insecure. She knew from all the tender words and praise he showered on her that he really did care for her. She sat there and thought that maybe with time, Peter would become more comfortable and trusting in their relationship. She was still hoping to find her happily-ever-after.
“All right, Peter,” she agreed. “I’ll be waiting for you to pick me up later.”
When Renee was getting out of his car, Peter tried to pull her close for a kiss. Renee turned her head away and his lips landed on her hair. She pretended she didn’t know what he was up to and hurriedly got out of the car. She didn’t want to get into that stage of a relationship with him just yet. She felt it was too soon.
* * *
Jaz made JD a quick salami-and-cheese sandwich for lunch. She was in a hurry because Lori was due over any minute. The town’s special committees group was having a meeting to plan for a corn-and-clam slam and, as usual, Lori volunteered her, Renee, and Susanna to help out. It seemed that Lori had to get involved in every little thing that happened in town, which amazed Jaz. When Lori, her friend from college, settled down in Fulton, she made fun of the little hick town relentlessly. She referred to Fulton as Mayberry and wanted to name their motel Aunt Bea’s Inn. It wasn’t long before Fulton worked its country charm on Lori and she fell in love with the small town.
Jaz heard a horn blowing and burst out laughing like she did every time she heard it. She knew instantly who it was. Lori always did her three short honks and told the girls that was her signature blow job. Jaz laced up her black Converse high-top sneakers, folded a faded red bandana and wrapped it around her head, then bent down and gave JD a quick kiss, but he was having none of it. He pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her long and deep. Jaz threw her arms around his neck and leaned in for more. Outside, the car horn beeped three more times. Jaz sighed. She got up and checked her eyeliner and red lipstick in the mirror on the wall, then grabbed her purse off the coat rack and ran out the door.
“Where’s Renee? I thought you asked her to come, too?” Jaz asked Lori, disappointed at not seeing Renee in the car.
“Of course, I did. But she called me back a little while ago and told me she changed her mind. She was waiting for Peter to pick her up and they were going for a drive down to the lake. I swear, he doesn’t want her hanging with us anymore and that pisses me off.”
Susanna raised her voice unintentionally. “It worries me more, to be honest. And when I ask her questions about him, she gets closemouthed and says everything is fine. I don’t know? I just have this feeling like he has some kind of hold over her.” Susanna shook her head and looked at her friends. “I just don’t like him.”
“Me neither,” Jaz agreed, “but I think she really does, so what can we do about it? We’ll just have to keep an eye on them, that’s all I guess we can do.”
“Drive on, Lori, and let’s get this meeting over with.” Jaz pointed her finger at Lori and spoke in a firm tone of voice. “And don’t volunteer us to work in any booths like you did last time the town had a celebration! I want to have fun, not be stuck standing in one place all night.”
Lori shifted her little green Volkswagen into gear and drove away. She started giggling. “Don’t worry. I learned my lesson in that kissing booth last summer. Who knew this town had so many old men in it? Ugh!” Lori twisted her lips with a disgusted snort. “Thank goodness the old geezers were thrilled with a peck on the cheek.”
“Oh yeah,” Susanna quipped. “That was funny… until that old guy wanted a kiss on the lips because he saw you planting a lip-lock on the younger guy before him. I thought I was going to pee my pants watching the stink he put up.”
“Well… it wasn’t that bad kissing those old, wrinkled-up, prune lips.” Lori shuddered. “Besides, I had
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