Free Silver Tides (Silver Tides Series) by Susan Fodor Page B

as most popular girl at school. Miranda was keeping Tammy close for that reason. I liked Tammy for the most part; the worst thing about her was her allegiance to Miranda, who was a lackluster friend.
    John and I sat in the front of the Blue Bomb, while Tammy sat in the middle of the back seat so she could lean forward and talk to us. John’s face was impassive as he drove the car, but I could tell he was not happy for Tammy’s intrusion.
    “Did you see the front of the newspaper, John?” Tammy enthused. “There was a leading story about you. Your face is the front page.”
    “I missed it,” John replied, disinterested.
    “I hope your parents find you,” she sighed. “I’d be so sad without my parents.”
    “Me too.” I tried to participate in the conversation, so Tammy wouldn’t feel ignored.
    “It’s been over two months, and my parents have made no effort to find me,” John replied darkly, ending the strand of conversation.
    “What are you shopping for?” Tammy tried.
    “John needs a few items of clothing,” I told her.
    “My foster parents have been kind,” John added, begrudgingly, “but I wanted stuff that I picked myself.”
    “Target’s having a menswear sale,” Tammy volunteered.
    “You’ve been to Target.” I laughed, turning to look at Tammy.
    “My Dad says you don’t have money if you spend it all,” she shrugged. “I know all the bargain stores, including the op-shops; just gotta hit them at the right time.”
    Tammy was full of surprises; I was starting to really like her.
    Tammy reluctantly left us at Target to find Miranda, while John and I picked out some clothes for him to try on. I stood in the men’s change room outside the flimsy curtain that doubled as a door, waiting for John to show me his ensemble.
    We heard Miranda before we saw her. “You’re sure they were shopping here?” she asked, disgust tempering her sentence.
    “Yes...” Tammy agreed.
    “Get in here,” John said, pulling me into the change room and whisking the curtain closed behind me. The cubicle had a large mirror and John’s borrowed clothes lay in a heap on the bench. The area was surprisingly large. I gently leaned against a wall with three hooks above me that stated, “Yes,” “Maybe,” “Next time.”
    I examined John’s jeans and surf t-shirt and gave him a silent thumbs-up as Miranda called into the change room. “John? John Smith, are you in here?”
    John pressed his finger to his lips, begging me to be silent. I shook my head with an exasperated smile, while obeying his request.
    “John?” Miranda called, stopping outside our cubicle. “I can see your sneakers.”
    “I’m naked.” He smiled.
    “I don’t think so,” Miranda said, sounding less impressed with each sentence. “I can see Mya’s cheap bargain basement shoes too.”
    “We’re having sex,” he replied.
    My slap bounced off his rock-hard chest, hurting me more than him. He feigned offense, and I giggled.
    “I doubt it,” Miranda disagreed. “She’s on the other side of the cubicle.”
    “I just have a really big...” John began, as I whipped the curtain open.
    “Capacity for joking,” I finished.
    Miranda smiled as she came face-to-face with her prey.
    “Hey, Miranda, Tammy, Tamara, Julia,” I greeted, sweetly.
    “So there’s a party tomorrow night,” Miranda told John, ignoring me. “It’s at my place. I’m having a bachelorette party. I dumped Dylan’s sorry butt.”
    “I thought he...” Tammy began before Miranda elbowed her silent.
    “I’d love you to be there,” she purred, leaning into John’s broad chest.
    “Do you want to go?” he asked me, ignoring Miranda.
    I shrugged, about to decline, when Miranda fixed me with a look that left no room for retreat.
    “Sure,” I agreed.
    “Really?” he fished for a no. “Didn’t we have that thing ..”
    “The thing?” Tammy asked.
    Miranda glared at me.
    “That’s next week.” I shook my head.
    “Fine,” John sighed, moving