The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 173: Chapter 173 - Winter Dance

By Friday night, Briarwick had transformed the gym into something that looked almost expensive as long as nobody looked too closely.

White string lights hung across the ceiling. Silver snowflakes dangled from fishing line. Blue fabric covered the walls where the basketball banners usually were. Someone had rented a fake snow machine that kept spitting sad little bursts near the photo area before stopping like it had given up.

Roxie respected that.

She stood near the entrance with Karen on one side and Angela on the other, staring at the gym like she had entered the wrong school.

”This is actually decent,” Angela said.

Karen crossed her arms. ”The snow machine is struggling.”

”So are we,” Roxie said. ”It fits the theme.”

Angela laughed, and Caleb smiled down at her like the sound had personally improved his night.

Karen saw it and made a face. ”I am already sick.”

Angela looked gorgeous in a soft blue dress that made her look sweet enough to get away with saying horrible things. Caleb had matched his tie to it, because of course he had. He stood beside her in a dark suit, polite and handsome and irritatingly comfortable.

Karen wore black.

Obviously.

The dress was fitted, simple, and sharp enough that Roxie understood why Karen had tried to hide that she cared. Her hair was down for once, dark around her shoulders, and she kept tugging at the hem like she wanted to fight the dress and wear it at the same time.

Roxie wore the dress she had ordered online after staring at the price for fifteen minutes.

Deep red.

Thin straps.

Soft fabric that moved when she walked.

It had cost more than two nights of work at the Grill, which made her want to throw up if she thought about it too long, so she was not thinking about it. She had done her own hair. Loose curls. More effort than she wanted to admit. Her makeup covered most of the tiredness under her eyes.

When she looked in the mirror before leaving, she had almost felt like a girl going to a dance.

Almost.

Then she remembered she was going single while her boyfriend entered separately.

That ruined the mirror a little.

Karen looked her up and down. ”You look dangerous.”

Roxie lifted her chin. ”That was the goal.”

Angela smiled. ”You look beautiful.”

Karen narrowed her eyes at Caleb. ”Do not join the compliment group yet.”

Caleb grinned and nodded. ”Understood.”

Angela smiled harder.

They stepped into the gym together.

The music hit first, loud enough to make the floor vibrate under Roxie’s heels. Students crowded near the middle, already dancing badly with confidence. A few teachers stood near the walls with plastic cups of punch and the haunted look of adults supervising teenagers after dark.

For once, people looked at Roxie for something other than a rumor.

They looked at the dress.

At her hair.

At Karen looking like she might bite someone.

At Angela holding Caleb’s hand.

Roxie felt the attention and decided she could live with this kind.

For maybe ten seconds.

Then Kendall Whitlock appeared.

Of course.

Kendall wore a silver dress that probably cost more than Roxie’s monthly food and bills combined. Her hair was pinned perfectly, earrings catching every bit of light. She looked polished in a way that made Roxie want to smudge something.

Kendall’s eyes moved over Roxie from head to toe.

Slow.

Judging.

Roxie smiled before Kendall could speak. ”You look like you prepared a comment.”

Kendall’s mouth curved. ”I was just surprised.”

”By your own reflection? Happens.”

Karen made a small sound beside her.

Kendall ignored Karen and focused on Roxie’s dress. ”What brand is that?”

Roxie tilted her head. ”You wouldn’t know it.”

Kendall’s eyes sharpened. ”It looks cheap.”

Angela’s expression went cold.

Karen’s smile turned mean.

Roxie looked down at her dress, then back at Kendall. She had no idea if it looked cheap. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe Kendall smelled insecurity from across the gym and decided to poke it.

Roxie refused to give her the reaction.

”You wouldn’t know expensive if it hit you in the face,” Roxie said.

Kendall blinked.

Karen choked on a laugh.

Angela covered her mouth.

Kendall huffed, turning her shoulder like Roxie had bored her instead of landed a hit. ”Whatever.”

”Careful,” Roxie said. ”That sounded cheap.”

Kendall’s back went stiff.

Then she walked away.

Karen grabbed Roxie’s arm. ”That was beautiful.”

Angela nodded. ”That was mean.”

”Thank you,” Roxie said.

Caleb looked mildly alarmed. ”Should I be scared of all of you?”

Karen looked him dead in the eye. ”Yes.”

Angela pulled Caleb toward the dance floor before Karen could make it worse. ”Come on.”

Karen groaned. ”She’s leaving me already.”

Roxie bumped her shoulder. ”I’m here.”

”For now. You’ll see Prescott and start making tragic eye contact across the gym.”

”I do not make tragic eye contact.”

Karen stared at her.

Roxie looked away. ”Fine. I make normal eye contact with emotional depth.”

”Disgusting.”

They danced anyway.

That was the surprising part.

Roxie actually had fun.

Angela and Caleb danced close enough to be annoying but far enough from Roxie and Karen that Karen could pretend she was abandoned. Karen danced like she was fighting the beat personally. Roxie laughed so hard at one point her side hurt, and Karen pointed at her with both hands.

For a while, she let herself have it.

The music. The lights. The warmth from bodies packed together. Angela spinning once and almost crashing into Caleb. Karen yelling at a boy who stepped on her foot. Roxie’s dress moving around her legs. The fake snow machine coughing weakly in the corner like it had one lung.

For a while, she was a girl at Winter Formal.

Then she saw Zac.

