Jacie stepped away from Gwen and moved to stand toe-to-toe with her mother. Her voice was low and controlled, rage flickering in her eyes. "Don't think I'm going to let you hit me again."
Gwen began to panic. "What is going on here?" she whispered to herself. Jacie's mother and father were devout people. Devout people wouldn't refuse to help their child when she was in need!
Grace glared at the young woman she couldn't believe she had given birth to. "The church is doing the Lord's work and fighting against the kind of smut you're living, young lady. Be thankful that that's where this family's money goes. It doesn't seem that the money we send you has been doing any good for anybody. We raised you to be normal. Not something else."
Jack let out a heavy sigh. He hadn't moved from his spot on the sofa during the entire discussion. "Get out of my house, Jacie Ann, and don't come back until you've given up this disgusting notion of yours."
"That will be never," Jacie said bluntly, his words digging deeper than she wanted to show.
Jack nodded slowly. "Then that's your choice."
Jacie plastered a grim smile onto her face, but Gwen caught the slight quiver of her lower lip. "No problem, Dad." She didn't even look at her mother or Gwen as she stormed from the room.
Gwen ran a trembling hand through her hair. Then she whirled around and looked at Jacie's parents as though they were aliens. "I thought you were going to help her! I only told you so that you could help her!"
"You heard her," Grace answered stiffly. "She doesn't want our help." She turned and gazed out of the window with unseeing eyes. "She's never wanted anything from us at all."
"I can't imagine why," Gwen muttered as she hurried after Jacie, her waddling gate making true speed all but impossible. She made it outside just in time to see Jacie peeling out of the driveway. "Jacie," she called loudly, waving her arms and running towards the car. Not listening, the auburn-haired girl floored the gas pedal without sparing a desperate Gwen the slightest glance.
"Slow down! You're going to kill yourself!" But she was already looking at Katy's car's taillights. In her haste, Gwen fumbled with the car keys, letting out a rare curse when they dropped in her lap as she tried to fit them into the ignition. "Oh, God. Oh, God."
After a lifetime of living nearby, she knew which streets Jacie would take to exit the neighborhood and after getting lucky and making a few stoplights that Jacie missed, the beat up car was finally the one directly in front of her. Gwen laid on her horn, wincing when Jacie merely lifted her hand from the steering wheel and flipped her the bird.
At the next corner, Gwen used the full power of her BMW and shot around Jacie. Gritting her teeth, she swerved into Jacie's lane, cutting her off and forcing Jacie to shoot into the parking lot of a local convenience store to avoid ramming into the back of the beamer.
Livid, Jacie flew out of her car and stalked over to Gwen, who was trying to pry herself out from behind the steering wheel. "Are you insane?" Jacie screeched at the top of her voice. "Have you forgotten that you're pregnant?"
Gwen shot her a tart look as she finally made it out of the car. "Does that even look possible to you?"
"You pious meddling bitch."
Gwen held her tongue, because at that moment, she completely agreed with Jacie. "I'm sorry," she finally whispered, looking away. Then she shut the car door and had to force herself to meet Jacie's searing gaze.
"Do you even know what you've done?" Jacie slammed her hand down on the hood of the car, the sound echoing in the nearly empty parking lot. "I'm going to have to quit school. I can't work any more damn hours. I'm already drowning and one of my best friends threw me a big-ass rock to hold onto!" She slammed her hand down again, this time denting the metal. "Argh! If you weren't pregnant, I would–Kick–Your–Ass!"
Gwen gulped hard. Jacie was deadly serious. "I didn't think that would happen. I-I-I had no idea. I just wanted to help you. I swear it, Jacie."
"And did you ‘help' Nina this way today?" Jacie's gaze sharpened. "Because if you did I–"
"No! Of course I didn't." She looked hurt that Jacie would even think such a thing. "Nina's not gay. I heard her say so. I wouldn't tell her parents because she's not the one who needs help. She was just experimenting or something." Her face took on a sympathetic expression. "It's you that needs help."
"You don't know what you're talking about when it comes to Nina." Jacie's mind flashed to the night before and her heart skipped a beat. She relaxed a little, relieved beyond measure that Gwen hadn't done something so hurtful to Nina at this confusing juncture in her life. Things were scary enough as it was. "What makes you think I need or want your help, Gwen?" She arched one slender eyebrow. "I know what I am and even if I could change, which I can't, I wouldn't want to."
