Milo & Judah

Chapter 20 - Expectation vs Reality

The next day, Milo and Judah returned to the mall in search of somewhere for Judah to rent a tuxedo for the ball. Milo had a black suit from his father's wedding to Heather a few years ago that was passable. With a fancy shirt and a bowtie, no one would give him a second glance.

They came across a live band playing near the fountain at the heart of the mall. They were very good, not that many people really noticed. Almost everyone passed them by without even a glance. Most of them were too concerned with the end-of-the-year blowout sales and scrabbling around to return rejected presents, waiting in endless lines that stretched out of the storefronts, spilling out into the promenade making the foot traffic crawl at a snail's pace.

Judah held his hand out in front of him. "Care to practice our moves before the big night?"

"You're crazy." Milo said, laughing it off as a joke.

Milo turned to go the other way, but Judah rushed around him to block his path. "Good kind of crazy or the bad kind of crazy?" He offered his hand again.

"The best kind of crazy." Milo took Judah's hand, though his heart was pounding, because the band had drawn a small crowd of onlookers, and none of them were dancing.

But Milo felt fearless with Judah. He didn't want to be so careful and safe. He wanted to play in waves at the beach and dance in front of strangers just for the hell of it.

Judah pulled him close and started to do a semblance of a waltz, even though the music didn't match their pace at all.

"I feel like I should confess something." Judah said.

Milo felt a pang of cold fear strike through his chest. The last confession he got left him angry and full of hatred.

Milo took a deep breath and reminded himself that Judah was not Hunter. Beyond their attractiveness, and their attraction to Milo, they had almost nothing in common.

"Taking you to the ball was as much about me as it was about you." Judah said, oblivious to Milo's inner struggle.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw it as a kind of second chance."

"For what?"

"I missed my prom because I had just broken up with my girlfriend of almost a year, and I was miserable. The last thing I wanted to do was go see a bunch of couples being happy, having the time of their lives."

Milo breathed a sigh of relief.

"I regret that decision every time I watch one of those teen movies, because they all seem to have a prom, and it always looks like fun. I wish I had just went with my friends."

Milo caressed Judah's cheek. "You really didn't miss much. Prom is actually kinda lame. Movies make it look so much cooler. Although, mine was actually at the same hotel where the ball is every year."

"Really?"

Milo nodded. "But it took nearly the whole budget to rent the space so our decorations were paper streamers and plastic table cloths in our school colors, which were orange, red, and green. We didn't even have money to hire a DJ. The girl who ran the prom committee hooked her phone up to the speaker systems and played stuff from her playlist. And she would not take any suggestions."

"It's still better than nothing." Judah said. "And I'm sure you had fun."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You looked happy in your pictures with Hunter. The ones that mysteriously disappeared the day after we kissed." Judah raised his brow.