Page 7 of Embracing Trust

Merilee can hardly hold in a laugh. “Jason Fitzpatrick was in that class and said Mr. Hanson about had a coronary.”

Julia gasps. “That is a total lie, and you know it. Trust me, when I saw those images, I got rid of the evidencereallyfast.” She grins and shakes her head. “Mr. Hanson did question why I only had 20 pictures instead of 24 to hand in though. I told him I messed them up when we were developing.”

Julia’s always been a good sport when it comes to being teased. My brothers were relentless, and she could always hold her own.

“Jason from the football team?” Brad asks.

“No, Jason from band.”

“Ewww,” Amy says and wrinkles her nose. “And he saw your naked pictures?”

“The whole class did,” Merilee says as she signals the waitress.

“Knock it off. No one saw the pictures. Not Mr. Hanson and especially not Jason Fitzpatrick.”

A woman who has been seated at the bar approaches our table and stands behind Mark’s chair. Merilee and Amy continue to carry on about the difference between Jason from band and Jason from the football team.

The woman puts her hands over Mark’s eyes, “Guess who?” she says as she pushes her large breasts into the back of his head. He bends his head back and smiles. “Oh, someone I should know,” he says smiling.

She removes her hands and says in a perky voice, “Hi. It’s me.”

“Hey, hi there…you.”

Kevin, Brad, and I are caught up in this interaction happening with Mark.

I shake my head. Mark’s face is a combination of confused, but cocky, as always. He rubs the scruff on his chin.

Let’s see you get out of this one, Mark.

A small wadded-up piece of paper flies across the table and hits me in the cheek. I break my eyes away from Mark and search the direction of the launch. Julia winks. I lean back in my chair and put my hands behind my head as I give her a flirty smirk. I’ve also got this whole raising one eyebrow thing going for me, so I throw that in too. She beams and it lights up my heart like the Fourth of July. I grab the paper, wadding it tighter as I continue to stare at her. I give it a good toss back, she ducks, and my misfired aim hits a waitress on the arm at a table behind Julia. The waitress turns around and scowls as I quickly take a drink of beer. She picks up the paper and tucks it into her apron. I glance over at Julia again and she points her index finger as she snickers. My attention is drawn back to Mark as he tries to work his way out of his current situation.

“You haven’t called me lately,” she says with a pout. “I miss you.”

“I’ve been pretty busy,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Call me, okay?” She pushes her breasts out—as if they could get any bigger.“We can get together again. It’ll be fun.”

After the woman makes her way back to the bar to join her friends, I sneak another peek at Julia. She still has that adorable smirk on her face. She lifts her glass to me and mouths, “Cheers.” I shake my head and lift my beer bottle to her and take a pull.

What is this woman doing to me?

Chapter Five

Julia

Merilee drops me off at home after the rehearsal. I trudge up the driveway, practically dragging the heels of these pumps. I’m sure blisters are sprouting from my toes. My muscles burn and I’m exhausted as I make the trek up the three steps to the front door. The humid breeze catches my hair and sends it in all directions. Although the gust is humid and is drenched in the salty ocean, it brings a sense of solace. I’m home. I fumble with the housekey but manage to let myself in. I blink the porch light twice, the long-standing ritual between Merilee and I, alerting the other that we are safely inside. Merilee flashes the headlights and pulls away as I close the front door and turn the deadbolt.

My muscles ache like I ran a marathon. Although I hate to admit it, I almost dread going to the wedding tomorrow. I love Kevin and Amy and have been looking forward to seeing them get married but the thought of being around Ryan again is daunting.

I plop down on the sofa, yank off my heels, and let them drop on the wood floor with an audible thud. I rub my toes. Unlike Merilee, I am not a fan of wearing heels. I’m not a fan of wearing any shoes and would choose barefoot over shoes any day. Leaning back on the couch, I stare up at the ceiling. I close my eyes and the only sounds I hear are the ticking of the clock in my kitchen and the slight roar of the ocean waves outside. My mind travels back in time. Back to a time when Ryan McCormick and I were young and in love. Our relationship was new and exciting. It was sweet…

***

“Can I kiss you?” Ryan asked as we stood on my front porch in the dark. I was sure my mother was waiting up for me. At fifteen minutes past my curfew, she was a stickler for that.

“Do you always ask a girl before you kiss her?” I asked with a giggle.

“Well,” Ryan started, “it’s a good way not to get slapped.”

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