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stood frozen in defiance of the sickening emotions crashing through him. “Let’s just play ball.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    T he next day, Ryan found Brooke leaning against his car after school. He saw her red eyes a second before she turned away from him. He rushed the last few feet until he was at her side, dropping his backpack to the pavement.
    “What happened?”
    “Me and Steve broke up.” She sniffled, and conflicting feelings burned inside Ryan—happiness that she was single and sadness to see her hurting. “Do you think you’re allowed to be my friend now?”
    Without a word, Ryan opened the passenger door and she climbed in. She stared silently out the window the whole drive home until he pulled up in front of her house.
    “Why’d you break up?” Ryan asked.
    “Oh, you didn’t hear?” Her tone was laden with sarcasm. “I guess it hasn’t leaked down to the underclassmen yet, but it will. Steve told a bunch of the baseball guys we had sex.” She blinked hard and tears fell.
    “He was so nice. Jackie told me we should slow down, but it felt different with him.” She sniffled loudly. “Now girls are like ‘Oh my God, they weren’t even together a month and they did it!’ And guys are staring at me like . . . ugh !”
    Ryan’s jealousy of Steve almost kept him quiet. Then he remembered the regretful look in Steve’s eyes.
    “I was there, Brooke. Steve didn’t tell him. J.J. guessed, and he was egging him on. Steve didn’t even want to talk about it.”
    “I don’t care how it happened. He could have denied it to shut J.J. up. He swore he wouldn’t tell. Now it’s two days until senior prom and I have no date, but I have to freaking go because I’m on the stupid prom court! And I begged my mom to buy me that stupid dress that was on the clearance rack, so it can’t even be taken back.”
    Her tears were really streaming now, and it tore at Ryan’s heart. His instincts screamed for him to fix this. But how? He ground his teeth together and thought. Senior girls should not have to miss their prom, and they shouldn’t have to go alone. He knew that kind of stuff mattered to them.
    “I can take you . . . if you want. I mean, I know I’m not a senior, and I don’t have money for a limo. We’d have to take the toy box, so I understand if you don’t want to.” Ryan held his breath. Brooke stopped crying and looked at him.
    “You would take me? You’re not embarrassed?”
    “Embarrassed?” What the hell was she talking about? “I could never be embarrassed of you.”
     
    Ryan’s mother took him to five different tuxedo shops during those two days, before they found one that still had an available tux in his size. Then she took him to a flower shop and helped him pick out a wrist corsage with a little white rose. He wanted everything to be just right for Brooke.
    Saturday night, Ryan posed for about thirty pictures.
    “You have to bring Brooke back here so I can get a picture of you two together.”
    “No time, Mom.” He kissed her cheek and rushed off, calling over his shoulder. “We’ll buy pictures!”
    When Ryan got to Brooke’s neighborhood, he almost didn’t see her sitting on the curb at the end of her street. He pulled over and jumped out of the car.
    “What are you doing down here?” he asked.
    “Ry, wow, you look great.” She stared up at him and then stood, wobbling slightly in her high heels. Her hair was up in some fancy twist thing and she wore a black strapless dress that looked silky. It was tight and flattering all the way down to her high heels.
    Looking at her made the blood rush hot through his veins.
    Unable to say anything, he just opened the passenger door and let her in.
    When he got in on his side, he held out the corsage. Her eyes watered when she saw it. He slipped it on her wrist and she hugged him. That’s when he smelled the liquor. His chest constricted with worry.
    “Why aren’t you at your house?”
    “My mom and Ron are