Free Scandalous by H.M. Ward Page A

and wanted to tell me—tell me.”
    “Abby, you’re not like me,” she said as she took a piece of lace from her closet. It was on a hanger so it must have been lingerie, but I had no idea what it’d look like on. It looked more like a napkin with parts missing.
    I shrugged, “So. You’re not like me.” I sat down on the bed as Kate walked over, pulling out the stuff she didn’t want from her bag.
    “You don’t talk about church crap with me, and I don’t talk about guys with you. We’re both in uncharted waters when it comes to that stuff.” She shook her head, making long dark hair fall over her shoulder as she looked into the bag, grabbing another suit jacket and hanging it back up.
    “Yeah, we are. Why’d we do that?”
    “You’ve got holy ears,” Kate responded, eyes on her suitcase as she repacked.
    I laughed, “What? What does that mean! ”
    “You’re a direct line to God and you don’t screw around with stuff like that. It’s like sticking a fork into a toaster just to see what happens. I might walk around on a daily basis and not think twice about being struck by a lightning bolt, but when I’m standing next to you and doing what I usually do—let’s just say I’ll think twice about holding an umbrella.” At first I wasn’t sure if she was serious, but when I didn’t hear the laughter in her voice, I knew she meant it.
    “Kate! How can you say something like that? It’s not like I call the shots. And for the record—no one has died as a result of a lightning bolt to the head while talking trash to me.”
    Kate snort-laughed, and quickly covered her hand over her mouth to hide it. A grin spread across my face until I couldn’t keep my lips shut anymore. Kate sat on the bed and gave me a look. The result was instantaneous. We both broke out into a fit of giggles like we were ten-year-olds, belly-laughing so hard that we couldn’t breathe.
    When it passed, Kate sat on the bed with the suitcase between us, “So, nothing’s off limits? Back to the way things were?”
    I nodded, “Hell, yeah. I’m still the same person. I’m not gonna get you killed faster because I got a God badge or something.” She grinned at me, but I could still tell she was hesitant. Thinking fast, I wanted to prove it to her. The best way to prove you’d be a good secret-keeper was to offer up a secret, something hidden so deep that you’d never admit to anyone. I cleared my throat, avoiding her gaze, “Besides, talking about guys might be helpful.” I spoke the words as I held up a sheer baby doll outfit that was on top of her open bag. The light passed right through it. Kate’s eyes were burning a hole in my face. I dropped the garment back into her bag and asked, “What?”
    “Abby, what are you saying?” Her voice was soft, concerned. “That you like someone? It’s Jack, isn’t it? Damn, I was just kidding the other day. I didn’t know you really felt that way.”
    I shrugged, “Neither did I.” But after this much time, I had to admit it—I had feelings for him and they weren’t going away. It wasn’t the remnants of some childhood fantasy. It was real, and made me question everything, every decision I’d made that led me to this point.
    “So what do you do? You took vows, right? It’s not like you can date him or something?” Kate stopped packing and sat utterly still, watching me.
    “No, I can’t date him,” I answered wistfully. Glancing up at her I added quickly, “And he can’t find out. I just... I don’t know. I told you because it’s bothering me. I see him every day and he’s the same boy he used to be, but so much more. He was such a man-whore in high school.” I shook my head. “But that doesn’t jive with the Jack I see now. Maybe I was wrong about him.”
    Kate’s eyes were huge. She leaned over the bag and grabbed my hand, “What are you saying? That you joined the Nun Run because of him? Holy shit, Abby. You can’t be serious?”
    I swallowed hard. This