He stood near the football table with Mason, Dylan, Kyle, and a few other players. He wore a black suit with no tie, the top button of his shirt open like he had already fought the outfit and won. His hair was pushed back, but not perfectly. He looked tired, handsome, and so clearly hers that Roxie had to look away for a second.

Then she looked back.

Bad idea.

A girl in a green dress approached him with two friends. She smiled up at him and touched his arm lightly.

Zac stepped back half an inch.

Barely anything.

Roxie noticed.

He smiled politely, said something, then shifted his body toward Mason like Mason was suddenly the most important person in the room.

Roxie’s mouth twitched.

He was trying so hard to avoid girls without looking rude.

Another girl came up a few minutes later, asking for a photo with ”the record holder.” Zac looked like he wanted to jump through the nearest window, but he nodded and stood with enough space between them to fit a Bible.

Roxie laughed into her cup.

Karen followed her gaze. ”He looks constipated.”

”He looks good.”

”No. He looks scared of you.”

Across the room, Zac caught Roxie watching him.

She lifted her cup slightly.

His mouth curved.

Small.

Private.

Then Dylan ruined it.

He appeared beside Zac with two girls Roxie did not recognize, one on each side, both laughing at something he had clearly said on purpose. Dylan’s ankle brace was hidden under his pants, but he still leaned like standing hurt. That did not stop him from looking smug.

He brought the girls right to the football table.

Right beside Zac.

Roxie’s smile vanished.

Dylan looked across the gym.

He saw her.

Then he smiled.

Slow.

Awful.

Roxie shot him the nastiest stare she had.

Dylan lifted both hands like he was innocent.

He was never innocent.

Zac looked at Dylan, then followed his gaze to Roxie.

His eyes widened a little.

Roxie pointed two fingers at her own eyes, then at Dylan.

Zac pressed his lips together like he was trying not to laugh.

Karen leaned close. ”What are you doing?”

”Threatening Dylan.”

”Fair.”

Angela came back breathless, Caleb coming up behind her. ”Why are we threatening Dylan?”

”Because he has no survival instinct,” Roxie said.

A slow song started.

Angela immediately looked at Caleb.

Karen groaned. ”Here we go.”

Caleb held out his hand. ”May I?”

Angela went soft all over again. ”You may.”

Karen watched them walk away, disgusted and fond at the same time.

”May I,” she mocked under her breath. ”I hate manners.”

Roxie laughed.

Then Mason appeared.

”Ladies,” he said, like he had been invited.

Karen looked him up and down. ”No.”

Mason paused. ”I didn’t ask anything yet.”

”I’m saving time.”

Roxie covered her mouth.

Mason placed a hand dramatically over his chest. ”Karen, that hurt.”

”Good. You’re learning.”

He looked at Roxie. ”Is she always this violent?”

Roxie nodded. ”It’s her love language.”

Karen pointed at Roxie. ”Do not help him.”

Mason smiled at Karen again, unbothered. ”Dance with me.”

”No.”

”One song.”

”No.”

”I almost won State.”

Karen’s face flattened. ”That is the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.”

Mason considered that. ”Too soon?”

”Yes.”

”Fair.” He leaned one shoulder against the wall beside her. ”I’ll try again in February.”

Karen stared at him. ”Confidence is not always the key.”

Roxie looked between them, delighted.

Karen noticed. ”Stop looking entertained.”

”I am extremely entertained.”

Mason grinned. ”See? I bring value and entertainment. Roxie already loves me. What more do you want?”

”You going back to your table,” Karen said.

”And leave the goddess alone?”

Karen looked away, but the corner of her mouth moved.

Roxie saw it.

Mason saw it too.

He wisely said nothing.

The dance shifted around them.

More students crowded the floor. The lights dimmed further. Someone screamed when the fake snow machine finally worked for more than two seconds. Teachers looked tired already. Student Council kept taking photos near the backdrop.

Every few minutes, someone asked Roxie who she came with. Some boys tried to dance with her too, but she declined.

Zac stayed mostly with the boys. When girls came near him, he kept his hands in his pockets or grabbed a drink or shifted toward Mason like Mason was his human shield.

Once, he looked so obviously trapped by a girl talking too close to him that Roxie almost laughed.

Then he looked at Roxie and mouthed, Help.

Roxie smiled sweetly and shook her head.

His expression turned betrayed.

That made the night better.

Maybe they could survive this.

Maybe they could stand across the same room and still belong to each other in all the small ways that counted for now.

Then the gym doors opened.

A girl walked in late.

Roxie did not know her.

She was tall, with long dark hair and a white dress that caught the lights when she moved. She looked confident in a quiet way, like she did not need to search for attention because she expected it to find her.

A few people turned. One of the football players near the table lifted his hand and called her name.

She smiled and walked straight toward Zac’s table.

Roxie’s body reacted before her brain did.

Her hand tightened around her cup.

The girl stopped in front of Zac.

Zac looked surprised.

Then he smiled.

A real smile.

Small, tired, but real.

The girl said something Roxie could not hear.

Zac laughed.

Roxie’s stomach dropped.

Karen, beside her, stopped talking mid sentence.

Angela turned her head.

Across the gym, the girl stepped closer to Zac.

Roxie stared at them.

The music kept playing.

The lights kept moving.

Everyone kept dancing.

And for the first time that night, Roxie forgot she was supposed to be having fun.