The Closer You Come

Buds of excitement unfurled within her, giving life to a tide of eagerness. What if she operated on a delivery-only basis? People could place their orders every morning, and she could make deliveries every afternoon and evening, making casseroles for working moms and dads to easily heat and serve to their families. That wouldn’t be enough to sustain her, but she could always expand into catering.

My own business, she thought, awed. She would be in control of her hours and her schedule.

She had to try.

“The job search can wait another day,” Jessie Kay said. “You don’t want to tell us what’s going on, fine, but we’re not letting you wallow a second longer. We’re going dancing, and that’s final. You deserve a good time. And a new man, if that’s something you’re interested in exploring.”

“I’m not. I only want Jase,” she muttered.

“I bet I can change your mind.” Jessie Kay tugged her out of bed and herded her into the bathroom. “Shower. Wash the stank off.”

“Fine. I’ll wash the stank off, as you so elegantly put it,” she said. You’re welcome, world. “But that’s it. That’s all I’m doing.”

Kenna grinned at her. “I’ll be in the closet, looking for your sluttiest dress.”

“I mean it,” she insisted. “I’m staying in tonight.”

“Sure, sure.” Jessie Kay riffled through her underwear drawer. “Do you want to wear a thong or go with something lacy? Definitely lacy,” she answered for her. “It’ll drive all the guys you meet wild.”

“I’m. Staying. In,” she said and slammed the bathroom door.

* * *

TWO AND A HALF hours later, the girls flanked her sides, guiding Brook Lynn into the club. Of course, nothing in Strawberry Valley had been good enough for Jessie Kay, so they’d driven into the city.

“I can’t believe you forced me into this,” she muttered, waving a hand in front of her face. Smoke thickened the air, tickling her throat and making her cough.

Jessie Kay grinned. “I know! Isn’t it great?”

Strobe lights flashed a million colors in every direction, spinning, spinning. Bright white lights pulsed in sync with the music. A thousand bodies overflowed the small space, men and women crowding the bar, standing around the occupied tables, bumping and grinding on the dance floor. She expected the seams of the building to split at any second.

I think I’ve walked into hell.

She switched her implants to silent, the noise simply too loud for her to function. Still she could feel the vibration of music bouncing off the floor and the walls.

Jessie Kay disappeared for a few minutes, only to return with a drink and two guys. She thrust the shot glass at Brook Lynn, saying to the guys, “This is my sister, y’all. As pretty as I promised, right?”

They looked her over as if she were a piece of meat on display at the butcher block.

One of them said something but she had no idea what. While she’d had no trouble reading her sister’s lips, these boys were strangers and the lighting dim—when it wasn’t exploding like fireworks.

The lack of understanding was probably a good thing.

One guy continued to leer at her, as if she were already a sure thing. The other smiled a smile he probably thought was charming but that merely creeped her out. It said: I know how to bury a body.

“Excuse me,” she said and pushed her way into a dark corner.

Kenna wasn’t far behind. Her features contorted into a grimace as she looked around. “I wasn’t expecting...had no idea this was what your sister enjoyed.”

“The sad thing is I knew, and yet here I am.” She missed Jase. The way he looked at her—as if she were special. The way he touched her—as if she were a gift to be unwrapped.

She just had to find out how he’d react to being furious with her. Then they could be together.

“You gonna drink that?” Kenna motioned to the shot glass she still held.

The last time Brook Lynn had imbibed, she’d texted the most insane things to Jase. Every “what not to do” in every women’s magazine.

Lightbulb! Maybe, with a little alcohol, she’d work up the courage to push his hot buttons and finally learn the answer to the question plaguing her.

I’m a sick, sick girl.

“Bottoms up,” she muttered and drained the glass in a single gulp.

Oh, the burn! Just as bad as before. She sputtered, trying to catch her breath.

Jessie Kay arrived with a new crop of hopefuls—and two more shots. Brook Lynn downed the drinks without a word.

Considering she hadn’t eaten much that day, just a few chips left in the bag on her nightstand, dizziness hit her fast and strong. She giggled, and Kenna wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her steady.

“You okay?” her friend asked.

“Better than.” Maybe. Probably. She was going to make Jase soooo mad. He had no idea the storm about to be unleashed. “Hey, you,” she said to the guy who wouldn’t stop playing with the ends of her sister’s hair. “Can I have your number? I lost my own.”

He just blinked at her.

Jessie Kay rolled her eyes. “What she meant to say is... Here she is. Now, what are your other two wishes?”

His friend clasped Brook Lynn’s hand. When she focused on him, his lips were already moving. “—scale from one to ten, you’re a nine...and I’m the one you need.”