We didn't get back from Dad's until almost two in the morning. Thankfully Taylor had tired Mom out before I got back, the two of them were passed out on the couch.

I wasn't completely in the clear, though. When the sun came up Mom was up and she knew I wasn't home before curfew. She was even more angry when I told where I had been.

"You had no business going to see him," she said, her dark eyes seeming even darker.

"I know that now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Going over there hadn't helped things at all. Dad was as stubborn as ever. It was a waste of time. And gas.

Taylor grabbed my hand, obviously thinking I was taking too long to rip her pancakes into bite sized pieces. Mom said I didn't have to shred her food since she was nearly two, but I liked to be extra cautious. And with the way she stuffed each piece into her mouth, it seemed like the best choice.

"Jade," Mom said. She was behind me now, a hand on my shoulder. "I know you want to help, but you have so much else to worry about. Like prom, graduation. That art class in New York."

My eyes darted up at her. "You know about that?" I hadn't mentioned it because I still wasn't a hundred percent sure I was going.

"I found the letter in your room."

My eyes widened. She was going through my things again.

"I wasn't snooping," she said quickly. "Tay got into your room and—Well, I don't have to explain myself to you. I pay rent, you don't."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but I couldn't argue with that.

"How is it going to work out with the Europe trip?" She asked.

That was a good question. I didn't want to tell her that I submitted the art class application while Nolan and I were on our break and I thought England was off the table. So, I shrugged.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead, honestly."

Her brow raised. "You, Jade Harris, didn't completely over think something?"

I playfully rolled my eyes at her and continued to feed my sister.

* * *

After breakfast I went up to my room. My phone, which I left on my bed, was ringing when I got there. Bee's face was on my screen.

"Good morning, Bianca," I said.

"Good morning, Jade." Her voice so full of sunshine she didn't mind hearing her full name. "Prom starts in seven hours!"

I smile stretched across my face. When I woke up and saw April 11th circled multiple times on my calendar it hadn't really hit me. But now, hearing Bee's excitement over the phone I felt it.

It was a strange feeling of infinite possibilities. Like, anything could happen. Everything had been leading up to that moment and it had finally arrived.

"So," Bee said, her voice all business. "Our nail appointment is in an hour, followed by hair and eyebrows. Did you make a wax appointment?"

"No," I said, wincing at the thought of ripping hair out of my body. "I prefer to shave my own legs."

"J, sweetie, it's prom night," she said. " I wasn't talking about legs..."

Oh. That sounded a million times worse than having my legs waxed. "I'll pass."

"Oh," she sang over the line. "Nolan likes the bush."

"Bee!" I groaned.

She giggled through the phone. "I'll pick you up in thirty."

As soon as I hung up with her, I dialed Nolan. He picked up on the fourth ring and judging from his groggy hello, he was still sleeping.

"How are you still asleep? Do you know what today is?" I said, jokingly, sitting on my bed.

"Your fault," he said, his voice muffled. I could picture him with his face half buried in a pillow. "You kept me up late."

"We got home at a very reasonable hour," I countered.

"We didn't get back until after midnight because you couldn't wait to eat." He tried to sound annoyed, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Okay, but who kept missing the exits on the freeway? Who got us lost and kept driving to dead-ins?"

He laughed now. "You have to admit, though, it was a fun trip."

And it was. The crazy part was that if I'd been with anyone else it would've been the worse trip ever. But I wasn't with anyone else. I was with Nolan.

Nolan, who played Justin Bieber's Christmas album and knew every word to every song and sang them proudly. Nolan, who would've drove all night to find me a Wendy's that was still opened.

I caught myself smiling, remembering the night, my cheeks still a little from all the laughing I did. Butterflies still actively fluttering around my belly after five months.

Mom was right about what she said earlier, I did have so many other things on my mind. Things other teenagers were probably thinking about. Like, prom and graduation. Not custody battles and pig-headed fathers.

Right then and there I made a decision. I was going to be a little selfish, starting with my summer.

"Hey," I said, determined. "About what you asked me last night, I'll go."

"You'll go?" His voice was no longer muffled.

