Page 28 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

Katie took a big gulp of her margarita and yelled, “Ahhh! Brain freeze.”

“Don’t change the subject! Tell me!” Steph got all shrieky when she was excited.

Katie knew there was no help for it except to tell the truth. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she said, “I was feeling a little low on Monday and I wrote a list. A list of things I’ve never done.”

“Okay, with you so far.”

Katie took a smaller drink and continued, “Well, Chase got a hold of it, and we’ve just been kind of ... hanging out.”

“What was on the list?” Becca asked.

Must drink more.Katie took another swallow of the slushy margarita. “You know, stuff. Like shoplifting. One-night stands.”

“What are you, thirteen? That is when you shoplift, not when you’re a grown-ass woman! They arrest you and throw the book at you when you do juvenile shit!” Steph said.

“I just made a list of things I had always wanted to do. I didn’t say I was going to do them all,” Katie said.

“What about one-night stand? Have you done that? Did you sleep with him?” Steph asked. Her voice was now several octaves above soprano, and Katie resisted the urge to rub her ears.

“No.”

“But she wants to bad,” Becca jumped in.

“You are not helping,” Katie growled.

Becca shrugged. “I’m not a very helpful person.”

Katie stood up to get the pitcher and nearly jumped out of her skin when Steph shrieked, “Oh my God, I love your belt! Where did you get that?”

Katie smiled. You had to love Steph. She had always been easily distracted by cute clothes.

“Becca’s place. Sweet Tart’s Boutique.” Katie refilled her glass and asked, “Wanna see what else I got?”

“Uh, yeah!” Steph turned to Becca with a smile that saidyou are welcome here and I accept you. “I’m going to have to check out your shop!”

Walking ahead of them toward the bedroom, Katie heard Becca ask, “You’re a size five?”

Stephanie gasped. “How did you know?”

“It’s what I do.”

CHASE FINALLY GOTdone with the Coulter brothers at a little after ten and called Katie. She picked up on the second ring, laughing.

“Shut up!” Katie said.

He heard his name being screamed in the background, along with kissing noises, and asked, “This a bad time?”

“Yeah, Steph and Becca stopped by with margaritas.”

Damn. He had been thinking if he dropped by her house, she might invite him in, and maybe they’d get back to where they were before the Coulter brothers had interrupted.

“So I guess I’ll see you in the morning at the Fourth of July thing?” he said.

She giggled. “Oh yeah! I’ll be the one on the float with the poufy dress and the tiara.”

He grinned at her slurred words and the image she created. “All right, I’ll look for you.”

“’Bye, Chase! Muahahaha!” High-pitched squeals and laughter followed, then the line went dead.

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