Pride's Prejudice (13 page)

"Okay,
okay," Lindy relented, sitting up in bed.  "I met some guys down
there, and we went for a drive.  So what?"

"So
what?!  You got in a car with a bunch of guys you just met at a
white-trash magnet,
after
curfew, and didn't bother letting me
know."  Beth was livid.  She felt like her eyes might pop out of
her head any second now.

"If
I had called you, you would've been mad and told me to come home."

"You
think?  I should call mom and dad right now and ship you home!  How
could you be so stupid, Lindy?"

Jenna
emerged, blinking in the bright light of the kitchen.

"You
don't see the potential danger of your little joyride tonight, do you?"

"Sure
I do.  They could have been lunatics or murderers or something. 
Beth, this is
Hartford
we're talking about.  I think the worst
thing that's probably ever happened here is someone shoplifting peanuts or
something."  Lindy snorted, diverted by her lame attempt at humor.

"There
are psychos everywhere, Lindy.  And they take advantage of girls like
you."  She stopped abruptly, shocked that she sounded just like
William.  She drew a calming breath.  "I think you should go
home."

"But
mom and dad aren't home!" Lindy was beginning to look worried now.

"I'll
call the Lucases and see if you can stay with them."

"The
Lucases?" Lindy whined.  "Beth, they're ancient!"

"They'll
be
just
the thing."

Lindy
worked up an impressive storm of tears in just a few seconds. 
"Please, Bethy!  You know how much I want to go to that dance. 
It's not fair!"  She hiccoughed pathetically.

Beth
was unscathed by Lindy's tantrum.  She had seen them countless times at
home, her father walking out of the room in a refusal to deal with the
behavior, and her mother caving to the guilt-trip.  Beth walked to the
front door and clicked the lock.  On her way back to her own room she paused
and addressed the trembling, sobbing form of her sister.

"It's
simple, Lindy.  Nothing remotely close to this will happen again. 
And if you aren't here when I wake up, you can be
sure
you'll be home in
your own bed by tomorrow night.  If you
are
here, then consider
yourself on probation."

Jenna
and Beth exchanged a look, and Beth mouthed an apology for waking her. 
Jenna shook her head, then smiled at Beth in sympathy.

Beth
let herself into her room, welcoming the darkness that swallowed her on the
other side of the door.  She wanted to forget Lindy's foolishness, the
mystery surrounding William and Jaxon, and mostly, the fact that Lindy had just
proven William's point.

HOMECOMING

"There
is nothing people are so often deceived in, as the state of their own affections."

~Jane Austen,
Northanger Abbey

Beth
peeked out of the corner of her eye at Jaxon as they walked along, passing
shops that had already closed for the night.  The windows lining the
sidewalk were dark, except for one at the very end.  Jaxon had called and
asked Beth if she wanted to catch a movie, and she'd agreed right away. 
Unfortunately, William's visit had largely dominated her thoughts throughout
the date.  His admonitions echoed in Beth's head, making it difficult for
her to enjoy Jaxon's company.

"So,
did you like the movie?  You didn't cry at the end, so I can't be too
sure."  Jaxon's teasing cut across Beth's reverie.

"Sure,"
Beth said with forced brightness.  "It was a great movie - a good mix
of funny and mushy.  And it had a great ending.  I can't live without
closure in a movie."

"Well,
I figured you would prefer the romantic comedy to the action flick.  The
theatre only has room for two movies at a time, but there you go."

Jaxon
chuckled to himself and Beth smiled.  They walked in silence for a minute
before Jaxon spoke again.

"Are
you sure you're not hungry?  Look -" he pointed to the lighted
window, which they now stood in front of.  " -ice cream!  You
can't say no to ice cream, right?"

"I
don't know, Jaxon.  I'm still pretty full from all that popcorn."

"Oh,
come on, Beth.  Everyone knows that ice cream just fills in the
cracks!  Besides, I'm buying."  Jaxon planted himself in front
of Beth to keep her from walking.  Then he looked down into her eyes with
a mischievous pleading expression.

"One
scoop," she relented.

The
Frozen Udder
was empty as it was a weeknight, and close to
closing time. Beth didn't need to look beyond the glass prison to the ice cream
bins; she always got the same thing - Butter Pecan.  After browsing all
the flavors, Jaxon settled on Cherry Chocolate Chip.  He paid for the ice
cream and he and Beth sat at a small square table situated in the corner of the
shop.

Beth
wondered why the girl behind the counter kept shooting them disgruntled
looks.  It all came together a moment later when she complained loudly to
an unseen coworker that she couldn't mop out front until the customers left.

"You
must come here a lot."

