Free CONVICTION (INTERFERENCE) by Kimberly Schwartzmiller Page B

again!”
    “No, I didn’t. Actually…”
    “Good, because you know it’s the only time we’re ever really separated. So, what did you do while I was in Aspen?” she asked.
    “I fell in love.” There I said it, out loud, and it felt great!
    “What do you mean, you fell in love? With whom?”
    “Do you remember the guy…?”
    “It’s not Parker? Oh, of course it’s not Parker. You hate Parker.”
    “I don’t ‘hate’ Parker, but it’s not…”
    “No, don’t tell me. I want to guess. Um, is it Ted Jamison? No, wait, it’s got to be Josh Cartwright. That’s it huh, it’s Josh…?”
    “No, it’s…”
    “NO! I told you, I want to guess. Rick Blakely? He’s always had a thing for you,” she finally stopped talking, certain she had it all figured out.
    “Are you done?”
    She nodded, but was eagerly awaiting my confirmation of her latest guess.
    The bell rang, and she said, “Well, am I right? Come on, spill it!”
    I decided to keep her in suspense a little longer. “I’ll see you after school. You can meet him then.”
    “Meet him? Don’t I already know him?”
    “Well, sort of. See you after seventh.”
                 
    “Hi, are you ready to go?”
    We’d been dating for over two weeks now and yet he still took my breath away and triggered that unstoppable blush whenever I saw him. “Yes, almost. I wanted to introduce you to Jillian…” I said, knowing he was less than thrilled with the idea of my friend being back from vacation.
    But, true to form, and his ever-present good nature, he smiled and nodded and waited for the inevitable. He knew she was going to hate him. He wasn’t wrong.
    “So, who…?” she stopped when she saw us talking.
    “Jillian, we were waiting for you. This is…”
    “You’re that guy from the mall!” she said with a grimace.
    “Jillian, this is Shane. Shane, Jillian,” I said, hoping to shut her up.
    “Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, ignoring Shane completely.
    I looked up into his eyes and knew I had nothing to hide from him.
    “I’ll wait for you over…” Shane said.
    “No, stay.” I turned to my best friend of 13 years and said, “Jillian, Shane and I are dating. We’ve been dating since…well, since you left.”
    “Casual fling?” she snapped, evidently irritated by my use of the word dating.
    “Jillian, please be nice.”
    “Nice? Why should I be nice about you dating…him? He’s…”
    “STOP! He’s wonderful, and kind and caring.”
    “Yeah, until he’s tired of using you!”
    I took a deep breath. “Jillian, we’ve been friends for 13 years, and I’ve always over-looked your pretentious, over-bearing attitude. But, if you want to continue our friendship, then you need to adjust your attitude, or we’re done.” It needed to be said, and I knew that she’d probably storm off, telling me we were through, but she’d come around in a day or two and we’d make up and eventually she’d accept Shane. But, I already knew that even though I hated the thought of losing my best friend, if push came to shove, I’d stand by Shane. And, as I stood there staring into my best friends eyes, defending him, that’s when I knew I was madly in love with him.
    “You can’t be serious! You’re willing to throw away our friendship over some guy you met at the mall? Some guy who’s just trying to get into your pants?”
    “Jillian, I’m not out to hurt Rebecca.”
    “Don’t call me Jillian. You don’t know me!”
    “JILLIAN!” I shouted.
    “What? You expect me to just keep quiet and not tell you you’re making a mistake? His friend ripped you off!  It was a set up.”
    “It wasn’t a set up. Shane made him give the card back.”
    “Yes, it was. I’m not stupid. He brought it back to get to you. You’re blind if you think this guy cares about you. Get over him, he’s bad news!”
    “I can’t get over him, Jillian. I love him.”
    She looked at me like I had three heads. She threw up her hands