Breath of Scandal(5)
"Yes," Jade admitted, shivering slightly. "And because we have to stop."
"You don't have to."
Jade's sleek, dark brows pulled together into a frown. "If Gary and I love each other, how can it be wrong, Donna Dee?"
:'I never said it was."
'But the preacher does. And the Bible does. My mother does. Everybody does. "
"Everybody says that fornication-"
"Don't use that word for it. It's such an ugly word." "What would you call it then?"
"Making love."
Donna Dee shrugged. "Same difference. Anyway, everybody says that lovemaking outside of marriage is a sin, but does anybody really believe that?" Donna Dee shook her head of dark, straight hair. "I don't think so. I think everybody except us is sinning like crazy and having a damn good time. If I had a chance, I would."
"Would you?" Jade asked, wanting her friend's endorsement.
"If Hutch asked me, you bet your sweet ass I would."
14
Sandra Brown
Breath of Scandal
15
Jade looked at Gary through the windshield and felt a warm rush of pleasure, coupled with anxiety. "Maybe it's not a sin. Maybe it's time Gary and I stopped listening to the preacher and followed our instincts, Oh, I just don't know," she moaned. "We've talked the subject to death and we only end up more frustrated than before."
"Oh, for pity's sake," Donna Dee grumbled. "I'm going back inside. See ya. "
"Wait, Donna Dee," Jade said, catching her sleeve. "Are you mad?"
"No. "
"You sound mad."
"Well gee, Jade, I wish I had your problems. I wish I had your naturally wavy black hair and flawless skin. I wish I had big blue eyes and eyelashes a mile long. I wish I had a boyfriend who panted after my body but also respected me. I wish I had a computer brain and a full scholarship to college. "
"I haven't got the scholarship yet," Jade said, minimizing Donna Dee's backhanded compliments.
"Oh, but you will. It's only a matter of time. Everything always turns out right for you, Jade. That's why it's annoying as hell to listen to you whine. What have you got to complain about?
"You're gorgeous without even trying. You're smart. You're popular. You'll probably be valedictorian of our class, and if not you, then the boy who worships the ground you walk on and the air you breathe. If you want to screw yourselves into delirium, do it. If you don't, don't. But shut up about it, okay?"
After her outburst, Donna Dee swore beneath her breath. In a softer tone, she said, "You ought to pay me to be your best friend, Jade. It isn't an easy job, you know."
She snatched up her purse and stepped onto the pavement, closing the car door behind her.
"Hi, Gary." Neal's tone was deceptively friendly. Matching it, Lamar and Hutch repeated him.
"Hi, Y'all." Gary's smile was open and guileless. "What's going on?"
"Nothing much," Neal replied. "You heard anything about your scholarship yet?"
"Not yet. Neither has Jade. Could be any day now, though . "
"Do you want nuts on those sundaes, Gary?" the waitress in the window asked.
"Sure. 11
"Sure," Neal drawled. He looked toward the car where Jade was sitting. "Jade loves nuts. Big ones."
Hutch sputtered with laughter. Lamar snickered.
Gary's smile vanished. "Cut it out, Neal," he said crossly. He glanced over his shoulder toward the car. Innocently, Neal raised his hands. "It was a joke. Can't
you take a joke?" Playfully, he punched Gary's shoulder. Gary flinched angrily. "Not where Jade's concerned." "Here you go, Gary," the waitress said, sliding the two
desserts through the window. "One butterscotch sundae and one chocolate. That'll be a dollar fifty."
"Thanks. " Gary paid her, then pulled two paper napkins from the dispenser and took a sundae in each hand. He turned away from the window, but Neal blocked his path, flanked by Hutch and Lamar.
"Which one's Jade's?"
Missing the point of Neal's seemingly innocuous question, Gary shrugged. "The butterscotch."
Each sundae was crowned with a bright red cherry. Neal took the cherry by its stalk and plucked it off the mound of whipped cream. He sucked it into his mouth, then, with a dramatic gesture, pulled the stem out. He rolled the cherry in his mouth before catching it between hig front teeth where it was visible. Looking directly at Jade, he suggestively sank his teeth into it, then chewed it with lascivious pleasure before swallowing it.
Facing Gary, he smirked. "Tell your girl friend I enjoyed eating her cherry. "
"You sorry son of a bitch. Eat this."
Gary shoved one of the sundaes into Neal's smug face.
16
Sandra Brown
Breath of Scandal
17
Neal, taken completely off guard, staggered backward, choking on the goo that covered his face. Gary seized the advantage. Hooking his heel around Neal's, he yanked hard, pulling Neal off his feet. He went down backward onto the pavement.