"I'll go," I said, definitively. "If we win."

"If?"

"When," I corrected.

"Exactly." The smile was evident in his voice. "There's no other option."

* * *

My stomach was in knots. Every second that passed brought us closer to the start of prom. I couldn't tell if I was excited or nervous. Maybe it was both. The combination made me want to puke.

I glanced at the time on my phone and on the microwave and on the stove. They all said the same thing: Nolan would be here any minute.

My heels clicked across the floor as I paced back and forth. Taylor thought it was a game and followed behind me, leaving a trail of goldfish crackers that kept falling from her bowl.

"Would you sit down?" Bee said, from the kitchen table. "You're making me nervous."

I took the chair next to her and Gia, who was on her lap despite the extra chairs. Bee's fuchsia suit matched the beading on Gia's gold dress. They looked so good together.

Just like our fake prom, Nolan was arriving in a limo courtesy of his father's connections. We decided to meet up at my house since it was closer to the hotel where prom was being held.  

With three mom's cleaning out their camera rolls to prepare to take pictures, it was a smart move. Otherwise, we'd end up late.

Gia's mom came into the kitchen in search of tape. Apparently, they were making a whole back drop for us to take photos in front of. I caught a glimpse of it from the kitchen window. They were setting up outside in the front yard. Black, gold and silver balloons framed the white backdrop. Matching streamers were wrapped around the tree trunk, PROM 2020 written across them.

Tape in hand, Gia's mom rushed back outside and began taping silver and gold stars onto the backdrop.

Our parents were excited. I was excited until I thought about Principal Gibson announcing the king and queen.

I was back on my feet, wringing my hands together. "What if we don't win? What if Nolan is disappointed? What if our entire relationship was just about winning and without it, we're nothing?"

"What if," Bee started, matching my tone. "You sat down and stopped acting like such a basket case?"

I plopped back down in the seat.

"What did I tell you about your negative what ifs?" she continued. "Nolan is in love with you and he'll still be in love with you without Europe."

Gia nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Besides, you two are going to win. There's a lot of people who think Deshaun is a lying piece shit—their words, not mine—and will vote for you. Or at least not vote for him and Ana."

Hearing that loosened the knot in my stomach, but not by much. "I just really want to win this for him. He deserves it."

"Trust me, you both do," Bee agreed. "Hell, if you don't win, I will personally buy you plane tickets myself."

I smiled. I'd never let her do that, but I appreciated the sentiment. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not today," she said, smirking.

I stood, wrapping her and Gia in a tight hug. Even Taylor joined in, wrapping herself around my leg.

I pulled away when I heard a car pulling up out front. Nolan had arrived right on time. When I stepped out onto the porch to greet him, I froze.

It wasn't Nolan.

The air was tense as Dad hopped out of the car. Despite how casually he spoke to Bee's mom and stepdad, or introduced himself to Gia's parents, his shoulders were just as tense. He wasn't welcomed there and he knew it.

Less than twenty-four hours ago I was storming out of his house, slamming shut a door I thought would never be reopened. Especially, not so soon.

"Can we talk?" He asked Mom, who just blinked at him. She was probably just as shocked to see him as I was.

When Mom glanced around at her guest, they all busied themselves, making sure the balloons were straight, smoothing out the streamers, checking their phones. Pretending they didn't notice the shift in the air.

Mom gave a small nod and headed inside the house, Dad close behind.

When he passed me on the porch he stopped. "You, too, Jade."

The three of us went into the living room. Neither of us sat down, deciding to stand awkwardly and stare at each other.

Dad cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. "Look, I know this isn't the time to be having this conversation—"

"You're right, it's not" Mom cut in. My eyes darted over to her. She had never sounded that confident while talking to him. There was an edge in her voice that was unlike her. She was clearly over Dad's antics.

Dad noticed, too. He looked taken aback. When he recovered from the shock, he opened his mouth to speak, but Mom wasn't done.

"No, Reggie. You have caused enough damage to this family," she continued, standing her ground. "And I am not going to let you come here and ruin today for Jade. So, unless the next words to come out of your mouth is an apology, I suggest you leave."

