absence, the others had left to get ready. Only Curtis remained, and he was so out of it he wouldn't be able to remember if a bomb went off.
Liz and Jack shared a quick kiss and then he too departed, leaving her to get ready and try to get Curtis to be somewhat presentable in two short hours time.
Somehow she'd managed to do it, having decided to get him started first. Eventually he was put together somewhat, though she'd been unable to get a tie on the boy, and he still wasn't sober enough to do so.
Leaving him on the couch, she went through her ablutions, and found herself wishing Jack was her date tonight instead of Curtis. She found that thought inspiring, and giving herself one last look in the mirror thought she was ready for her big night.
She turned to slip on her pumps and looked dejectedly at Curtis, who actually appeared rather sullen, which made it a good probability that he was sober for the most part now. And ready for his surprise.
"You coming?" was all she said as she went to the door.
An hour or so later, the event was in full swing and dinner had run its course. Liz was still feeling wonderful after her run in with Jack. She made suggestive eye contact with him a few times, but didn't want to push her luck and be caught. She sipped her wine in a very ladylike manner — at least if you asked her — while her Curtis had downed another six-pack during dinner.
Thankfully, he was still coherent and merely buzzed for the gallery presentation. As the lights dimmed and Claire hooked up her iPad to get the show started, Liz was torn between excitement and a weird uneasiness. How would this go over?
A few minutes in, Liz realized just what a good job Claire had done in making all the video and photo edits meld together seamlessly. Given that it was mainly from things the sisters either videoed or photographed with a smartphone — sometimes while rather drunk — made it even more remarkable.
Liz found herself reliving the events of the year as they flashed over the big screen. All of her friends and all the great memories were right there for all to see, though if you missed one or two everyone got the file to keep anyway.
Suddenly the hall gasped and fell silent, with the only sound coming from the soundtrack of Claire's presentation. There, on the screen, was Curtis. He was naked except for a blue bra, his face contorted mid-orgasm, and his hands working himself over.
Unlike most of the visuals, which were there for a second then gone, Curtis' stayed longer. Finally it was replaced with more of the expected fare, only to be replaced a second later with another of Curtis, but this time zoomed into just his upper half.
Now the silence turned to whispers, then slowly a chuckle or two was heard. Finally sniggers and catcalls started to come out.
Liz turned to Curtis, who was deathly pale and seemed frozen in time, his hand still holding a glass of beer halfway to his mouth. He didn't look pained so much as bewildered.
"I didn't know you were into that type of thing," Liz said to him, just loudly enough for the table to hear her. "I'm not," she said slowly, letting her engagement ring drop with a slight plunking sound into his beer.
She looked over at Jack as the presentation resumed more in line with the original theme.
Their eyes locked and she was almost sure that he winked at her.
***
[Hope you liked the story and don't forget your 8 complimentary books, which you may find a download link to on the last page of this collection, just after the 11th story ends. Now, on to the next story!]
Examining the Examiner
by
Bonnie Robles
Camilla Van Hauser tucked a strand of her brown locks behind her ear as she looked at the dead body on the sidewalk. She loved her job to bits but this part was what she hated the most — seeing innocent people dead sometimes for no good reason.
“Petechial hemorrhage suggesting strangulation.
Michelle Betham
Wendy Meadows
Susan Mallery
Christine M. Butler
Patricia Scott
Rae Carson
Aubrey Bondurant
Renee Flagler
Shirley Conran
Mo Yan