Chapter Four
Two weeks into the campaign and Aralyn was running on empty. On the upside, there was improvement in her chemistry and math grades, but history was another story. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t concentrate. While she passed the tests, it was too easy to zone out, imagine making her own history - climbing in the Rockies or hiking the Appalachian Trail. The girl’s hockey team was doing well, winning every game so far. Aralyn was kept busy between studying and practice and tried not to think about Homecoming.
Sometimes during a particularly uninteresting lecture; which really could have been any of them, her eyes would wander towards Cam, and she would study his profile, his jaw propped on his chin. She had become familiar with the way his hair curled right behind his ear, and how it stopped just past his collar.
“You look tired,” Cam commented as they left History.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she admitted stepping through the door he held open for her.
Tiffany fell into step with them.
“Homecoming nightmares,” she added.
Aralyn shot her cousin a dirty look. Cam looked stunned, then distressed.
“Aralyn, I’m sorry,” he said, “I thought-”
“It’s ok,” she cut him off with a shrug. His look of dismay had her quickly adding, “Who knows, it could be kind of fun.”
Reassured, Cam grinned and draped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a quick hug. It was enough to make Aralyn giddy and she momentarily forgot about her Homecoming dread.
***
“Aralyn!”
She turned to the sound of her friend, Tracy’s voice. Aralyn wasn’t in a great mood, she was sure people had been staring at her all day and whispering. She assumed it was related to Homecoming and tried to ignored the whispers she thought she heard.
From the end of the hall, Tracy raced toward her, wearing the school colors of blue and silver. Today was Spirit Day, the finale to School Spirit Week which led up to the Homecoming Game. Aralyn and Tiffany had their warm up suits on over their uniforms, in preparation for the pep rally later in the afternoon. The football game and the dance followed tomorrow night. In addition, Aralyn and Tiffany had a hockey game the next morning.
“Where’s the fire?” she asked.
The pretty black girl shook her head. “Girl, you won’t believe what I just heard.”
“Trace, you know I don’t listen to gossip.”
“We got trouble, cuz!” Tiffany announced flanking Aralyn on her left.
“What has gotten into you two?” Aralyn demanded as her cousin pulled her aside.
“If it’s what I just heard, it’s bad,” Tracy said.
Tiffany nodded.
“Well get to it already,” Aralyn demanded not disguising the irritated tone that accompanied her request.
“Word has it Cam Kent has been paying attention to you and getting you on the Homecoming court as part of a bet he made with his buddy Dean,” Tracy hissed.
Aralyn froze. “Who told you that?”
“I overhead several girls talking about it in the bathroom,” Tiffany said grimly. “Apparently there’s a hundred dollars riding on it that he’ll ask you out to the dance, nail you, and be moving onto a new girl by Monday morning, using that sweet charm of his.”
Aralyn’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “What?” She shook her head. “No way. Not Cam!”
“I also found out he’s held a B in German this whole time, and he’s only pretending to need tutoring,” Tracy added. “He’s been scheming this whole time just to nail one of the Duke girls.”
Aralyn fell back against the wall in shock as Callie West walked by, smirking in her direction.
“But Cam-he’s so nice! How-”
“How could he do this?” Tracy finished her thought. “I don’t know. He always seemed like a nice guy. But word has it he spent the summer at some special camp where they teach self confidence, and that’s when he beefed up into Mr. Hot Stuff and was encouraged to get contact lenses.”
“I heard it was Lasik surgery,” Tiffany added dramatically.
“I don’t care about that, but-why would he put all that effort into pursuing me? For a hundred dollars?” Aralyn was baffled, and confused, and hurt.
“I heard it was up to five hundred once the football team got in on it,” Rayma joined them in time to hear the whispered comment. “Aralyn, it’s all over school. Apparently just nailing you is the big prize, because you’ve turned down so many boys.”
Aralyn swore softly as her dark eyes churned; all the other emotions replaced with pure anger. “Thanks gals. I’ve got to run.” She turned to Tiffany. “I’ll see you in class,” she told her, turning on her heel and purposefully crossing the hall.
“Where’s she going?” Tracy demanded.
“Duke justice,” Tiffany groaned, taking off after her cousin. Tracy and Rayma were right behind her.
