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The family had finally made to the ball and Liz was excited. She wore a white dress as the boys had their basic tuxedos. Steven had just walked off to meet with the valet as she, Dakota, Conrad, and Susannah walked up the steps to Jeremiah and Laurel.

"Look at us. It's perfect." Susannah smiles

"Mom, you're not gonna cry, are you ?" Jeremiah says

"What, and ruin my makeup ? No way." She says as they laugh, "It's just... Everything's gonna be
different next year. Conrad's going off to college."

"Yep." He says softly

"Maybe the twins also." She says as she turned to see them already smiling at her. Dakota shaking his head immediately. "It may be the last summer we're all together."

"Just don't forget I get a dance from you tonight." Jeremiah says as she chuckles. He takes her hand and started to dance. He dipped her and when she came back up she stumbled. The teens frown as they watch her.

"Oh, Mom, you okay ?" Jeremiah says

"Yeah, no, it's just, uh... it's been way too long since I danced. I, um, must be out of practice." She waves them off taking Conrad's arm again.

"Come on, um, we should go inside." Conrad says as he looks at Liz before leading Susannah in.

"Yeah."

"Come on, Mom." Steven says

"Thank you."

Jeremiah stayed still for a second as Dakota came and patted him on the shoulder. He followed behind him as they walked in.

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River was sat at her table looking around. Truthfully, she was looking for Dakota, but she wouldn't admit that. Liz told her about 30 minutes ago that they were on their way and River felt like she had been waiting for years. She didn't know how much longer she could sit around these people without someone she knew.

She jumps as someone comes up behind her, "You're looking for Dakota aren't you ?"

She turns as sees Liz with a big smile, "Jesus Christ, Liz. You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry." Liz raises her hands in defense as she giggles, "You look like a lost puppy though."

"No, I don't." River scoffs. Liz hums as River keeps looking around. "He's here though, right ?"

Liz rolls her eyes, "Obviously. He's walking up now."

"What ? Where ?" She exclaims

"On your left." Liz says in a sing-song voice as she walks away. River turns and her smile brightens as she sees Dakota.

"You look amazing." He says with soft eyes

"You don't look too bad yourself." She jokes as Dakota smiles

"That the best compliment you can give me ?" He jokes

"I don't know." She hums, "Is that what a prissy pink debutante would say ?"

Dakota's smile widens as she looks up at him, "I'm not sure. I've never met one."

River smiles as she rolls her eyes playfully, "You look good."

"Just good ?"

"Don't push it." She says pushing his shoulder before walking off with Dakota on her heels

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Everyone was sat at their respective tables as they waited for the debutantes to enter. The host started to call out names.

"Gigi Boucheron, daughter of Richard and Cecily Boucheron. Gigi is a student at Northfield Prep School. She's ranked at the state level in singles tennis and is a talented vocalist. She raised $4,000 for North Children's Hospital." The host says as the guests clap.

"Isabel Conklin, daughter of John Conklin and Laurel Park. A student at Chesterbrook High School where she is captain of the varsity volleyball team." Dakota starts to whoop. Liz quickly hits arm as her eyes widen. Her face quickly holds a smile as Belly looked toward her. "Isabel is also an avid swimmer, and this summer raised $5,000 for the county women's shelter."

Dakota chuckles as Liz frowns, "Why is Belly making that weird face ?"

"No idea." Susannah says. She quickly gestures for Belly to smile which she does. Jeremiah and Belly walked down as the host announced the other debutantes. Belly hands her flowers to Laurel and gives her a hug before going to stand by Jeremiah again. She looks at Liz who shares a big smile with her as Belly chuckles. Conrad looks over to Liz with a small smile.

"Shayla Wang, daughter of Robert and Melissa Wang. A student at Nightingale-Bamford and an avid equestrian and emerging fashion influencer."

Dakota whoops again as Liz hits him even harder. "Ow !"

"Shut up." She whispers harshly

"Shayla raised $8,000 for Heart of Dinner, which delivers food to the elderly East Asian community in New York City." The host says as the guest applaud them. Shayla and Steven make their way down together and stand behind Belly and Jeremiah.

"I'll be right back." Laurel says. Liz looks to see her teary eyed as she stands up. She looks to Conrad who holds a soft expression. They watch as Adam follows behind her.

"It is my honor to introduce this year's Cousins Beach Country Club debutantes." The crowd claps as the last debutante is announced. Belly curtsy's as she smiles widely at Jeremiah.

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"And now introducing this year's debutante escorts." The announcers says as they cheer.

"Oh god." Liz mutters

"I'm so fucking ready for this." Dakota says quietly

The dance starts and it took everything in Liz for her not to leave the room. She was already cringing as she watched Steven and Jeremiah dance. Dakota cheered clearly enjoying himself as she puts her hands on her face. She feels eyes on her as she turns and sees Conrad looking at her. She smiles softly as she turns back to the dance.

"Oh my god. Jeremiah has no rhythm." She whines

"I love this." Dakota smiles, "Whoo ! My boys."

"Yeah !" Belly cheers

"Whoo !" Conrad laughs

Liz laughs as she watches the boys sway their hips with their hands on their hips. They then slide into a line before they turn and Steven slides on the ground and grinds.

"No way." Liz says. Dakota laughs out loud as he cheers for Steven. The crowd cheers as the dance ends with the boys posing. Liz clapping as Dakota stood up to cheer for Steven and Jeremiah.

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