There were more photos to take inside. We'd agreed to spend some time with our own friends during the evening - there was no hostility there but we had different social circles. And something told me Tasha and her friends didn't want to hang out with a bunch of half-drunk football jock idiots anyway.
It took me longer to get finished with the pictures because more and more people kept asking me to pose with them. I gave Tasha a little 'are-you-OK-with-this?' look when something like the tenth person asked and she just threw me a smile and a shrug, nodding. God, she was perfect.
I put an arm around the girl who'd just asked for a photo. "Just in case you get famous!" She giggled, smiling at her friend who was holding up her phone. When everyone seemed to be satisfied I jogged back up to Tasha, who had a big grin on her face.
"What are you smiling at?" I asked, bending down to kiss her cheek. It was difficult for me not to just push her up against the wall and keep kissing her but that probably would have gotten us kicked out pretty quick.
"You," she said. "You're famous!"
"Nah, they're just hoping I get drafted so they can sell those photos on eBay or something."
"Maybe the guys," Tasha teased me. "I think the girls are all in love with you."
I don't know why that comment - which she obviously meant to be affectionate - bothered me so much but it did. It was probably just self-consciousness at how happy I'd been to have sex with anything that moved for the past two years or so, until I got with Tasha. I did a quick check to see if any of the teachers were nearby and, when I didn't see any, pulled out the flask and took another swig.
"You better slow down there, cowboy," Tasha giggled. "Or you're not going to be able to put one foot in front of the other."
We made our way into the gymnasium. That Black Eyed Peas song about having a good night was playing and the prom committee had hung balloons and streamers and little LCD-light 'stars' from the ceiling.
"Cheesy," I commented.
"It's supposed to be cheesy," Tasha responded, looking up at me. "I actually feel a little emotional. That's weird, I didn't think I would."
"Really?" I asked. "You feel emotional about Reinhardt High? I don't know, Tasha, I think most of us are counting down the hours until we get the hell out of this place."
We sat down on a bench and she gave me a little shrug. "Yeah, I know. But this is a big deal, Kaden. This is our high school prom. It only happens once - and you know what it means, don't you?"
"There's gonna be a lot of puke all over the parking lot tomorrow?"
Tasha gave me a playful punch on the arm. "No, idiot. It means adulthood is imminent. Literally weeks away. That's kind of heavy, no?"
I bit back another joshing response - she was being serious - and gave it some thought. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, maybe it's going to be a shock for some more than others, you know? You've already had a job for, what, two years? You've already got more responsibility on your shoulders than most thirty-year-olds, Tasha."
She was going to respond when the first notes of 'Don't Want To Miss A Thing' by Aerosmith came floating out of the big speakers that had been set up near the stage. Instead, she just grabbed me. "Kaden! We have to dance to this!"
The gym floor was immediately flooded with couples - I took Tasha by the hand and led her into the fray, holding back more commentary on the cheese-factor of the whole thing. Aerosmith? Really? I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that dance floor if it wasn't for Tasha - but somehow she made it OK. She looked up at me as we danced and her smile was so pure and genuine I actually felt my too-cool cynicism start to waver. I bent down so I could whisper in her ear:
"Damn, I think you're making me soft."
"Why's that?" She asked, speaking up so I could hear her over the music.
"I was just thinking that maybe you're right. I mean, even if this is cheesy, it's still prom, right? It's still something we're going to remember the rest of our lives, right?"
"Yes!" She laughed. "Yes, Kaden! Just go with it. You don't always have to be Mr. Cool Quarterback, you know."
"Alright. But don't tell anyone, OK?"
"OK."
She tilted her face up to me, then, and I kissed her, slipping my tongue into her mouth - and my hand down onto her ass - without thinking.
"BARLOW!"
Fuck! I jerked away from Tasha, expecting to see Mr. Ward or one of the teachers but it was just Jake Roberts - one of my teammates. He was with Aaron Sokolsky and a few of the other guys.
"You dick!" I yelled, before turning back to Tasha.
"Barlow! You pussy-whipped bitch! We just need you for a few minutes, man!"