Prom Queen Perfect Read online

  “You came,” she said, a little breathless.

  “Of course.” I shrugged. “I wanted to see you win.”

  And then she hugged me and we were laughing and sobbing at the same time. I was seventeen years old, but for the first time in my life, I had a best friend, one who tolerated my obsessive compulsive tendencies and had a snarky sense of humor. Christy became collateral damage on my crazy quest to become prom queen, but she forgave me anyway. How lucky was I to have a best friend like her?

  Mommy had taught me long ago to cry on the inside like a winner, but once in a while, there was nothing wrong with being vulnerable, with letting other people in and making them see that, yes, you had feelings.

  When we let each other ago, Christy and I both wiped away our tears with the backs of our hands. She reached for the crown, and I realized she was going to try to place it over my head.

  I reached up a hand to stop her. “No, it’s yours.”

  “You were always the one who wanted it, Alex.” Christy tried to give it to me again, but I wouldn’t budge.

  I looked at the stupid crown and remembered how it made me drive away everyone who ever mattered. “Believe it or not, Christy, I’ve come to realize that there are more important things than becoming prom queen.”

  “Like Adam, for starters?” Christy said, raising her eyebrows at me. When I refused to answer, she grinned and gave me a little shove. “What are you standing around here for? Go get him.”

  I grinned back. “Fine. I will.”

  ***

  God, Adam was difficult to find.

  Christy and Stephen began their dance as prom king and queen, looking like the most perfect teen couple in existence, while I scrambled around the ballroom in the hopes of finding Adam. I made my way back to the buffet table where I’d seen him talking to Saree earlier, but he was nowhere to be found.

  Did he leave already?

  Did he leave with Saree?

  Ice water began to trickle down my spine at the thought.

  In my hurry to find him, I bumped into Cory. She whirled around to glare at me. “Alex.”

  “Cory.” I gave her a once-over, taking in the bright purple dress that screamed try-hard from a mile away. The insult was on the tip of my tongue, but at the last second, I decided to take a page out of the Christy Marquez Manual for Niceness. I tried to smile at her. “You look great tonight.”

  It was probably the nicest thing I had said to her in years.

  Cory’s mouth dropped open in shock, like I’d told her I had joined the circus and I wanted to her to be the newest member of our troupe. She cleared her throat before saying, “Thank you. So do you.”

  “Listen, have you seen Adam anywhere?”

  Understanding dawned in Cory’s eyes, and her eyes drifted off to Stephen who still held Christy in his arms in the middle of the dance floor. She then glanced at me, like we were kindred spirits somehow suffering through a bout of unrequited love together. It made me sick. “I think he left,” she said.

  “Oh,” was all I could say in response. “Thanks.”

  The night wasn’t a complete bust. Christy and I were okay, and soon enough, we were going to be great. And Adam? Well, I could chalk it up to experience. Lesson learned and all that jazz. At least, that’s what I tried to tell myself as I walked into the elevator and pressed the button that would lead me to the lobby.

  Maybe we weren’t meant to be. God knew he deserved someone better, someone like Saree who wouldn’t scream at him like a shrew the second she lost her patience. The thought made me want to crawl inside a hole and stay there until my face resembled a raisin. This was all my—

  The elevator doors slid open, and I saw Adam standing in the lobby, so devastatingly handsome with his tuxedo jacket slung over one shoulder.

  He was alone.

  If I could bottle up one moment and relive it for the rest of my life, I would choose the moment I realized Saree was nowhere in sight. I let out a huge breath, feeling like I hadn’t exhaled in a million years.

  “Adam.” I had no idea saying someone’s name could feel so good.

  Something flickered in Adam’s eyes, but it vanished before I could name it. “Alex.”

  “Can we talk?” I said, ignoring the way he said my name like a curse.

  “I tried that, remember? You shut me out.”

  In the movies, the girl always had some grand speech where she explained how stupid she was and how she’d learned that, yes, this boy was really the one for her. It simply took her a while to realize it. I opened my mouth to say something, but my grand speech took its sweet time. Not willing to wait for it, I defaulted to our normal way of talking to each other.

  I smiled, hoping it was the right mix of cocky and vulnerable. “Will it help if I tell you I’ve learned the error of my ways?”

  “No.” Adam shook his head for emphasis.

  “What if I promise to be early for every student council meeting for the rest of the school year?” Unable to help myself, I walked closer to Adam and only stopped when we were standing in front of each other, my eyes level with his chest. If I reached out and touched him, I could feel how warm and strong he was.

