Senior Year Box Set

“You about ready to go back downstairs and face this crowd, Princess?” I asked as I gave her a little bow and put my arm out for her to take.

“Why, of course, Mr. Bond,” she said as I led her back to the party.

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Cinderella spotted Beth and Harry.

“I want to introduce you to my friends.”

“Lead the way,” I said.

As we approached, I saw Harry’s lips pinch for a second. I wondered if he had a thing for my princess.

“Look who I found,” Cinderella said, and then her voice deepened for dramatic effect. “Bond, Ian Bond.”

I looked at their name tags and couldn’t help smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Lady. Tramp,” I said as I nodded to each of them.

“My sister was put in charge of the reservations and thought she was funny. When we were kids, she loved that movie,” Harry said to explain the names.

“How have you been?” I asked Beth.

“You know each other?” Cinderella asked.

“Yes. Our Mr. Bond here knocked the Tramp on his arse for being a complete tosser. It was well deserved, I might add. The funny part is that it made the paper,” Beth shared.

“Not my finest moment,” Harry admitted.

“Nor mine,” I agreed.

The band started. They’d gotten a group that played indie rock. If anything would clear out the old folks, this would.

“Dance with me,” Beth said and grabbed my hand to make sure I wouldn’t back out.

I really wanted to dance with my princess, but I couldn’t see Beth dancing with her brother. We were having a ball as Harry and Cinderella joined us. The four of us ended up dancing as a group. When a slow song came on, Beth grabbed me. I saw Cinderella and Harry head to the bar where the rest of the wedding party had gathered.

“She has no idea she’s with the real Ian Bond, does she?” Beth asked.

“Who? Cinderella?” I asked.

Beth looked up at me and smiled.

“How have you been?” she asked.

“Keeping busy. You?”

“The same. You seeing anybody?” Beth asked.

“Are you asking because you might have a little crush on me, then?”

“A little one,” she admitted and held up her fingers about an inch apart. “A tiny one.”

“Really?” I said, acting surprised.

“I imagine every woman here would agree with me. You look … well … good tonight.”

“Yeah, well, I spent a lot of time on my hair,” I agreed.

Beth shook her head in disbelief. Then someone tapped her shoulder.

“Mind if I cut in?”

Beth and I turned to see who it was. I recognized the dress from earlier. It was Lexi’s mom.

“I’ll catch up later,” I promised Beth.

Beth seemed confused about what to do for a second and then gathered herself and nodded. I watched her go to where her friends were.

“Shall we?” I asked Mrs. Andon and held out my arms.

“You have no idea who I am,” she teased.

“You seem very familiar for some reason. If I didn’t see that big rock on your finger, I would have a better guess,” I teased. “Did you bring your husband with you?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

“Too bad.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him,” she retorted.

“No need for that,” I said, acting worried. Then I smiled. “How are you doing, Mrs. Andon?”

“You shit! I thought you were really hitting on me,” she said and then smiled. “Call me Rachel. ‘Mrs. Andon’ makes me feel old.”

“I could pretend I don’t know you. Later we could claim it was all a misunderstanding, I mean, with the masks and all,” I suggested.

“Lexi is right, you are a bad boy at heart,” she said to put an end to my fun.

“I’m a little angel. Just ask my mom,” I said in a little boy’s voice.

“Paul sent me out to get you. Come over and say hello,” she said.

We found Paul talking to another man. They ended their conversation, and Rachel led me to speak with her husband. I recognized how they’d coordinated the handoff. My grandmother used to do the same for my granddad. You could tell they’d performed this maneuver many times before. Paul Andon was a Hollywood executive at a major studio; that made his time valuable. Rachel acted as the gatekeeper. I noticed she left us in search of her next target.

“David,” Paul greeted me with a handshake.

“Mr. Andon.”

“Chubby told me you would be here. I wanted a chance to say hello.”

We spent a few minutes catching up. He told me the Star Academy movies were on track, and the studio was excited that they would be shot this fall. Then, as if on cue, I saw Rachel with her next networking victims. Paul and I said our goodbyes, and he began talking to the couple.

I looked for Cinderella but didn’t see her or the group she’d come with.

I had read and watched books, TV, and period-piece movies where people of the ‘right breeding’ attended balls like this. It was my understanding that the eligible women would stand around with their minders in sight and wait for the gentlemen to ask for a dance. Times had changed. These girls were a little more aggressive. My dance card, so to speak, was full.

Someone had to have let it leak that I was here because they all seemed to recognize me. It shocked me more than a little when a couple of them propositioned me. Yes, times had changed.

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