Page 174

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Jackie Anne: They’re back together. I’m telling you all now. Brace yourselves.

Comments:

Kerry Winsor: I saw it myself!!! Who bet on this???

Tammy Jane: I bet on her having some sense, but I should’ve known.

Mollie Wilson: Wait, what did you see?

Jackie Anne: They were going AT IT at her shop just ten minutes ago! I need to bleach my eyes! But I’m so happy for them!

While Jade was in the shower, her phone started going off. And it kept lighting up with notifications once she was done.

“Are you gonna answer that?”

She frowned at it. “No. I’m thinking of using it as a vibrator, though.”

“I would use it as a vibrator on you,” I corrected.

“Oh, really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna tell me you’re better than one?”

“I’m better with one.” I leaned in.

“I kinda want to see that,” she said with a smile. “This evening?”

A laugh escaped me. This was just like when both of us discovered sex. We couldn’t be stopped.

“I’ll do my best. Worst case, I’ll focus all my attention on you.”

“I like that idea.”

I was about to kiss her when her phone went off again. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

“The town probably knows about us.”

That knocked me out of my pure joy. The town. They would have opinions on this. “They all care about you. Are you going to listen to them?”

“Have I ever listened to anyone in my life? It’s not like we’re ignoring it this time. We’re talking, which is way more than we did when we were eighteen.”

“You’re right. It does feel different this time.”

“And you know, they may have things to say to you too. Are you prepared to be back on the small-town gossip train?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“You don’t seem to hate it as much this time.”

I was treading into dangerous territory here, but I nodded anyway. “After years of no one caring about anything that I did, it’s different. But these are still people that I grew up with. So, it’s not the end of the world.”

Jade gave me a soft smile. “I’m not the only one who changed, it seems.”

“You’re not.” My own smile faded when I thought about something else. “We have another thing to talk about, unfortunately.”

“What else is there?”

“Agnes and Beatrice.”