Prom Ever After: Haute Date / Save the Last Dance / Prom and Circumstance. Caridad Ferrer

he serious? Ash’s eyes widened. Did he know how to build something as complex as a professional site for a store?

      “You know how to build websites? Not just webpages, but with databases and things I don’t totally understand?” Lyra echoed Ash’s sentiments. “It has to be able to take customers’ orders and list all the stock we have and stuff automatically. I need to be able to load info myself. My parents are going to make me be the main website administrator since they can barely figure out email.”

      Sebastian didn’t look concerned.

      “My credentials are here.” Here Sebastian pulled up his phone and started showing her some pinned sites on his browser. “I made the school’s website. I’m making my parents’ church’s website. I made my uncle’s business’s website. All have a database back end. All have search functionality as well as upload and download functionality. And I’m on-call tech support for all of them.”

      “Wow,” Lyra and Ash said at once.

      Ash was shocked at how lovely the sites were as she peeked over his shoulder. She’d known Sebastian had made the school’s website, but she hadn’t understood how complicated it must have been.

      “I can make one for your store as my AP Computer Science class project. I’m in that class right now so I can start immediately.”

      Something was nagging at Ash’s brain. She felt as though he already had a plan for that class and it did not involve making a website for Some Like It Haute. She made a note to ask him about it later. Right now, Lyra was looking very interested in the idea.

      “I’ll mock up a prototype and see if you like it. I kind of already started last night based on the personality of this store.” Sebastian gestured toward the back. “Lively and fun. Fashionable. Young.”

      Lyra’s eyes lit up at “young.”

      Ash glanced over at him again. Was he sure about this? This sounded like a lot of work. She knew he’d been working on the website for his parents’ church for over two months.

      “If you like the prototype, we’re on our way and I’ll make the website for you, with free updates whenever you need. It’ll take about a month. In return, I’d love it if you would do the alterations for Ash’s dress in the next two weeks. So she can be the most beautiful and unforgettable girl Seattle Academy has ever seen.”

      Lyra looked from Ash to Sebastian, Ash thought, a bit jealously. What girl wouldn’t?

      Ash held her breath and watched the cat-shaped clock on the wall tick. Was this really going to work? She didn’t want to get her hopes up again. She’d had her heart broken too many times over this whole fiasco.

      Lyra broke into a smile. “Okay, I need to talk to my mom, but I can convince her. You can pick up the dress in two weeks. My mom will want to see a mock-up of the site by tomorrow though, before we start working on the dress. Can you do that?”

      “You’ll have it tonight. You have my word she’ll like it. Or I’ll change anything she wants. Or you want.”

      Ash couldn’t believe it and discreetly snapped the hair tie she had around her wrist to make sure this was not a dream. The tiny pinch assured her it was not.

      Sebastian turned to smile at her. “Told you.”

      Ash threw her arms around Sebastian and kissed him soundly on the cheek. “God, I love you!”

      She felt his cheek grow hot under her mouth and pulled away. She’d never seen him blush so hard! For a second, she had the insane thought that she should have taken this opportunity to kiss him on the mouth. She’d always wondered what it would be like to press her lips against his perfect Cupid’s bow. She easily could have blamed the moment.

      Alas, she hadn’t acted quickly enough and the moment passed.

      Lyra continued to smile wistfully. “You guys are sooo cute. I wish my boyfriend was so sweet. Hell, I wish I even had a boyfriend!”

      This didn’t help Sebastian’s blushing.

      “You—” Lyra turned to Ash “—are very lucky to have a date who cares so much about her dress. Most guys have no idea what their girlfriend’s wearing—and don’t care much, either!”

      Ash opened her mouth to thank her, but Sebastian got to the false statement first.

      “Oh! I’m not her girlfriend. I mean, she’s not mine. My girlfriend I mean. We’re just friends.”

      Sebastian’s words stung. Suddenly, Ash felt as if they were in eighth grade again and everyone was teasing them about “going together” and Sebastian was very insistent that they were friends and nothing more. He always made being mistaken for her boyfriend sound like the most horrific and unbelievable thing in the world.

      And specifically now in front of Lyra.

      “She’s—going with someone else.” Sebastian was still uncharacteristically fumbling for words. “I’m not going.”

      “You’re not?” Both Lyra and Ash asked together. She knew it. Jessica had chickened out.

      He shrugged. “I didn’t have anyone special in mind to ask.”

      Ash noticed Lyra’s eyes light up again as she said, “I’m not going to the prom, either. No one asked me. Plus, it’s really expensive.”

      Sebastian nodded knowingly.

      “Maybe you and I should hang out when everyone else is at the prom!” Lyra sounded like she was joking, but Ash suspected she was not. “Be losers together!”

      On top of her hurt, Ash felt a sudden anger at Lyra for blatantly flirting with Sebastian right in front of her. Lyra had assumed he was taken thirteen seconds ago, for God’s sake!

      And Sebastian was just standing there smiling like an idiot at the idea of him and Lyra hanging out.

      Ash bit her tongue before she could utter the rude thought that was in her head. Both of them were doing a lot to get the dress done for her, and she was grudgingly grateful to both.