Gwen just stared. "That can't be true."
"It is true. I came to terms with who I was a long time ago."
Gwen crossed her arms over her unusually full chest. "If you weren't ashamed of it, you wouldn't have kept it a secret."
That shut Jacie up for several seconds. She squirmed a little, uncomfortably aware that on some level that was probably true, at least at one time. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid of how you'd react. Afraid it would ruin our friendship." Her face turned to granite. "I guess I shouldn't have worried."
"I'm still your friend."
Jacie was surprised at how much this hurt. "No way, Gwen," she said thickly. "After everything we've been through. After everything this year…" She didn't need to mention the hours of comfort and support she'd freely given her friend after her rape.
Gwen's face colored with shame.
A look of pure disgust twisted Jacie's attractive features. "You stabbed me in the back."
Gwen shook her head. "I know you think that now. But someday you'll see. I told your parents for your sake. For all our sakes."
Jacie groaned, already tired of this conversation. Ever fiber of her being told her that she needed to go to Nina, to talk about last night, and to make absolutely certain that they were on solid ground. Not to mention the fact that she craved sinking into her arms and letting Nina sooth away some of this profound hurt. She turned and started to walk away, stopping when Gwen's shaky voice rang out in the parking lot.
"I'm not wrong about Nina. I know you love her, and she loves you. Just not that way." Gwen's stomach was in knots. She knew the carefully chosen words would further wound her already injured friend, but a little hurt now was better than a lifetime of misery, wasn't it?
Jacie turned around, fists clenched, the cool wind sending the pungent odor of diesel fuel back to Gwen and tossing Jacie's thick hair into her face. "She does love me."
Gwen steeled herself, ruthlessly ignoring the little voice in her head that told her to stop and think about what she was about to do. "She's not gay."
"Shut up and leave and leave me alone." She turned towards Katy's car again, not willing to allow Gwen to see the damage her words had done. She needed to see Nina… now.
"I can prove it." She gasped when Jacie froze for a split second, then spun around on her heels and stalked back to her, putting them face to face.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. You're lying!" she spat, her words slurred by anger.
Gwen shook her head, trying to retain control of her badly stressed bladder. "Tonight she's going on a double date with Malcolm and me and his cousin Victor. If she loved you… in a romantic way, I mean, would she be willing to date a man?"
Jacie paled. "She's what?"
"A double date. That's why I was at the house this morning and why I heard you two talking." She licked her lips nervously. "I was there to talk about tonight." A partial truth.
"I don't believe you."
No way
, her mind screamed.
Nina wouldn't do that. Never.
Even if last night was the first time they'd slept together, things had been slowly intensifying between them for months.
Gwen grabbed the sleeve of Jacie's sweatshirt and dragged her over to a nearby phone booth. "Give me a dime," she demanded, holding out her hand.
Jacie looked at her upturned palm, experiencing whiplash at Gwen's apparent, sudden change of subjects. "Huh?"
"Just do it." She lifted her hand higher.
In confusion, Jacie dug through the pocket of her jeans and produced a handful of change. She handed the entire pile to Gwen. "What are you–?"
"Shh." Gwen put the phone to her ear and began to dial, waiting impatiently for someone to pick up. "Victor Langtree, please."
Jacie's stomach dropped.
"Hi, Victor, this is Gwen." She pulled Jacie closer to the phone. "I called just to make sure everything is set for tonight."
Despite herself, Jacie pressed her head to Gwen's, feeling soft hair brush against her cheek as she listened in on the conversation.
Victor droned on for a moment about how excited he was and how he intended to sweep Nina off her feet before Gwen cut him off mid-sentence. "That's great, Victor. You can come by the house at seven, okay? I'm looking forward to it, too. See you then. Bye."
Jacie moved away slowly, taking a few steps before she began to pace. "That– that doesn't mean a damn thing." A flicker of doubt shone in her eyes. "You could have gotten Malcolm's cousin to lie." Sweat began to gather at the back of her collar. "Nina never mentioned she was going on a date."
