Page 18 of Tame Me

Vikki and Nicole stood up, hands over their mouths.

As I held Chelsea-Lea at my feet, I bent over and looked right into the red spider veins in her eyes. “Slut.”

The other girls gasped, and I flung Chelsea-Lea’s hand aside.

I stood back, flicked my ponytail back over my shoulder, and with a broad smile, I nodded at my old friends. “Goodbye.”

I turned, and as my high heels tracked my departure across the wooden floor, their high-pitched chatter filled the room. I wiped my sweating palms down my thighs, and my heart pounded as I strode out of the Milk Bar Café.

But once I was outside, I smiled the beautiful, broad smile that came with sweet revenge.

“Jane!” A high-pitched voice sounded behind me, and I turned as Vikki scurried my way.

“What do you want, Vikki?”

“I . . . I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

I put my fists on my hips. “Oh? What for exactly? Fucking Alexander?” I didn’t normally say that word aloud, but once I watched her reaction, I was glad I had.

Her eyes darted about, and a flush of red blazed her cheeks. Finally, she shook her head. “Yes. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you for your apology. But don’t expect me to forgive you—what you did was despicable.”

“I know.” She lowered her eyes to the road. “I know.”

Capitalizing on her discomfort, I asked the burning question. “So, who is the father of the baby?”

Her eyes darted to mine. Small-town gossip was her specialty. “We don’t know. Even Chelsea-Lea doesn’t know. They have to do paternity tests to find out who’ll pay child support.”

I scrunched my nose, showing my disgust. “How many men?”

“Three. Two of them were married.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t deserve to have friends.”

Vikki shrugged. “She’s better to have as my friend than my enemy.”

Maybe that was true, but it wasn’t something I could ever do. “That poor baby.”

Vikki sighed, and I took that as my cue to walk away.

“Jane,” she called from behind me, and I turned back to her. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you.” I spun on my heel, and the sweet revenge smile was back on my face, and remained there all the way up the main street.

Mom was loading the car with groceries as I arrived. “Oh, did you have a lovely time with Chelsea-Lea?”

I nodded. “It was interesting.”

As we drove home, Mom continued her monologue about what needed to be done for the party. We arrived and unpacked the groceries. Mom, Dad, and I spent the evening working through Mom’s abundant list of trivial things she wanted done. By the time I retired to my bedroom, I was exhausted.

Alone at last, I replayed in my mind the joy I’d felt over bringing Chelsea-Lea to her knees. I’d never intended our confrontation to end like that, but in hindsight, not only was it almost to be expected, given her hot-headedness, but it was also perfect.

I crawled under my covers, and deeply satisfied with my encounter with my ex-best friend, sleep came quickly.

Chapter Six

I woke early the next day because of the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen. After I showered and dressed, I made my way to the noisy din. Mom was ridiculously flustered, and the morning was a blur of preparation, cooking, and complaints about Dad not helping prepare for his party.

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