Senior Prom; a time for friends and a hell of a lot of partying. The Crestview senior prom was no different. The whole student body plus their dates gyrate to the beat of “Soldier Boy.”

Jez and Leander dance away in silence. Even with the energy pulsating from the many bodies Jez was lost in her own little world. This world at the moment was in total chaos. One question kept running over and over in her head; are we going to do this? She loves Leander very much, but she can not break the promise that she made to herself. She let out a sigh and leaned her head on Leander’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Leander whispered in her ear.

“Hmm.”

Leander kissed her head softly and continues to work out his own problem. How am I going to do this? What will she say? The thought of rejection scared him to death, especially if Jez rejected him.

“Get a hold of yourself man.” Leander told himself louder than intended.

Jez leaned her head off his shoulder and asked; “What did you say?”

“Nothing, Jez.”

“Okay.” Jez turned around to face him and as she looked into his eyes she could tell that something was bothering him. Jez leaned in and kissed Leander gently on the lips.

“Oh, that was nice.” Leander opened his eyes and smiled. That kiss gave him the strength to continue with his plan. “Come on.” He grabbed Jez’s hand and led her off the dance floor.
Her heart began to pound. Her biggest fear was about to come true. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere very special.”

Jez’s mind began to spin. Was he really going to do what she thought he was? No. He would never do that. “Get a hold of yourself girl. Just go with him. Your probably over exaggerating.” She told herself.

Leander could tell that Jez was troubled. As they waited for the elevator he tried to think of a way to relax her, but nothing came to mind.

The elevator dinged open and they stepped inside. The ride to the special area was complete agony for Leander. He was moments away from sealing his fate. He hoped and prayed that Jez would not reject him.

As the elevator stopped on the right floor both stepped out into the hallway. Leander looked down the hall at the siding glass doors, he grabbed Jez’s hand and they walked to the doors. Once at the doors Leander placed his hand on the handle. He could not seem to allow himself to open the doors.

At his side Jez could feel the worry that reverberated off him. She squeezed Leander’s shoulder for reassurance. She now knew that he did not want to have sex with her. But what was he planning?

Jez’s touch warmed him. He took a deep breath and slide the doors open and stepped onto the balcony with Jez in tow. Both looked out at the beautiful night before them.
Leander guided Jez to the railing and encircled her with his arms. “Do you remember this spot.?”

“How could I forget. This is were we first met, three years ago. If I remember correctly I was star gazing and you came storming out here after a fight with your father about having to move to this stupid town.”

“Yeah. About that. I’m so glad that we moved here.”

“So am I.”

Leander figured now was the best time as any. But he wanted to warm Jez up first. He spun her around and slowly made a path from her ear to her throat with his tongue.

Jez let out a moan and hugged Leander tighter.

In the back of her mind the thought of him trying to get her to have sex was making its way to the front once again. Fear and panic started to over take her.

Leander was oblivious to this, and reversed his path back to her ear. He licked her and uttered the two words that he had kept buried for a year. “Marry me.”

Jez was rocked back to reality. Did he just say what she thought he did? She pushed Leander away so they were facing each other. “What did you say?”

Leander did not like the tone in which the question was being asked. His hopes were dashed.

“Leander, please tell me what you said.” Jez stared intently into his eyes.

He could no longer take her staring so he repeated the statement. “Marry me.”

Jez let her ears absorb those words. Relief filled her. Then she began to laugh.

Leander felt defeated. Jez was laughing at him. How could he have been so stupid? He walked around her to stand by the railing and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a velvet box, moved it around in his hand then reached back ready to toss it into the glistening pool below when a scream stopped him.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting rid of a mistake.” Leander tried once again to get rid of it. But Jez clasped his arm.

“Asking me to marry you is not a mistake.”

“I think it is. You laughed.” Leander gave up the will to stand and slid to the balcony floor. Jez joined him.

“If you would have waited I would have given you my answer.”

“There’s no point now. It’s no.”

Jez sighed. “I was laughing from relief because in the back of my mind I feared that you were trying to seduce me into having sex with you.”

A shocked and hurt look shot across Leander’s face. “Jez you know that I would never do that. I gave you my word.”

“Yes, you have and I love you for it.” Jez pulled the box for Leander’s hand. She opened it and stared at the ring as it sparkled back at her. She gently removed the ring and placed it on her finger. “This. This is my answer. She waved her hand in Leander’s face.

Extreme joy overcame him. He smiled like a fool and pulled Jez into a big hug.