Aralyn found Cam where she expected him to be, at his locker, switching books out of his backpack. Picking up speed, she crossed the last few feet in seconds, slamming his locker door shut, making him jump.
The students in the hallway turned to look, a small crowd gathering. Obviously, Aralyn Duke had heard the rumors and the whispers ran wild as people backed away.
“Duke, what’s wrong?” he asked. Her combative stance and the fire shooting from her eyes indicated that all was not well. Cam had been distracted all morning, convinced people were pointing at him and whispering about. He kept looking over his shoulder to make sure no one had placed a sign on his back. Now he had a furious Amazon in front of him.
“How dare you,” she hissed.
“How dare I what?” Cam was acutely aware of the growing crowd of students. “Aralyn, what’s wrong?”
“You make a bet with your buddy that you’ll get me into bed this weekend and be charming someone else by Monday? You bet on me for money? You low down, lying, duplicitous, deceitful, two-faced, dishonest asshole!” she shouted.
Cam’s brain scrambled as he tried to process the content of Aralyn’s outburst and what had caused it. What was she talking about? He noticed with dismay the twins appear behind her, forcing their way through the crowd to flank Tiffany, Tracy and Rayma, looking furious. In fact, he saw more than one cousin appearing in the crowd, and they were all glaring.
“What’s gotten into you? What are you talking about?” he demanded.
“Don’t you play innocent with me,” she snarled. “Someone overheard you making your little bet and now everyone knows. I hope to hell you had a good time while it lasted Kent because we’re through-and if you ever write another word about me I’ll kick your ass into next year!” she shouted, one hand hitting him in the chest hard enough to make him stumble backwards against the locker. He caught a glimpse of hurt and anger just before she turned from him and it tore at his soul to see the tears swelling in her eyes beneath the surface and for him to know that somehow he was responsible, even indirectly, for them being there.
“Aralyn, wait a minute!” he called after her.
Just as quickly as she had arrived, she was storming off with Tiffany in tow. The crowd parted for her, but instead of following, he found himself blocked by the twins, and two other angry cousins. He raised his hands in defeat and took a step back. Fourteen years old or not, he didn’t want to fight with a bunch of freshman, or anyone for that matter.
First, he needed to figure out what the hell had happened. Now he knew he hadn’t been imagining the whispers and snickering all day. That she would think he was using her to win a bet—the thought made him sick. He had to fix this, and fix it now.
***
Tiffany and Aralyn were having lunch outside, secluded from the prying eyes and gossip hounds. Aralyn didn’t care it was October and chilly, she’d rather freeze than sit inside where people were staring. The cousins sat on the steps of the administrative building, not too far from the cafeteria.
“Jerk,” Aralyn muttered, struggling to keep the tears from falling.
“I can’t believe he did that. I mean, I thought Cam was such a nice guy!” Tiffany shook her head as she handed her Oreos to Aralyn, swapping for her apple.
“He is,” a tenor voice interrupted them.
They turned to see Dean Acklen. Aralyn quickly brushed her tears away. The good looking young man in front of her looked apologetic and held his hands up as a signal of a truce.
“Look, Aralyn, before you explode, hear me out. We’ve known each other a long time, and I promise you, what you heard wasn’t the truth, by any stretch. There’s a grain of truth in there, but listen to me before you take my head off too, please. You know I’m not a liar.”
Aralyn sipped her Dr. Pepper, waiting. Dean shifted his backpack to his other shoulder. Dean was almost as tall as Cam, with long sandy blond that almost reached his shoulders, and usually dancing blue-green eyes. With a solid frame and quick smile, he was generally well liked guy with deserved reputation as an entertainer.
“Someone did overhear me and Cam talking,” Dean began. “What was said, was said in jest. I jokingly bet him a hundred dollars you wouldn’t turn him down if he asked you out. There was nothing about nailing you, or the dance, and the football team certainly had nothing to do with it! I was needling him about asking you out, because he really likes you, and I was sure you would want to go out with him,” Dean finished. “You look at him the way he looks at you and I thought you guys needed a little push.”
Aralyn considered Dean’s explanation. “So how did it all get blown up?” Aralyn asked.