"What
makes you say that?"  Beth hadn't realized that Jaxon had been
quietly watching her while she pondered the mystery of the ice cream parlor
employee gone postal.

"You
didn't even look at the choices; you just walked up and ordered."

Beth
smiled.  "I only like ice cream with nuts or chocolate in it,"
she explained, casting a nasty look at his Cherry Chocolate Chip. 
"Fruity ice cream is just wrong."

Jaxon
laughed nonchalantly, as if he had been expecting her quirky reasoning. 
"Well, this isn't even real fruit.  It's those maraschino
cherries."

As if
desecrating ice cream with faux fruit was any better?

"All
the worse.  I can't stand maraschino cherries."  Jaxon started
laughing again, but Beth plowed on.  "No, really.  I had a bad
experience with them as a kid."  She wasn't sure she wanted to dwell
on her childhood issues at the moment, but it might already be too late.

"Okay,
this I have to hear."  Jaxon scraped the last cherry from his ice
cream cup and sat back in his chair, folding his arms as if settling in for a
good, long story.  The girl behind the counter stood by, gripping her mop
and glaring at them.

Beth
stood up and threw her cup away.  "If you want the story you'll have
to take it to go," she announced.

Jaxon
snapped to his feet.  As they walked out the door, the bell dinged and the
girl called, "Come again!"  She was at their heels, and Beth
heard the lock click as soon as their hands were clear of the door.

"So,
let's hear your issues, Beth.  This has to be good."  And he
grinned like a rogue.

Beth
heaved a sigh, wondering how to make herself sound normal.  "Well, do
you remember those grow-a-fish things they used to have when we were
kids?  You know, it looks like a Swedish Fish and then you put it into an
aquarium and it comes to life?"

Jaxon
stopped walking, turned to face Beth, and drew her close by her
shoulders.  Then he placed a hand to her head as if checking for a fever.

"I'm
serious," she insisted, walking on.  "We had one in my second
grade class - it was our class pet.  Anyway, it came to life in the tank
just like it was supposed to.  Then Tommy Higgins got it out of the tank
one day and crushed it in his hand.  I can still see it in my mind - the
cherry-red gooey fish, pulsating in Tommy's palm.  Every time I see a
bottle of maraschino cherries at the store, I gag."

Jaxon's
roar of laughter rang through the empty, darkened streets.  He put his arm
around her shoulder and hugged her while he laughed.  "Beth, you are
truly one of a kind."

He
released his hold around her shoulders but caught her hand swiftly in his own
as they walked.  A tingling sensation started in her fingers and crawled
up her arm.  She looked at Jaxon, hoping that she wasn't blushing. 
The intensity of his eyes unnerved her, and she looked away.

"So,
do all your friends have dates for Saturday?"  Beth felt a tiny
thrill at the word 'Saturday.'  This was the first time he had alluded to
the ball since he'd almost, sort-of asked her on Monday.  She had begun to
wonder if she'd imagined the whole thing.

"For
the ball?" she hinted casually.

"Ball? 
What ball?  No, I meant the stripper we have coming to headquarters. 
Didn't you get an invite?"

Beth
punched his arm and he feigned pain.  Then he grabbed her fist in midair
and tucked her hand into his again.  Jaxon slowed, pulled Beth to a halt
and faced her, their entwined hands resting on his chest.  His eyes swept
Beth's face as he tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.

"So,
are you ready for the ball, my lady?"  he murmured.

Beth
swallowed.  "Um, yes, I think so.  I have my dress."

"What
color is it?"

"Dark
green."

"That
will look beautiful with your brown eyes.  I can't wait to see you in
it."

My
eyes are hazel,
Beth corrected in her head.

Jaxon
smiled lazily and leaned in to kiss her.

Beth
had lain awake for a week imagining what it would be like to kiss Jaxon. 
Time seemed to slow, drawing out the anticipation.  She could almost feel
his lips on hers, gentle yet adamant, soft yet determined.

It was
not what she had expected.

He
closed the remaining distance between them quickly, almost knocking Beth
backward with the force of his movement.  There was nothing soft or
gentle, and all that was left over was adamant and determined.  He moved
his stony mouth rapidly against hers, and she was overcome with a flashback of
William kissing her in the tent.  For an instant the memory of his soft
mouth eclipsed Jaxon's hard kiss, and Beth pulled away quickly, feeling like a
traitor.

"Sorry,"
she mumbled, chagrined.  "You just surprised me."

Jaxon
was unruffled.  "That was the point."  He smiled
impishly.  "I should have guessed that the girl who only ever orders
one flavor of ice cream wouldn't like surprises."

Beth
loved surprises, but she let it pass.  Jaxon took her hand up again as
they rounded the corner and caught sight of Longbourn.

