Free The Designated Drivers' Club by Shelley K. Wall Page A

maybe. The raspy, sexy voice of the lead singer of Whitesnake filled the car. She drove the rest of the way in silence. She envied him when they pulled up to the bustling campus with students milling around enjoying the sunshine between classes. College life was one of the most exciting times, every day proposed new opportunities and a bright future within reach. She shrugged. Then you graduate and reality smacks you harshly across the cheek.
    Josh opened the door and stepped out before Jenny could put the car in park.
    “Don’t get out.” He held up a hand to stop her from rushing to get the door. “I’m fine. Thanks. By the way, I appreciate what you’re doing for Mom, and I’m really glad she called you. She’s pretty screwed up right now. She hasn’t been able to pull it together.” Jenny shifted down so she could peer up at him through the window. “Your mom didn’t call me, Josh. Your sister did.”
    A car horn behind her blared. Jenny pressed the gas and thrust the car back into traffic.
    She surveyed the sidewalk in the mirror. Josh, mouth open, stared after her until she turned the corner and peeled back onto the freeway.
    Nice kid, she thought. Too bad his mom was an alcoholic. She wondered if Lauren even knew what classes he took. Something about Josh communicated familiarity, as if she knew him. An uncomfortable sense of déjà vu passed.
    • • •
    Jenny felt the sense pass over her again two nights later when she entered the doorway of Hodge’s sprawling Mediterranean-style home for his party. Something about it stimulated familiarity — not the comfortable kind — the kind that reminds you of a scary movie. She glanced at the expanse of white marble, crystal chandelier, and cream-colored walls that rose thirty feet to a faux painted ceiling. She shivered. “You cold, Jenny?” David raised a brow as he pushed her forward into the crowd. He patted her shoulder briefly and glanced around the room. She felt the excitement in his veins. His breathing hitched as he admired the food laid out on a massive, cloth-covered table at the opposite side. It was anchored by a fancy glass sculpture on one end that spewed some sort of gold-colored liquid, and an attendant dressed in a white shirt, black pants, and a bow tie on the other end. “Nice,” David muttered.
    They were a little late and the room was humming. David originally disapproved of the dress she chose, politely asking her to wear something more “feminine.” She’d never worn a dress with him before and was miffed that the black sleeveless sheath she loved didn’t appeal to him. It had a cleavage-baring, rounded neckline that she graced with a set of crystal beads Katy had gifted her last Christmas. The hem was short and swirled like chiffon around her legs. “Too boring and staid,” David had scoffed. “Don’t you have something a little more interesting?”
    She quickly analyzed David’s description of interesting as more overtly sexy. After showing him three other dresses, his approval trained on a red strapless stretch-silk number she’d forgotten. It resided in the back of her closet, a spur-of-the-moment purchase that Katy convinced her to buy. She’d never had the guts or desire to wear it. She considered it for New Year’s last year but found she was constantly adjusting her boobs to make sure they were amply covered. If she wasn’t pulling up the bodice, she was yanking down the form-fitting skirt that barely covered her bottom. Jenny hated clothes that made her self-conscious or drew attention. This one screamed something that she felt completely stimulated a persona she didn’t have.
    Yet David liked it. Insisted on it.
    Jenny nervously looked around the room at the flashy figures and accepted that David probably chose well. She tugged the hemline down over her thighs, drew up on the bodice, and followed him into the throng of people.

Chapter 11
    Jenny barely managed to keep her mouth from dropping at every ornate