Dean took a thoughtful minute. “Well honestly, the only person I know that hates both of you is Callie West.” He paused. “I don’t remember if she was around that day but these rumors didn’t surface until this morning, as best as I can figure out. Cam mentioned he thought something odd was going on, that people were whispering about him, but he’s so involved in the paper and covering Homecoming, he didn’t really pay attention. He’s been trying like to mad to find out who started it, and he’s pissed. But mostly he’s worried about you, and the thought of you hating him is making him sick.”
Aralyn rubbed her temples. Dear God, why wasn’t Junior High behind them? She was too tired and upset to deal with this. But she had known Dean most of her life and he wouldn’t lie to her. He could annoy the hell out of her, but he wasn’t a liar.
“Look, Aralyn, I swear to you, Cam didn’t have any big scam working here. He’s had a huge crush on you for a couple of years, and this year decided he would do something about it. He’s a good guy and he’d never hurt you. The guy practically cries during Bambi for Pete’s sake.”
“What about the German thing?” Tiffany demanded. Dean shook his head.
“He got a B one semester, and that was with a crapload of extra credit. He’s held a low C average the rest of the time. That wasn’t a ploy either.”
Aralyn took a sip of her drink, not responding. Dean sighed.
“Look, if you don’t believe me, go talk to him. He’s really upset about this Aralyn. He cares a lot about you, and trust me, Cam could never pull something this. The guy doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’d crash his car before he’d run over a squirrel in the street.”
Not knowing what else to say, Dean paused, waiting for a response from either girl. In the incomprehensible way of girls, Tiffany and Aralyn “discussed” it through a series of looks and shrugs. Finally, Aralyn nodded.
“Thanks Dean,” Tiffany quietly offered.
Dean nodded and left, not sure if it had made a difference.
Still mulling over Dean’s information, Aralyn sat across the room from Cam for the next two classes. She felt stupid for believing the ridiculous rumor and couldn’t decide how to fix it. Concentrating on figuring out her next move, she avoided eye contact with Cam, not ready for the confrontation.
Tiffany watched Cam watching Aralyn. He kept trying to get her cousin’s attention but she ignored him. Her pencil tapped her book as she studied, and she knew Aralyn wasn’t thinking a damn thing about English or chemistry. Slouching in his seat, it was apparent to Tiffany when Cam gave up during chemistry. He was the first one out the door when the bell rang.
***
Following the pep rally and after waiting a bit for the halls to clear out, Cam shut down the journalism room and went to his locker. The pep rally had been full of enthusiastic school spirit, but his heart hadn’t been in it. On the sidelines, Cam had covered the rally for the paper. Aralyn had participated in the pep rally with Tiffany, as all the captains did, throwing out little foam footballs to the crowd while the cheerleaders did their best to evoke crowd participation. It boggled his mind how one minute he could be on cloud nine and the next be shot though the heart. Love sucked, he thought moodily.
Cam morosely closed his locker and jumped when he saw Aralyn standing behind the door.
The breath left his lungs at the sight of her. “I’m not up for round two of baseless accusations,” he sighed.
Aralyn sidestepped in front of him before he could walk away and held out the brownies she had made in her last class.
“Poison?” he asked darkly.
“Peace offering,” she said simply.
Reaching out, Cam took the package and unwrapped it.
“Brownies?”
Aralyn wanted to do this right. “Look, I’m sorry I lost my temper. I am sorry I assumed things.” She struggled to find the right words. “I’m just so tired this week that when I heard about the rumor, something just snapped. I was so horrified that you would do something like that, that I didn’t even stop to think that it didn’t sound like you at all. All this teasing and attention-” Her voice trailed off.
The uncertainty and doubt in her pretty blue eyes undid him. “Hey, it’s all right,” he said quickly, “apology accepted.” Cam smiled down at her, finding it easier to breathe, relieved she wasn’t pissed off anymore. He had been racking his brain trying to figure out how to fix this and not getting very far. “I know how words get twisted and I swear I’d never pull something like that, Aralyn, ever.”
“But I didn’t even give you a chance to explain, I just went off on you, and that was just wrong. Typical of a Belden-Duke, but wrong nonetheless,” she smiled sheepishly at him. “Am I forgiven?”
“If the brownies are as good as they look, sure,” he grinned.
