Page 40 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

Reluctantly, she broke the kiss and reached into her purse for her phone. Mrs. Andrews’s number was flashing across the screen and she groaned.

“I’d better get in there,” she said, grimacing.

Chase’s hand smoothed back her hair and he gave her a quick kiss on the nose, something that should have made her feel like a kid but instead made her feel cared for. Like Chase felt more for her than just lust.

“I’m going to go home and shower, but I’ll be back. Maybe after the pageant you can come over to my place and we could watch a movie or ... something?” he said, smiling suggestively.

She returned his smile. “I’d love that.”

“All right, then, you’d better go before dragon lady comes looking for you.”

Laughing as she opened the door and jumped out of the Blazer, she raced for the community center door, the rain pouring down over her, soaking her to the skin. Yanking it open quickly, she made her way toward the sounds of angry women and high-pitched laughter.

“Where have you been?” Mrs. Andrews’s voice practically burst Katie’s eardrum, it was so loud and shrill.

Katie looked at her phone. “It’s only 6:08. I have plenty of time to get ready.”

“Just look at you! That shirt, what there is of it, is practically see-through, and you’re not even wearing a bra! You look like you’ve been out necking in a hayloft with some boy.”

Actually, it was the backseat of an SUV, and he definitely wasn’t a boy.Katie tried not to smile as she said, “I got caught in the rain, Mrs. Andrews, and I’m freezing, so if you don’t mind letting me dry off and change, I would appreciate it.”

“I saw you withthat man. Kissing him like some floozy. And I heard about the little show he put on at the kissing booth. He is a bad element, and you are too nice of a girl to get involved with him,” Mrs. Andrews said firmly.

Katie didn’t feel like smiling anymore. Instead she felt like grabbing the nearest glass of water and seeing if the witch would melt. How dare she treat her like an errant child, likehererrant child! Even on her worst day, her mother had never come close to Mrs. Andrews’s obnoxious, overbearing attitude.

“Mrs. Andrews, as you are neither my mother nor my boss, I would ask you to keep your opinions to yourself.” Katie said it as calmly as she could, but even she noticed the tremble in her voice. Doing her best to distance herself from the situation, something her mother always told her helped during a conflict, she started to turn her back on the older woman. Too bad New Katie took over just long enough to say offhandedly, “Oh, and by the way, it was the backseat of his car, not a hayloft.”

Mrs. Andrews gasped and Katie walked away, a mixture of horror and pleasure warring within her. She’d always been taught that talking about sex and intimacy was a private matter, but the look on the nosy old bat’s face had been so ... satisfying. She’d probably regret it later, after Mrs. Andrews had told anyone who’d listen, but for right now she felt good, like she was ten feet tall and bulletproof.

She walked past all of the young girls and women, barely noticing their curious glances as she reached a storage room, which doubled as her private dressing room, and opened the door.

Becca and Steph were inside and they turned to her simultaneously. Becca closed and locked the door while Steph hissed, “Where have you been? Mrs. Andrews has been walking around asking everyone if they’ve heard from you.”

“I took Chase to see Rainbow Falls.”

“That’s code for sex, right?” Becca asked.

“Oh my God, you hadsexwith him?” Steph shrieked.

Katie wanted to bang her head against something. God knew she loved small-town life in most instances, but the nosy, gossipy way everyone was in everyone else’s business made her crazy sometimes. Even when one of the nosy neighbors was her best friend. “Okay, yes, we did; no, I don’t want to talk about it right now and, may I ask, why are you two back here anyway?”

Becca grabbed a garment bag hanging from a metal shelf of cleaning supplies and said, “I could not let you wear that gangrene-colored monstrosity of a dress again, so I brought you something else.”

“And I thought I could help you with your hair and makeup, just like in high school,” Steph said innocently, but Katie didn’t buy it for a second. Her suspicions were confirmed when Steph continued, “And I wanted to know what happened with Chase. Everyone is talking about him dropping three hundred bucks at the kissing booth and—”

Katie interrupted. “I will tell you everything later, but for right now, can we just get me dressed so I can do this stupid thing?”

Steph frowned at her. “Are you serious about him? I thought this was just a casual thing.”

That’s what Katie had thought originally, but now she wasn’t so sure. “I like him. Not sure about anything else, but can we discuss it later? I am so late.”

Steph remained silent, but Katie could tell by the stubborn tilt of her jaw that they weren’t done discussing it.

Becca, bless her heart, unzipped the garment bag with a flourish and grinned. “Let’s do this thing!”

CHASE WALKED UPthe aisle of the community center, feeling out of place with the people in the crowd staring at him. He recognized the back of Becca’s multicolored head and took the empty seat next to her. “Have I missed anything yet?”

Becca shook her head and held out a little bag of popcorn. “Nope, still have a couple minutes before it starts. I love beauty pageants. Want some?”

---