Breath of Scandal (2 page)

They watched Gary Parker pull his car into one of the spaces. His steady, Jade Sperry, was sitting in the front seat, close beside him.

"And he's got the best student body with him."

Neal shot Lamar a poisonous look, unable to tell whether Lamar was mocking him with that crack. Surely not. He had kept his interest in Jade Sperry a secret from everyone.

"That car of his is a piece of shit," Hutch commented to no one in particular.

Lamar said, "Doesn't seem to bother Jade."

101, Of course not, you creep," Donna Dee said. "She's in ve with him. It doesn't matter to her that he's as poor as Job's turkey. I'm gonna go say hi to them. See y'all later."

Neal glowered darkly through the window as he watched Gary and Jade. Gary must have said something amusing because Jade laughed and leaned into him, rubbing her temple against his chin.

"Damn, she's hot," Hutch groaned. "He's a frigging fanner. What attracts her?"

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"His brain," Lamar said.

"Or maybe she's impressed by his big plow," Hutch joked.

Lamar laughed. Neal remained stonily silent. Motionless, his eyes unwavering, he watched Gary softly kiss Jade's lips before opening the car door and stepping out. It had been a chaste, tepid kiss. Neal wondered, not for the first time, if she had ever been kissed by somebody who meant business-somebody Re him.

Jade was indisputably the best-looking girl in Palmetto High School. The best-looking girl was supposed to belong to Neal Patchett, just like the best clothes and the best car. His old man was the richest, most powerful man in the area. That alone entitled him to whatever he wanted. Apparently no one had informed Miss Jade Sperry of that.

No matter how high Gary's IQ was, Neal would never understand how she could prefer a piss-poor farmer like Gary over him. Not only did she show a marked lack of interest, but Neal got the impression that she felt disgusted by him. With an inexplicable reverse snobbery, she regarded him as a lowlife. Oh, she was always polite-Jade was courteous to everybody-but beneath her polite veneer, Neal detected a scornful attitude that ate at him.

Maybe she didn't know what she was missing. Maybe she hadn't realized that she was settling for less than the best. Maybe it was time she found out.

"Come on," he said suddenly, sliding out of the booth. He tossed down enough money to cover the cost of their drinks and Hutch's burgers, then sauntered to the door.

Outside, he headed for the window where customers placed carry-out orders. He didn't have to ask Hutch and Lamar if they cared to follow. They fell into step behind him, as he had known they would.

Donna Dee opened the passenger-side door of Gary Parker's car and slid in beside Jade. "I didn't know you were coming here," Jade said. "You could have ridden from church with us."

"And been a fifth wheel? No, thanks."

There was no rancor in Donna Dee's voice. The two girls had been inseparable since the first day of kindergarten. While it was obvious to anyone who saw them together that Jade outshone the other girl, Donna Dee harbored no malice toward her more attractive, more accomplished friend.

"What'd you think of the sermon tonight?" Donna Dee asked. "Did you feel God's breath on the back of your neck every time the preacher said the word fornication?"

Jade had been uncomfortable with the subject of the sermon, but she replied evenly, "I've got nothing to be guilty about. "

"Yet," Donna Dee said.

Jade sighed in consternation. "I knew I never should have confided in you that Gary and I had talked about it." "Oh, for crying out loud, " Donna Dee exclaimed. "Y'all

have been going together for three years. Everybody thinks you've already done it a million times."

Jade bit her lower lip. "My mother included. We had an argument before Gary picked me up tonight."

"So?" Donna Dee borrowed a lipstick from Jade's purse and spread it on. "You're always having arguments with your mom. I hate to say it, Jade, but your mom's a real bitch. "

"She doesn't understand that I love Gary."

"Sure she does. That's the problem. She doesn't want you to love him. She thinks you can do better than him." "There is no one better."

"You know what I mean," Donna Dee said, still searching through Jade's purse. "She'd like to see you wind up with somebody rich and influential, you know-somebody like Neal."

Jade shuddered with disgust. "Fat chance."

"Do you think he really felt up Florene at the country club Valentine's dance? Or was she just bragging? She can be all mouth."

"I don't think being felt up by Neal Patchett is anything to brag about."

"Well, you're the exception."

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"Thank heaven."

"Neal's good-looking," Donna Dee observed.