Aralyn beamed up at him. “I think they will be. I even put extra chocolate in them.”
“Then I bet I’ll love them,” he smiled at her, not about to tell her he was diabetic and wishing he dared to kiss her pretty lips.
Aralyn looped her arm through his as they walked; Cam easily matching her stride. The euphoric feeling she always induced had returned, and he didn’t want to lose it again. He wished he could read her better. Did she have any clue how she drove him wild?
“So, if I’m forgiven, can I ask a small favor?” Aralyn smiled prettily. She was hoping she hadn’t blown everything. He hadn’t asked her out yet, and she knew she needed to be the one to do it.
Cam played along knowing full well he couldn’t refuse her anything.
“I suppose I’ll consider it,” he said airily as they walked outside.
“I know it’s super last minute but would you consider being my escort to Homecoming tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.
Cam stopped short and turned to face her, his electric blue eyes wide. His ears had to be deceiving him.
“Me?”
“No, your alien twin brother,” she replied, smacking his arm, letting her hand linger there a little longer than necessary on the firm muscle. “Of course you!” When he didn’t respond, fear suddenly gripped her. “I mean, I understand if you have plans already, but I don’t really have any male friends and my cousin Tim isn’t here and otherwise, Daddy will, and I shouldn’t have waited until the last minute but-“
“Yes,” he interrupted her.
Aralyn stopped her rambling. “You will?”
“Yes,” he laughed. “I’d be honored.”
Aralyn let out a small squeal and threw her arms around Cam’s neck. Instinctively, he took advantage of the moment to hug her tightly, embracing the feel of her soft body against his.
“Thank you!” she grinned up at him.
“You’re very welcome. Should I pick you up or meet you at the square?”
“Um, meet me at the square; Daddy wants to drive me the whole way.”
“Ok, I’ll see you there,” he promised. It dawned on him that they still had their arms around each other and he wanted to stay like this forever.
Aralyn also seemed to realize in that moment that they were still in contact and quickly broke away.
“Ok, meet me there at six!” she called, dashing off as Tiffany appeared a few yards away.
Cam watched her hurry off feeling the warmth of her embrace trailing after her.
***
It was the night of Homecoming and Aralyn was on pins and needles. Not about the title, she could care less about the title, but she couldn’t place why she felt so wound up. The air felt different tonight. The girls’ hockey team had won their game earlier that morning by only one goal, and it had worn her out. At one point, she had even thought she had seen Cam in the bleachers, but she kept her focus on the game.
Aralyn felt captive as the stylist worked with her blonde tresses. In an effort to sit still and get the agony over with, Aralyn let her mind wander. How she longed to be racing down the highway on a motorcycle, with nothing but the open road in front of her.
The Homecoming parade would start a few blocks from the school, with all of the club floats in the line up ahead of the court. The band would perform, and the cheerleaders would work up the crowd, then the court would be announced, the dance following in the gym. It was going to be a total family affair; among the chaperones were most of the Belden-Duke Clan parents.
The court nominees had suddenly found themselves besieged with date offers. Of the cousins, only Dana had a boyfriend to escort her. She was currently dating an art student, Frank Roberts, whose father Nick had been a friend of Trixie and the Bob- Whites in high school. Rayma and Mabon’s twin brothers would escort them. The sisters had too much pride and self respect to accept a date offer they received only because they were on the court.
At least she had Cam, Aralyn thought. True, they were only friends, but she couldn’t help thinking about what Dean had said, maybe they could be something more. Aralyn thought about the moments they had almost kissed, Cam’s lips lingering so very close, the spark that Tiffany was always teasing her about. The way he was so patient and gentle with her. Smart, good looking, with strength of character that matched the strength in his arms. Cam might make a good boyfriend, she thought, for any girl. Then she smiled. Why shouldn’t he be hers? She’d never had a real boyfriend. The chatter about her brought her out of her fantasy. With no more time left for her daydream, she decided to wait and see how the night went.
***
Eventually, it was time for the girls to shimmy into their dresses. Daisy fussed over each of them, making final last minute alternations and adjustments as the cousins giggled over each other.
Rayma had chosen her mother's signature color of purple. Her black tresses were swept up into an elegant French twist and a necklace of amethysts, on loan from her mother, glittered at her neck.