God,
her mind choked, hating the way that sounded more than she could express. "Not once."
"You need to face the truth." Her friend clearly wasn't convinced yet. Gwen bit her bottom lip and went for broke. At worst she could talk her way out of what she was about to do. At best Jacie would be convinced that there was no point in going ahead with her crazy idea of being a homosexual. Nina was clearly a temptation for her and with the temptation removed maybe she'd see how ridiculous she was acting and go back to normal. "Here." Gwen slid another dime into the phone's coin slot, her palm and fingers so moist that she nearly dropped it. Then she said a prayer as she shot well over a line from which she knew there was no return.
Audrey picked up the ringing phone. "Hello?"
"Hi. So, are you all ready for tonight?"
"What?" Audrey took the phone away from her ear and looked at it. "Hi, Gwen. We don't have anything going on tonight, do we?"
Gwen turned to Jacie and looked her right in the eye as she spoke. "Nina, I hope you're going to wear something sexy so that Victor gets a good look at your figure."
Jacie forgot how to breathe as her insides began to shake.
"I am not Nina, you dork." Audrey twisted the phone cord around her little finger as she spoke. "And I can't believe you finally got her to go on that double date with you." She chuckled. Gwen was determined to find them all the men of her dreams. The richer and more handsome the better. Unless, of course, they were richer or more handsome than Malcolm. "Here's Nina." She handed the phone to the young woman as she walked by.
Gwen had to force her hands to stop trembling. She let out a relieved breath and extended her arm to grab Jacie to pull her over to listen. Jacie was standing a few feet away and actually dug in her heels when Gwen tried to pull her closer.
"Hello," Nina answered, perching on the corner of the sofa and reluctantly pulling her nose from a good book.
"So are you ready for our date tonight?" Gwen repeated with Jacie now listening in.
"You bet," Nina answered cheerfully. "I can't wait."
Jacie felt as though a ton of bricks had been dropped on her head.
This can't be happening. Not after last night. Not after everything.
"Ni-nina?"
Gwen's eyes bugged out and she tried to pull the phone away but Jacie's grasp was firm.
"Jacie?" Nina's eyebrows lifted. "Where are you?"
"You're… um…" Jacie could hardly talk and she thought she might throw up. "You're going out on a date tonight?"
"Well, yeah. It's been planned for a while." She frowned, not liking the tremulous sound of Jacie's normally vibrant voice. "You'll be at work while I'm out, right? But, hey, I really think we should talk before I leave." Her tone went serious. "There's something I need to tell you and it can't wait."
Nina hadn't told Jacie she loved her yet, and the omission had been haunting her since that morning. The happy words wanted to explode from her and she nearly did it right there on the phone, but Audrey was standing only a few feet away and she wanted some privacy when she made it clear to Jacie just how much she meant to her. She'd searched her soul that morning, and while she was still more than a little afraid, she was certain that she and Jacie could work through anything so long as they did it together.
She's going to break up with me?
Jacie closed her eyes. "No. No. No!" Violently, she jerked the phone from Gwen's hand, causing Gwen to scream out in surprise as she slammed the phone hard into its cradle, hanging up. "Shit."
Tears welled up in Gwen's eyes at the utterly devastated look on Jacie's face. "Jacie."
"No," she said in voice so low that Gwen barely heard her. She rested her forehead against the phone. Why was her world collapsing on her? Tears streamed freely down her cheeks.
Gwen blinked. "You're," she swallowed, "you're crying?" She shook her head. "But you don't cry. I-I've seen you break your arm in three places and not shed a single tear."
Jacie didn't even hear Gwen as her own thoughts raged.
Last night was a lie? Every touch. Every kiss. Every sweet word. All of it. But Nina wouldn't do that!
Her mind recoiled at the mere thought of the person she loved most in the world, the one she trusted above all others, using her. And yet, Nina had admitted as much, hadn't she?
She was keeping a date with some guy.
It was like knives were slicing up her insides and she tasted bile.
Unable to contain the hurt and fury building up inside her, brown eyes flew open and Jacie grabbed the phone's handpiece and began repeatedly slamming it against the phone booth, the pain it caused her palm and fingers not even registering as jagged bits of plastic flew everywhere. "It! Was! Not! A! Lie!"