"I can't stand him. Look at him now. He thinks he's so cool. "

The two girls watched Neal and his friends encircle Gary where he was waiting in line to place his take-out order. Neal punched Gary in the shoulder a couple of times, and when Gary told him to cut it out, he assumed a boxer's stance.

"He's so obnoxious," Jade said with distaste.

"Yeah. I wish Hutch didn't hang around with him so much. "

It was no secret that Donna Dee was madly in love with Hutch Jolly. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Secretly, Jade thought Hutch looked and acted like a bumpkin, but, at the risk of hurting Donna Dee's feelings, she never voiced her opinion.

Nor had she ever told Donna Dee about all the times Hutch had called her asking for dates. She had declined his invitations because of Gary. But even if she hadn't had a steady boyfriend, she would never have dated Hutch because of Donna Dee.

"You don't like Hutch, do you, Jade?" Donna Dee asked her now.

"I like him fine." Truthfully, Hutch made her uncomfortable. They had trigonometry class together, and she often caught him staring at her. Whenever she did, he would blush beneath his freckles, then assume an arrogant air to cover his embarrassment.

"What's wrong with him?" There was a defensive edge to Donna Dee's voice.

"Nothing. Honestly. Nothing except the company he keeps. "

"Do you think he'll invite me to the prom, Jade? I'll die if he doesn't."

"You won't die," Jade said wearily. Donna Dee looked so crestfallen at Jade's lack of empathy that she changed her tone. "I'm sorry, Donna Dee. I hope Hutch asks you. Really, I do."

Their senior prom, coming up in May, already seemed trivial and juvenile. To Jade it represented just one more delay in Gary and her getting on with their lives. She certainly didn't think it was anything to get in a big stew over, although maybe that was because she was guaranteed a date with Gary. Unlike Donna Dee, she didn't have to worry about the disgrace of not having an escort on that momentous night.

" I can't think of anybody else Hutch would ask, can you?" Donna Dee asked worriedly.

"No." Jade glanced at her wristwatch. "What's taking so long? I've got to be home by ten or my mother will start in again."

"And you've got to leave time to park, huh?" Donna Dee gazed at her friend and whispered, "When you and Gary make out, do you just want to die from being so turned on?"

"Yes," Jade admitted, shivering slightly. "And because we have to stop."

"You don't have to."

Jade's sleek, dark brows pulled together into a frown. "If Gary and I love each other, how can it be wrong, Donna Dee?"

:'I never said it was."

'But the preacher does. And the Bible does. My mother does. Everybody does. "

"Everybody says that fornication-"

"Don't use that word for it. It's such an ugly word." "What would you call it then?"

"Making love."

Donna Dee shrugged. "Same difference. Anyway, everybody says that lovemaking outside of marriage is a sin, but does anybody really believe that?" Donna Dee shook her head of dark, straight hair. "I don't think so. I think everybody except us is sinning like crazy and having a damn good time. If I had a chance, I would."

"Would you?" Jade asked, wanting her friend's endorsement.

"If Hutch asked me, you bet your sweet ass I would."

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Jade looked at Gary through the windshield and felt a warm rush of pleasure, coupled with anxiety. "Maybe it's not a sin. Maybe it's time Gary and I stopped listening to the preacher and followed our instincts, Oh, I just don't know," she moaned. "We've talked the subject to death and we only end up more frustrated than before."

"Oh, for pity's sake," Donna Dee grumbled. "I'm going back inside. See ya. "

"Wait, Donna Dee," Jade said, catching her sleeve. "Are you mad?"

"No. "

"You sound mad."

"Well gee, Jade, I    wish I had your problems. I wish I had your naturally wavy black hair and flawless skin. I wish I had big blue eyes and eyelashes a mile long. I wish I had a boyfriend who panted after my body but also respected me. I wish I had a computer brain and a full scholarship to college. "

"I haven't got the scholarship yet," Jade said, minimizing Donna Dee's backhanded compliments.

"Oh, but you will. It's only a matter of time. Everything always turns out right for you, Jade. That's why it's annoying as hell to listen to you whine. What have you got to complain about?

"You're gorgeous without even trying. You're smart. You're popular. You'll probably be valedictorian of our class, and if not you, then the boy who worships the ground you walk on and the air you breathe. If you want to screw yourselves into delirium, do it. If you don't, don't. But shut up about it, okay?"