Mabon wore a blue silk flower in her blond curls to compliment the light blue of her satin gown. She giggled as she proclaimed it her “Cinderella’s dress” with glee. She wasn’t as tall as her older cousins, but she hoped that her first pair of heels would add a couple more inches to push her to five foot eight.
Dana, the fashion daredevil of the bunch, wore ruby red satin that clung her curvy figure. She chose more subtle jewelry as to not offset the drama of the gown, a thick necklace of silver with a matching bracelet.
Aralyn stared at herself in the mirror, surprised and a little shocked. The soft shades of makeup had her eyes glowing the color of the sapphires she adored. Sections of her hair had been pulled up and clipped with small, purplish colored roses to match with her dress. Daisy had loaned her a necklace of dark stones, as her customary sapphire pendant would clash.
“Can’t wait to see what Daisy will put together for prom,” Aralyn murmured. Glancing at her reflection, even she had to admit she looked good. She wondered idly if Cam would ask her to prom. Providing tonight went well of course.
Daisy, in typical runway fashion, had them walk downstairs one by one to the applause of the family. Bringing up the rear as the oldest, Aralyn, rolled her eyes and tried not to clomp her way down the stairs. She was wearing flats, not trusting her clumsy self in heels. This required her to lift the skirt a bit, watching her step down the stairs.
Reaching the bottom, she looked up, surprised to see her parents, Trixie’s eyes full of tears and Bo struggling not to mimic his wife.
“Well, look at my little girl,” he said in a strangled voice. There was no trace of tomboy standing in front of him anymore.
Aralyn blushed as Trixie fussed over her.
After the ceremonial picture taking, the men escorted the girls to the cars. Brian was driving Mabon, so that Mart wouldn’t have to clone himself to get both of his daughters through the parade. The rest of the Belden-Duke clan piled into the family minivans and SUVS and followed the girls to the square for the parade.
Waiting for the parade to start, Aralyn stayed close to Bo. She wasn’t fond of crowds and preferred being outside on her own, climbing or skydiving. Her father was much better at handling the chaos, and she stayed close to him, shivering despite her coat. The weather had cooled considerably in the last week and she’d rather be in a warm sweater and jeans. Curled up on the couch daydreaming or better yet, she thought suddenly feeling warmer, curled up with Cam.
“Hey Duke,” Cam called, hurrying toward them through the crowd.
Aralyn did a quick double-take, boy; surprised by how hot he looked in his suit.
“Hey there, Kent,” she smiled.
Cam shook hands with Bo as he always did. Getting the signal from the parade marshal, Bo dropped the top of the Porsche down as Cam took Aralyn’s coat and set it in the car. It was Cam’s turn to do a double-take and he marveled at her dress, his breath catching in his throat as he studied her.
“You look fabulous,” he whispered in his ear, inhaling her tropical scented hair.
“Thanks,” she murmured, unsettled by the effect of his warm breath in her ear.
“Here,” he smiled shyly holding out a corsage container.
“What? For me?” she asked stupidly, glancing between the corsage of yellow roses and Cam’s intense blue eyes.
“Yeah, Tiffany gave me a heads up on what color to get,” he colored slightly as he took it out of the container. “She said yellow would pickup the dress and balance it or something.” He flushed slightly recalling that Tiffany also told him pink would be more appropriate of his feelings but admitted that yellow would work better with the dress.
Cam helped Aralyn into the Porsche and got her settled on the top of the back seat. Cam was hoping for an opportunity to meet Luke Duke and Luke was there with Bo, milling around. Although Cam had heard a lot about the other Duke, he hadn’t had the opportunity to meet him. While Bo was generally the remembered driver, he was always quick to point out his cousin had been his head mechanic during his NASCAR days and he couldn't have done it without Luke’s support.
Cam had met Aralyn's uncle Brian as well, who was driving Mabon. Aralyn waved to her shivering cousin before Miles helped her into the car.
“Say cheese!” Dean hollered shoving a camera towards them. Aralyn groaned as snapped picture after picture with the enthusiasm of the paparazzi. He tried to get a quote from Aralyn, but she just snarled at him. Laughing, he moved onto the car and the next candidate. Dean would be stationed at the grandstand, announcing the candidates as they drove by on the track, under the eagle eye of the broadcasting teacher to keep his personal remarks to a minimum.
