Free Like Jazz by Heather Blackmore Page A

my face.
    “You little shit.” She gave me a light shove. “I’m glad you can joke about this, but don’t kid yourself.” She provided yet another warning. “Seriously. You’re bound to receive a lot of attention in the form of compliments and prolonged handshakes. Are you up for that?”
    “If we’re going to be at a swanky place surrounded by hundreds of people, I think I can handle it. But I appreciate you looking after me, Sarah. I really do.”
    “So you’ll come?”
    “I’d be happy to. Thanks for inviting me.”
    She awarded me with a delighted smile. “I’m so glad. Details to follow.” She wagged her eyebrows flirtatiously, then walked away.
    If I’d been able to focus on anything aside from the prospect of having an almost-date with Sarah, the idea of hobnobbing with the jet set would have unsettled me. As it was, probably a full minute elapsed after her departure before I could recall why I was standing alone outside the locker room. Sarah had chosen me , and instead of letting doubts seep into my consciousness, I reveled in the choosing.

Chapter Six
     
    Once Sarah found out I’d agreed to go to Homecoming with Kip, she insisted we join her, Dirk, and some other seniors in the massive SUV limo they’d rented. In the week and a half that followed before the big night, I saw a lot of Sarah, as I kept being invited to hang out with her and her other friends from Homecoming court. The nominees had been announced as a kickoff to over a week of Homecoming-related events, including daily dress-up themes (e.g. superhero, nerd, and pajama day), leading up to Saturday afternoon’s football game, half-time coronation, and evening dance.
    Most of these girls seemed to require an endless amount of shopping and preparation and to have a similarly boundless desire for gossip about who was going with whom, who turned down whom, what so-and-so was wearing, and so on. Sarah occasionally partook of these gossip sessions but never in a spiteful way. She seemed to be having fun with it all. I kept more or less to myself, but enjoyed being able to hang out with some of the more popular girls at Claiborne. I especially relished being in Sarah’s company, even though I missed having time alone with her.
    The night before the big dance, Sarah invited me over to her house, ostensibly for “final preparations,” whatever that meant. It turned out she wanted to spend time away from the company of others for a change, since there’d be no shortage of them the night of the dance, had been no shortage of them in the days leading up to it, and she knew I was relatively low maintenance.
    Sarah’s parents were out at a dinner gathering, and after my mom dropped me off, Sarah showed me around for the grand tour. Her house was large but not ostentatious. It was warm and inviting, and spoke of wealth and taste. Her father was some well-known philanthropist who traveled a good deal and knew many famous people. Whenever Sarah talked about him, she was childlike in her regard, looking up to him like a saint or hero. She told me all her best qualities were from her father, and that her comfort and poise in social settings was due to his influence. She dearly loved her mother, Linda, but seemed to have a special bond with her father, Luke. He taught her how to make people feel at ease, how to exude warmth and friendliness, essentially how to charm anyone in any circumstance. She wanted to follow in his footsteps, which meant going to work for the nonprofit he’d founded and built. College was first, perhaps even an advanced degree, but Sarah had her heart set on working side by side with the man she most loved and admired.
    After the house tour, we started the evening by chilling out in the family room watching a cheesy romantic comedy. Once the breezy ninety minutes was up, Sarah led me upstairs to her room, which I’d glimpsed during the tour and was seeing up close for the first time. It was large and well-appointed,