After her outburst, Donna Dee swore beneath her breath. In a softer tone, she said, "You ought to pay me to be your best friend, Jade. It isn't an easy job, you know."

She snatched up her purse and stepped onto the pavement, closing the car door behind her.

"Hi, Gary." Neal's tone was deceptively friendly. Matching it, Lamar and Hutch repeated him.

"Hi, Y'all." Gary's smile was open and guileless. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Neal replied. "You heard anything about your scholarship yet?"

"Not yet. Neither has Jade. Could be any day now, though . "

"Do you want nuts on those sundaes, Gary?" the waitress in the window asked.

"Sure.  11

"Sure," Neal drawled. He looked toward the car where Jade was sitting. "Jade loves nuts. Big ones."

Hutch sputtered with laughter. Lamar snickered.

Gary's smile vanished. "Cut it out, Neal," he said crossly. He glanced over his shoulder toward the car. Innocently, Neal raised his hands. "It was a joke. Can't

you take a joke?" Playfully, he punched Gary's shoulder. Gary flinched angrily. "Not where Jade's concerned." "Here you go, Gary," the waitress said, sliding the two

desserts through the window. "One butterscotch sundae and one chocolate. That'll be a dollar fifty."

"Thanks. " Gary paid her, then pulled two paper napkins from the dispenser and took a sundae in each hand. He turned away from the window, but Neal blocked his path, flanked by Hutch and Lamar.

"Which one's Jade's?"

Missing the point of Neal's seemingly innocuous question, Gary shrugged. "The butterscotch."

Each sundae was crowned with a bright red cherry. Neal took the cherry by its stalk and plucked it off the mound of whipped cream. He sucked it into his mouth, then, with a dramatic gesture, pulled the stem out. He rolled the cherry in his mouth before catching it between hig front teeth where it was visible. Looking directly at Jade, he suggestively sank his teeth into it, then chewed it with lascivious pleasure before swallowing it.

Facing Gary, he smirked. "Tell your girl friend I enjoyed eating her cherry. "

"You sorry son of a bitch. Eat this."

Gary shoved one of the sundaes into Neal's smug face.

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Neal, taken completely off guard, staggered backward, choking on the goo that covered his face. Gary seized the advantage. Hooking his heel around Neal's, he yanked hard, pulling Neal off his feet. He went down backward onto the pavement.

Gary stood above him. "Keep your filthy mouth shut about Jade. " He dumped the second sundae into Neal's lap, then strode to his car.

Neal leaped to his feet, sputtering threats. "I'll kill you for that, Parker. Nobody fucks with me like that and gets away with it." He became aware of the comic spectacle he was making of himself and diverted his fury. "Jesus Christ!" he shouted to his two friends, who were immobilized with shock over seeing Neal outdone. "Are you gonna just stand there with your thumbs up your asses? Help me out here."

Hutch and Lamar sprang forward, offering handkerchiefs and paper napkins. As he wiped his face clean, Neal glared at Gary's retreating car. The farmer might think he had gotten the best of him, but he had another think coming.

CHAPTER

TWO

"I should have beaten him to within an inch of his life." "You made your point, Gary." Jade laughed when she

remembered Neal's flabbergasted expression as the soft frozen custard dripped off his nose.

"Why didn't I give him what he really had coming?" "Because you're not a Neanderthal like him. A fistfight is beneath your dignity. Besides, you were outnumbered. You would have had to fight Hutch and Lamar, too."

"I'm not afraid of them!"

Jade thought that expending so much energy on machismo was ridiculous, but she did her best to stroke Gary's ego. "Please stop fretting about it. Neal's not worth it. " After a short silence, she asked, "What did he say to make you so mad?"

"Something typical of him," he replied dismissively. "One of his sly innuendos. His mind is a septic tank. He insulted you." He slammed his fist into his opposite palm. "God, he's a son of a bitch. I don't care how rich he is, he's vermin. "

"Knowing that, why are you letting him spoil our time together? I've got to be home soon."

Gary had soft brown hair and tender amber eyes. Gentleness was more at home on his face than anger. At Jade's mild rebuke, his face relaxed into its usual affable expression. He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You're right. It would tickle Neal to know he had ruined our evening. It's just that I hate to hear your name coming out of his filthy mouth."