into each other?” she said enviously.
“Yes.” I tried to keep from beaming, as I usually did when I thought of him.
“I still can’t believe you’re with Xavier Woods,” Molly said, shaking her head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you’re really gorgeous and all, but girls have been chasing after him for ages, and he hasn’t batted an eyelid. People thought he’d never get over Emily, and then you come along and . . .”
“I can’t believe it either sometimes,” I said modestly.
“You’ve got to admit it’s pretty romantic, the way he looks after you, like some sort of knight in shining armor.” Molly sighed. “I wish a guy would treat me like that.”
“You’ve got heaps of guys that are madly in love with you,” I said. “They follow you around like puppy dogs.”
“Yeah, but it’s not the same as with you and Xavier,” Molly replied. “You two really seem connected. Other guys only want one thing.” She paused. “Well, I’m sure you and Xavier get up to some good stuff, but it seems like there’s more to it.”
“What sort of stuff?” I asked curiously.
“You know, like, in the bedroom.” Molly giggled. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about telling me, I’ve pretty much done it all—well, almost.”
“I’m not embarrassed,” I said. “We just haven’t really been up to anything.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “You mean you and Xavier haven’t—?”
“Shh!” I flapped my hands at her when I saw the kids at the next table turn and stare. “No, of course not!”