Read Online Mad River Road by Joy Fielding - Free Book Online

mother used to say I’d forget my head if it weren’t attached.”
    “She ever say anything nice?”
    “She said I had a smart mouth.”
    He laughed. “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
    “I quit my job,” Jamie wailed.
    “You did? That’s great.”
    “Great? No, it’s not. It was stupid and impulsive.…”
    “You hated that job.”
    “I know, but it paid my bills.”
    “So, you’ll get a different job.”
    Jamie took another sip of her coffee as a sly smile overtook Brad’s face. “What?” she asked.
    “I have a great idea.”
    Jamie felt a stirring between her legs. “You do?”
    “I think we should do what we talked about last night.”
    Jamie cocked her head to one side. Very little of what she remembered from last night involved dialogue.
    “I think we should just get in the car and go,” he elaborated. “Of course we’d have to use your car, since mine’s in the shop.”
    “And where would we go?”
    “Wherever.”
    “You’re not serious.”
    “I’m very serious.”
    “I can’t do that,” Jamie said.
    “Why not? We’re both unemployed and unattached. There’s nothing keeping us here. It’s the perfect time.”
    “You
are
serious.”
    “Deadly.”
    The phone rang. Jamie grabbed it, pressed it to her ear. “Hello?” Immediately, Brad’s hands were around her breasts, his lips tracing a series of tiny kisses along the tops of her shoulders.
    “What the hell is going on?” her sister demanded.
    “Hi there, Cynthia. How are you?”
    “Don’t ‘Hi there, how are you?’ me. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
    Jamie wondered if Cynthia had a surveillance camera in her apartment, that even now she was watching Brad’s fingers gently outlining the contours of her nipples beneath her blue blouse.
    “Todd just phoned to tell me he had an angry call from Lorraine Starkey, that she told him all about that little stunt you pulled.…”
    “It wasn’t a stunt.”
    “You quit your job without so much as a word? You didn’t give notice? You didn’t offer any explanations.…”
    Brad’s fingers disappeared underneath her blouse. Jamie moaned audibly.
    “What was that? Did you just moan?”
    Jamie grabbed Brad’s hands to still them, and in so doing, dropped the phone.
    “Jamie?” Cynthia called from her lap. “What’s going on there?”
    “Sorry. I dropped the phone.”
    There was a slight pause. “Is somebody there?”
    “What? No, of course not.”
    Brad leaned forward, resting his chin on Jamie’s shoulder and monitoring the conversation.
    “Are you all right?” Cynthia asked. “You’re not having some sort of breakdown, are you?”
    “I really hated that job, Cynthia.”
    “You can’t keep doing this, you know.”
    “I can get another job.”
    “I’m not talking about that. You know what I’m talking about.”
    “I’m not sure I do.”
    “You can’t keep fucking up.”
    “I won’t.”
    “Just call Mrs. Starkey and tell her you’re sorry.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “Why can’t you?”
    “Because I’m
not
sorry.”
    “Okay, look,” Cynthia said. “Obviously this isn’t the best time to be discussing this. We’ll talk about it when you get here.”
    “What do you mean, when I get there?”
    “What do
you
mean, what do I mean?”
    “What?”
    “This is great,” Brad said, a small chuckle escaping his mouth.
    “What was that?” Cynthia demanded.
    “What was what?”
    “Are you laughing?”
    “Of course I’m not laughing.”
    “Because this isn’t funny.”
    “I’m not laughing.”
    “Then what time are you coming over? And don’t you dare tell me you forgot and made other plans.”
    Brad began nodding his head up and down. “You’ve made other plans,” he whispered in her ear.
    “What did you say?” Cynthia asked.
    “I’m sorry, Cyn. I
have
made other plans,” Jamie said.
    “You can’t do that to me,” her sister protested. “You said you were gonna come over and we’d go through Mom’s things.