Free Bloods Gem by Gloria Conway Page A

she said laughing. We all started laughing and she invited
him inside for dinner.

Chapter Eleven
    Faith
     
    Weeks flew by. Maybe because Chris and I
spent so much time together and it still did not seem enough. I
wanted to be with him every moment. I knew it was probably
unhealthy, but found it difficult to break out of the daze he had
me in.
    I tried to fill my emptiness with his
presence and it was working, though I still had the feeling there
was more to life. I felt anxious, as if waiting for something and
tried not to think about it much, because I figured it was just the
new environment and people.
    I had become more open to friendships. It
seemed easier some how. Kate and I became closer and our first
night out, she wanted to take me to poker night. She wanted to go
eat dinner first. Excited about the event, I had never went out
much with other girls and thought it might be fun.
    I was trying to find something cute to wear
for the night.
    I found a blue, long-sleeve blouse, and
grabbed a pair of pants from the laundry. Spritzing them with good
dose of raspberry body spray, I threw them on.
    After a little eyeliner and lipstick and
pulling my hair back, I was good to go. “There,” I said, smiling at
my reflection in the mirror.
    Picking me up at six, Kate was excited. She
looked ready to jump out of her seat. “Guess what!” She yelled,
looking at me as if I knew her secret.
    I looked at her shaking my head and gestured
with open palms. “Mike wants me to be his girlfriend!” She
squealed.
    “ Wow awesome,” I said
enthused.
    Driving around Fayetteville trying to find a
good place to eat, I endured her high-pitched chattering. I
daydreamed about Chris and wondered if he would come to poker
night.
    I had not talked to him
all day, figuring a little distance would be good. We stopped at
Logan’s Steak House. After we gorged ourselves we headed to poker
night.
    Pulling up to Mike's house, we could see
David, Melissa and Drew standing outside. I guessed Mike was inside
getting the poker table ready.
    Kate checked herself in the mirror, fixing
make-up and fluffing her hair.
    Melissa and Drew were arguing out front
about an essay for English class, while David sat on the steps
holding a beer whistling, seeming amused.
    Inside, Mike wore dark glasses. A
cigarette hung from his lips and he seemed entertained counting
poker chips in stacks and mumbling to himself. Hearing us walk in,
he stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray, walked up to Kate and picked her
up.
    “ Hey sexy thing,” he said, picking her
up as he kissed her.
    She giggled and straddled Mike's body with
her tiny legs. They plopped down on the sofa making out.
    Feeling uncomfortable, I went outside to
give them some alone time.
    Injected myself into Melissa and Drew’s
conversation, I suggested topics they could agree on. Thanking me,
they finally agreed on one of my suggestions. The group began
walking back into the house so I followed.
    Kate and Mike were already sitting at the
poker table as came into the kitchen. Taking our seats, Mike began
dealing.
    Hours flew by and it came down to me
and Drew. Eventually we decided it was a draw, though we were
both very competitive and neither of us
wanted to give up.
    Mike suggested we each put ten dollars in to
make the game more exciting. Digging into our pockets and purses to
donate, a loud thump from outside attracted our attention. A sound
like the bass from a car stereo, but it stopped in front of the
house. Mike went to the window, looking out.
    He looked back at us and smiled, then opened
the door for whoever was interrupting our game. A tall platinum
blond girl walked in.
    I became self-conscious. She was beautiful.
Skin tanned, as if she had just returned from some far away island.
Bright blue eyes and the perfect body.
    Behind her, stood Chris. My stomach
knotted. What was he doing with
her? I felt myself sinking into my seat, hands
clinging to it. He threw his arm around her, as if she was a