"Ready?" Cam asked Aralyn, once she was perched on the top of the backseat.
The blonde nodded.
"Nervous?"
"A little,” she admitted. “What if people throw stuff at me?"
Cam snorted. "I don't think that's going to be a problem. The only person who might is Callie and she's in the car ahead of you."
"So can I throw things at her?" Aralyn asked brightly.
Cam laughed as he climbed in next to her. "No."
Bo turned to the teenagers.
"Here we go kids," he grinned, climbing in the driver’s side of the Porsche. The seat was back all the way in an effort to accommodate his six foot four frame but he still looked uncomfortable.
"Welcome to our annual Homecoming Parade!” Dean voice boomed out over the crowd as the line of cars started to move forward around the square.
"Tonight you'll see our lovely candidates driving by to appease the crowd before the crowning ceremony at half time! My name is Dean and I’ll be educating you on the lovely ladies we’re about to present."
As Dean began to announce each car, the girls waved to the crowd.
"I feel like such an idiot," Aralyn said through her clenched smile.
Cam chuckled. "You look gorgeous, so just enjoy it."
Not wanting to spoil the moment with a reply, she let his words warm her. Her restless feet tapped on the backseat, her impatience showing through. It seemed like forever before the seniors cars’ started moving.
"…And now we see the senior court approaching, led by Callie West, driven by her father and taking the independent woman stance of no escort."
"She couldn't get a date," Cam murmured in Aralyn's ear. “No guy wanted to touch her.”
Aralyn tried not to bust out laughing.
"...and the second nominee behind her, yet another Belden-Duke family member. We have the stunning Aralyn Duke, the oldest of these lovely young ladies-ow!-being driven by her father, whom many of you should recognize as the legendary NASCAR driver Bo Duke. Escorting her tonight is my good buddy-ow!- editor of our fine school paper, Camden Kent. Those Belden-Duke girls sure are a vision of loveliness-ow! Ok ok!-moving on to the third car..."
Aralyn couldn't help but laugh. "Dean is going to be black and blue by the time Ms. Cable is done with him."
"I think she secretly enjoys his antics, but has to keep up appearances," Cam answered, his eyes twinkling at her. It was so damn tempting to kiss her, Cam thought. If it weren’t for the fact that her father could easily reach back and wring his neck, he might have gotten up the courage to do it. God shouldn't allow such girls as beautiful as her to exist and torture him this way! The worst part was he was sure she didn't even realize it.
The procession ended at the school and the girls were sent to the gym to wait for the finale of the band’s half time show. The fathers and escorts milled around the parking lot adjacent to the gym and took turns admiring each others’ cars. A couple of folks asked Bo for his autograph much to Aralyn’s delight and horror.
The female Belden-Duke cousins gathered around Aralyn anxiously.
"What are we going to do if we have to wait over an hour?" Mabon asked shifting in her heels.
"The game started as the procession ended, so hopefully half time won't be too long from now," Dana told her as younger cousin tapped her foot impatiently.
"Mom sure outdid herself on these dresses. Especially you against Callie," she added in a whisper to Aralyn. "She looks like a hooker!"
Callie had chosen to wear red, but instead of the stunning, deep color Dana chose, Callie was decked out in a bright, cherry red. The skin tight dress, of what appeared to be vinyl or leather, clung to her thin frame, and Aralyn knew the other girl was wearing a push up bra to conceal for her lack of development. Her dark hair was piled into a messy, teased blob on the top of her head that seen on current runways, and her makeup was thicker than usual, the red lipstick the same hue as her dress.
Most of the girls were wearing last year’s prom dresses. But, Callie stood out as the lone fashion victim.
"That's what Mom and Honey refer to as whore red," Dana whispered.
Mabon giggled. "It suits her from what I hear."
"Shush, all of you,” Aralyn said. "And behave. I'm going to go chat with Missy."
Even as she chatted with her classmates, Aralyn kept an eye on her cousins. Callie stood off to the side against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest.