"So,
I thought we'd double with Denny and Lindy on Saturday, if that's okay,"
he said.

"As
long as we talk a lot to drown out the slurping noises."

Jaxon
laughed.  "You won't even know we're with them.  We'll have to
meet you at the dance though.  We have drills that night until
seven-thirty."  He paused, suddenly looking embarrassed. 
"I'll have to take you to dinner another time."

"Oh,
that's okay.  I don't plan on eating at all the next two days," Beth
offered with a casual flick of her hand.  "I have to fit into my
corset and all that."

Beth
and Jaxon stood in front of Longbourn now, and Beth desperately wanted to end
the night on a better note.  She'd never initiated a kiss before, but she
felt like it was the only way to make up for her abrupt severance
earlier.  Turning to face Jaxon, she stepped closer to him.

"I
had fun tonight.  Thanks for asking me."

"Anytime." 
Jaxon wrapped his arms around Beth's waist, bringing her to him.  Then he
just looked into her face, waiting.

Why
couldn't she move? 
Kiss him,
she scolded herself. 
Don't
be stupid!  He already made the first move.
  He seemed to know
she was deliberating with herself, and moved in, his lips soft on hers this
time.

For
the second time William's earnest face and dark eyes ripped through Beth,
flattening the moment with resounding finality.  She preserved her tact
this time, slowly breaking the kiss.

"Good
night, your Ladyship."  Jaxon kissed Beth's hand in farewell. 
"Until Saturday."  He burned her with his ice blue gaze one more
time before turning and striding off into the dark, leaving Beth with a scowl
on her face and a weight in her stomach.

Chewing
her lip, Beth ascended the outside stairs to Longbourn and made her way to room
204.  To her surprise, Jenna, Les, and Kara were sitting at the kitchen
table playing cards.  She kissed Jenna on the cheek and hugged Les.

"Kara,"
she began, trying infuse her smile with sincerity, "it's been a
while."

Kara
smiled, but didn't waste any effort keeping up pretenses.  "Has
it?" she answered in a sugary voice.

"Wanna
play, Beth?  We can deal you into the next hand."  Les was
clueless, smiling and munching popcorn as he invited his sister's foe to join
the game.

Beth
deliberated.  Classes
did
start earlier on Fridays, but she just
couldn't pass up such a pristine opportunity to bug Kara.  "Sure,
it's Friday Eve, right?" she relented.  "But I need to shower
first."

Beth
stepped into her room for some clothes, then made her way to the
bathroom.  The light of the kitchen faded as she pushed further into
darkened hall.  Her previous thoughts took hold of her again without
preamble.  Why wasn't she floating?  She had wanted to kiss Jaxon
ever since……well, ever since she'd met him.  Now it had happened, and left
a bad taste in her mouth, so to speak.  It reminded her of Holiday Barbie
the year she turned eight.  She had saved her allowance money for months
and done extra jobs around the house to earn the money for it.  After
buying it, her mother would not let her play with it since it had cost so much,
and the doll stood poised in her cardboard cell on the highest shelf in Beth's
room, looking out of the plastic window with a perfect smile plastered on her
lonely face.

Obviously,
Beth had never quite gotten over it.

It
wasn't the kissing.  It was the anticipation and the consequent absence of
emotion that perplexed her; and the fact that a very different face popped into
her mind at a crucial moment, ruining the chance of said moment meeting her
expectations.

Beth
started when she realized she had stopped meandering and now leaned against the
wall, staring at the hall carpet.  She looked around for a moment, jumping
slightly when her eyes lighted on William.  He leaned against the opposite
wall, his arms folded, watching her quietly.  How long had he been
standing there?

"Dollar
for your thoughts?" he offered quietly.

She
tried not to look at his mouth, and failed.  "Isn't it supposed to be
a penny?"

"Inflation
and all that."

Beth
forced a smile, trying to seem less preoccupied.

"What's
wrong, Beth?" William asked, bending until their eyes were level.

I was
just thinking about kissing you.
  "Nothing." 
She dismissed the notion with a  wave of her hand.

He
cocked his head to the side and raked her face with his eyes. 
"Liar," he accused, leaning back into his former posture, drawing his
arms back into an X over his chest.

"Alrighty,
Dr. Phil," Beth answered, rolling her eyes.  "What's wrong with
me then?"

"No
idea.  But your eyes are different."

Beth
was brought up short.  "Different?" she repeated, her tone a
great deal more humble than she cared for.

"They
change color with your moods sometimes," William said simply.

Beth
stood silently, unwilling to speak until he explained.  He seemed to
understand and continued.

"When
you get mad they go kind of dark brown, just like when you are popping
off.  Right now they're lighter - almost green."