I looked at my mother in amazement. After years of living in his shadow she finally stood up for herself.

"You're right." Dad's words took us both by surprise. "That's why I'm dropping the custody case."

Mom's jaw fell open slightly, her eye glossy and on the verge of tears.

"Jade," he continued. "After you left my house last night, I couldn't stop thinking about what your friend said. About missing moments. I don't want to miss out on any more of you and Taylor's moments."

Was that really the man I visited last night? The man who laughed in my face at the idea reconciliation?

"And it wouldn't be fair of me to bar you from Taylor's life," he said to Mom. Addressing the both of us, he added, "I know I'm not winning any Father of the Year awards, but I want to try to make this work for all of us."

This was all too good to be true. "And what CEO are you trying to impress with this stunt?"

Dad help his hands up, surrendering. "I know with my track record this is probably hard to believe, but my being here has nothing to do with work."

"Then why are you here?" Mom demanded. "You really expect us to believe you changed overnight? Just like that?"

He sighed a sigh that said he was done putting up a facade. That's when it really hit me that my dad wasn't the greatest. He wasn't the worst either. He was a businessman. All about the sale and he'd lie to make it.

And he just realized he was trying to sale a lie to two women who saw right through his tricks. He wasn't making it out of there with his ego as inflated as it was when he walked in.

"Alright," he started, placing his hands on his hips. "Honestly, once I started thinking about it, I realized that having a full-time job and a baby isn't going to work out too well."

His honesty was refreshing. Still, I held back an eye roll. He only realized that now?

"But I was serious about what I said before. I don't want to miss out on any more moments," he said, looking at me. "I know it might take some time for you to trust me again, Jade. But I do want to be a part of your life. I want to attend your graduation, see you off to college, all of that. Okay?"

He looked at me expectantly. This one gesture of kindness wasn't going to magically make everything better. But what Nolan said last night got to me, too. He was my father, the only one I had, and he was extending an olive branch. Being angry at him was exhausting, so I let it go. The situation wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

I glanced at Mom, her features soft like she was purposely relaxing them so her expression would sway my decision. Looking back at Dad, I nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"Good." He smiled, then checked he watch. "I should go before traffic gets bad."

The three of us headed back outside with everyone else. Taylor ran up to dad, a wide smile on her face as he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her cheek. I really hoped he was serious about being in our lives.

Bee and Gia were standing in front of the makeshift backdrop, Gia's dad snapping photos with his fancy camera.

I was so focused on them that I hadn't noticed the sleek, black limo or the boy standing beside it.

My heart skipped in my chest. I'll never get used to Nolan Chambers in a suit. Unlike our faux-prom he left his hair down, the golden strands shining in the afternoon sun. He wore a different suit as well, a dark grey one with a mauve necktie to match my dress.

He didn't catch me staring because he was staring as well. His brown eyes taking in every inch of me. But when our eyes did meet a smile graced his lips that turned me into a puddle.

"That picture you sent didn't do you justice," he said once he walked over to me, his hands easily slipping around my waist.

My cheeks warmed as I smiled up at him. "Why, thank you," I said. "But the next time you decide to show up at my house looking like you just stepped off the cover of GQ, send a warning text so I can prepare myself."

He let out a low laugh, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "Noted."

"You two get your sexy asses over and take some photos," Bee called out. "We're losing light."

Nolan and I obeyed, joining Bee and Gia for group shots. Then we took some by ourselves. It was a full-on photoshoot and everyone got a turn. Parents and baby sisters, too. Dad even stuck around for one of me, him and Taylor.

A million snapshots later we were finally able to escape to the limo. The four of us piles in, giddy and nervous about the night ahead. We all waved to our parents as Billy, our chauffeur for the night, pulled out onto the main street.

The bundle of nerves from earlier were back at full force. I took Nolan's hand in mine, his touch and instant comfort.

His gaze shifted from our hands to me, an easy smile on his face as he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

Bee was right. Whatever happened tonight, it wasn't going to mess up what Nolan and I had.