Time crept by at an agonizingly slow pace. Aralyn wished she could be out in the stands watching the game with her family and friends as opposed to being banished to the gym. The escorts arrived and it was finally time to line up for ceremony. Aralyn could hear Dean in the background; she could only assume that he was making announcements. The fathers were finally ushered out of the gym, to join their families in the bleachers to watch.
"Good luck!" the girls all called to each other as Dean's voice was heard over the loudspeaker.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, the event we've all been waiting the last three weeks for, this year’s Homecoming Court! Representing the freshman class..." As Dean called each of their names, they walked out, lining up down the field.
Aralyn laughed when she heard the concentrated ruckus she knew to be her family as Mabon headed out onto the field in the freshman group. Bo's 'yeehaa' yell was just too distinctive.
"…And from the senior class, we have Callie West!" Was it Aralyn's imagination or did the applause dim quite a bit? "And behind her, Aralyn Duke!"
The cheers hit her like a ton of bricks and Aralyn hesitated almost tripping over her feet. But Cam was right beside her and caught her, holding her steady as they walked out onto the field.
Aralyn tried not to think of the hundreds of eyes on her as the rest of the senior class attendants were announced. Finally, they were all lined up in their coupled states, except for Callie, who stood proudly by herself.
"And here we go folks...your freshman court princess is," the band ran a drum roll, "Mabon Belden!"
The Duke-Belden clan leapt to their feet cheering. Mabon shrieked with joy and hugged her twin before stepping forward.
"And onto the sophomore court, hmmm, your princess would be Dana Mangan!" While Dean couldn’t be seen, his smile could be heard in his voice.
Aralyn clapped enthusiastically for her cousins as her family stood in the stands cheering. The stadium was applauding wildly, especially those she recognized from the girls soccer team. Dana was one of the star soccer players and had led the team to several wins last semester and Aralyn would be very surprised if her cousin wasn’t the captain by senior year or sooner.
"We're getting closer folks, and somehow this just doesn’t surprise me. Your junior court princess is Rayma Belden!"
Aralyn was giddy with excitement. Her three cousins had swept the court!
"I wish he'd hurry up already, I feel like an idiot standing here," Aralyn's face was starting to hurt from all the smiling, not to mention the butterflies in her stomach.
Cam squeezed her hand. He took a deep breath and took the biggest gamble he ever had. "Well, you've always been a Goddess to me," Cam said softly, throwing in all the chips. “You might as well be a Queen to them."
Aralyn turned and stared at him, speechless, eyes wide. Dean's words about Cam’s crush came back to her.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, and I have sneaking suspicion about this folks. Yes folks, it is a family record here-your Homecoming Queen is Aralyn Duke!"
Aralyn was still staring at Cam, who broke out in a grin as the stands roared.
"Look the other way Your Highness, you won," he said gently.
Turning toward the cacophony of sound, Aralyn stared in shock at the applauding stadium. The entire Belden-Duke clan were on their feet yelling at the top of their lungs. She heard the distinctive ‘yeehaa!’ from her Dad and twin brothers. Even Sean was there with his earmuffs to block the noise, held up by his cousin Luke, holding a sign that said ‘Queen Aralyn.’
"Oh my god," she sputtered, clutching Cam’s arm for balance.
Cam held her arm securely and guided her towards the podium where she went through the motions of having the crown fitted on her head and receiving the bouquet of roses.
The other attendants added to the applause with her cousins bouncing up and down in excitement. The only ungracious loser was Callie, who simply glared at her.
"Thank you," Aralyn managed, waving at the crowd. "Thank you everyone, see you at the dance!"
At which point, she was surrounded by her cousins, separating her from Cam, but she caught him out of the corner of her eye and the way he looked at her told Aralyn plenty.
***
Once the initial excitement had worn off and she suffered through an interview with Dean, Aralyn found herself engulfed by hugs from her family. She squeezed Sean especially tight. Sean had his earplugs in and wore ear muffs over them to muffle the noise from the crowd. Her uncle Brian would take him home and watch him over night so Trixie and Bo could help chaperone the dance.
Aralyn and Cam strolled into the gym arm in arm, which had been transformed into a fall woods, decorated in warm colors or reds and yellows and orange, paper leaves hanging everywhere.