  “Alex, don’t.”

  This was it, wasn’t it? I was about to lose Adam for good, even if he’d never really been mine in the first place. My dress felt so flimsy all of a sudden. Cold seeped through my bones, making me shiver.

  Even if he probably hated me at that moment, even if he was about to break my heart into a thousand little pieces, Adam slipped off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders to keep me warm. And that was why he was the only boy who could drive me crazy with a single look. Not wanting to let the moment end, I grabbed his arm before he could retreat.

  “You, Adam Cordero,” I said, gesturing at the little space between us, “have been driving me crazy.”

  Adam sighed, like he couldn’t believe he was doing this, but then, he lifted his head and said, “The feeling’s mutual, Alex dela Cruz.”

  I kissed him, and, holy sweet Jesus, nothing could have been more perfect. When Adam’s lips met mine, my entire body let out a gigantic sigh as if to say, this, this is what I’ve been waiting for. His arms encircled my waist and pulled me closer until the little space left between us turned to nothing. He was so warm, so perfect. I closed my eyes and let the fireworks explode behind my eyelids.

  This boy I argued about highlighters and the beauty of the Seine with was the one person who could make me madder than I ever thought possible, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Mine, my mind said when we let each other go. All mine.

  “Where’d your prom date go?” I said after catching my breath.

  “I don’t have one.” Adam leaned his forehead against mine, his arms still around me. “Saree asked me, but I was waiting for a certain someone to come to her senses.”

  My heart skipped a beat, did a triple somersault, and did a happy dance upon hearing that. I tried to plaster a cocky grin all over my face again. “I knew it. You’ve liked me for—”

  “Alex?” Adam cut me off.

  “Yes?”

  “Shut up.”

  And then he kissed me again.

  I was only too happy to oblige.

  Epilogue

  I never thought I would ever say the words ‘Adam Cordero’ and ‘boyfriend’ in one sentence, but, hey, life was always full of surprises.

  You’re late, I texted him as I walked down the hallway to the Student Council Office a full thirty minutes earlier than everyone else. It was halfway to eight in the morning, and despite the fact that the president of the student council and I were in a relationship, I still questioned why our meetings had to be so early. Eight A.M. on a Saturday? I mean, come on.

  My phone soon buzzed with his reply. You’re cute when you’re trying to one-up me.

  I was still smiling like a love-crazed lunatic at his reply when I entered the office, so I almost dropped my phone when I saw someone s
itting at the head of the conference table. Adam smirked at me, a little too smug for this time of day. “I win. As usual.”

  That stupid smirk got me every single time.

  “I don’t know why I like you so much,” I said, taking the seat next to him.

  “First of all, I bring you coffee.” Adam took two Starbucks cups out of a brown paper bag, one steaming espresso for me and one hot choco for himself. “Also, I’m devilishly handsome. And I help keep you out of trouble.”

  I sneaked a look at his watch. We still had a little time to ourselves before the others arrived, enough time for a kiss or two or four, so I grabbed the collar of his shirt. “You like it when I get you in trouble.”

  Adam’s grin was utterly delicious. “I guess I do.”

  Acknowledgments

  To Mina V. Esguerra, for letting me be a part of your young adult romance writing class last 2015. This book wouldn’t exist if you hadn’t asked me to write a 5,000 word short story about enemies who turned into something more. I am eternally grateful.

  To my mother, for trying to understand why I refused to talk to anyone for days and stayed cooped up in my room. You can blame this book.

  To Tisha September Arnaldo, for letting me use your photo on the cover. Your generosity is much appreciated.

  To Pesmer Gwen Muyco, for helping me out with the cover design when I was ready to yank out my hair in frustration.

  To my HGS family, for supporting this book even if you had no idea what it was about. You people are the reason why I enjoy coming to work every day.

  To Donna, Josh, and Tinay, you are the best friends a girl could ever have. I look forward to overanalyzing more books (relationships) with you weirdoes over cups of coffee (a bucket of beer).

  To Lory Ann, you are my oldest friend and often the first person who ever gets to read these silly stories I come up with. Thank you for indulging me.

  And thank you, reader, for giving this book a chance. Hopefully, you love Adam and Alex as much as I do.

  About the Author

  Clarisse David is a Young Adult author from the land of epic heat waves a.k.a. the Philippines. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and cannot survive without Taylor Swift songs, red lipstick, and books. When not hanging out on Twitter, she can be found working on her latest writing project.

  You can find Clarisse online at:

  Website: http://www.clarissedavid.com

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  Email: [email protected]

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

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