Still reeling from Cam’s declaration, Aralyn didn't know what to say as they walked, but she held his arm firmly as they headed into the dance. There were already students milling around in their formal dresses and suits. Many students, who had skipped the ceremony, congratulated Aralyn. Music was already playing but Aralyn, who normally loved to dance, felt a little awkward about dancing in front of everyone with Cam.
"You want something to drink?" he asked.
Suddenly shy, she nodded and he headed to the punch table, where Bo and Trixie were standing, as chaperones.
"You looked wonderful out there, Cam," Trixie smiled at him.
"Thanks, Mrs. Duke. Aralyn's the star though, I'm just a decoration."
"That attitude is the secret to a good marriage, son." Bo winked at him as Trixie nudged him in the ribs.
"She does look beautiful, doesn't she," Trixie said happily as Bo slipped his arm around his wife.
"Gorgeous," Cam agreed.
"Have you asked her out yet?" Bo asked.
Cam almost choked on his punch.
"Um, I—I'm working on it," he finally managed.
"You better hurry it up," Bo nodded behind him.
Cam turned and his heart sunk. A number of boys were mobbing Aralyn and she was starting to look a little panicked.
"She's claustrophobic, son. Go play the white knight," Bo encouraged him.
Grinning at the older man, Cam picked up a second cup of punch and confidently strolled over to her.
"Excuse me guys, she's mine tonight," he said firmly stepping between Aralyn and the guys. He handed her the cup of punch taking his place next to her. Grumbling, the remaining guys dispersed.
"Thank you. I don't like being pinned in a crowd like that," she smiled gratefully at Cam, noting how his thick hair was almost falling into his eyes. He was forever trying to brush it back but she liked the boyish look it gave him.
"Well, consider me here to rescue you," he assured her with a smile, his heart pounding.
"Thanks," Aralyn sipped her punch as the awkward moment that hung between them lengthened.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked hesitantly.
Aralyn recognized one of her favorite songs opening bars, the romantic country tune, "Light of Day" coming on and smiled. Brad Mates' soulful voice filtered into the gym as couples wandered out to the floor, mostly chaperones, including her parents, who never passed up an opportunity to dance together.
Setting their punch cups down, Aralyn closed the distance between them. Her heart jumped, as he slipped his arms around her. She knew he worked out, but she had never been so close to his chest His cologne tickled her nose, causing unfamiliar sensations in her body that she thought she recognized from reading romance novels. A heady rush swept over her as he leaned his cheek against her soft hair, swaying to the music.
Aralyn felt lightheaded and tingly. No boy had ever made her feel this way and with Cam's arms wrapped snugly around her, she wondered if the universe was trying to tell her something. It felt an awful lot like the way her Mom described her feelings when she met her Dad.
"Cam," she said softly. An advantage of her height was that she was close enough to his ear that she could speak softly so everyone wouldn't hear.
"Yes, Your Highness?" his tone was teasing.
"Did you mean what you said out there?"
"Every bit of it," he said quietly.
Aralyn was silent for a minute as she thought. "So are you going to ask me out?"
Cam chuckled. "Only, if you'll say yes. I've kind of been wishing this was a date."
Aralyn leaned her head back to look up at him.
"I think this qualifies," she said with a smile.
Cam looked into her dark blue eyes and seized the moment. Slowly, he bent his head toward hers and kissed her gently, pressing his lips against hers ever so tenderly. Hearts soared and skipped beats in that all too brief moment, and neither wanted it to end. Cam was the one to break it, aware of many eyes on them.
Aralyn wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him, unaware the song had ended and half the dance floor was watching them.
"'Bout damn time, old buddy!" Dean appeared with a microphone in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, your chosen Queen and her consort!"
"Consort?" Bo's eyes almost popped out of his head as Trixie laughed, grabbing her husband by the sleeve for a kiss of his own.
Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!
Author’s Notes
-A huge yee-haa to Dana and Jenn, the fabulous editors for this Universe!
-Light of Day” is a very romantic song by Emerson Drive, the singer is Brad Mates, who has an incredibly sexy voice.
- The Homecoming stuff is based roughly on what I can remember from high school. No, I was never on the court or any of that stuff. Hope you enjoyed the dresses!
-Word Count, 6,691
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