Free Aged to Perfection by Lauren Fraser

about sex too,” Lisa said.
    “I don’t know. You’re pretty obvious, and so far, you haven’t managed to snag him,” a second woman replied.
    “Come on, she comes in here with her fuck-me hair and little striptease. God. I hope when I am her age I’m not desperate and trying to snag guys half my age.” Lisa’s catty remarks shot into Rachel like a hollow point, tearing her chest apart. Rachel clasped her hand to her heart and backed away from the kitchen.
    It was true what they say—you never hear anything good when you eavesdrop. She stumbled into the bathroom, desperate to gain some semblance of control over herself. Propping her arms on the sink, she looked at herself in the mirror. Was Lisa right? Was she just a pathetic cougar? Was Mark only with her because she was so easy?
    Her mind immediately played back over their encounters. Instead of remembering the connection that she had with Mark, she thought about how she was so eager to try everything he suggested. Things she couldn’t have imagined she’d be willing to do. She covered her mouth as a cry threatened to escape.
    Breathing deeply, she studied her reflection. She might be old but she wasn’t dead. Sheila was right, with her age came a certain amount of experience. Class that these young girls just didn’t have, and she’d be damned if she would let them see her damaged.
    She finger-combed her hair. Well, at least now that she’d been swimming, her hair didn’t look like ’fuck-me hair’. Mark had said it looked hot. Clearly men and women had different opinions on hair.
    Feeling a bit more together, Rachel squared her shoulders and headed back to the party. She pasted on a smile and sat beside Mark. He grabbed her hand, encompassing it in warmth. When she didn’t respond, he squeezed her fingers until she looked at him, and shot her a questioning look before letting go of her hand.
    Alright, maybe she wasn’t quite as good at hiding her feelings as she thought. Rachel smiled at him then turned her attention back to the conversation floating around her. After firing several weird looks at her over the next hour, Mark stood and took her hand pulling her up out of her seat. “Alright guys, we’re heading out,” he told the group.
    Puzzled, Rachel glanced at him. He winked at her in reply. She turned to Tony. “Thanks for having us.”
    Tony stood and hugged her. “My pleasure. Anytime.”
    At the car, Mark held the door open for her. Rachel looked up at him. “We didn’t have to leave so early. I know I’m old, but I can last past nine o’clock.”
    Mark’s forehead wrinkled. “What are you talking about? You seemed upset when you came outside. I figured you’d been enough of a trooper, staying an extra hour.”
    “Was I ruining your night?” she asked, wincing at her own catty tone.
    “Jesus,” he muttered, then walked around to his side of the car and slipped in behind the wheel.
    Mark pulled the truck onto the road. “You want to tell me what’s going on? Did somebody say something to upset you?”
    Rachel played back the conversation she had overheard. It was just too humiliating. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “Whatever.” Mark sighed.
    They rode in silence the rest of the way to her house. As he rounded the corner onto her street, his phone rang. He reached for it from the centre console and knocked the phone on the floor by her feet. Adjusting her seatbelt, Rachel leant down and picked it up. Her eyes landed on the text message on the screen.
    Luvd R. Gonna get me a cougar 2. Roar .
    When Mark pulled into her driveway, Rachel tossed the phone on his lap. He glanced down at it and groaned.
    “Mark, I can’t do this,” she said, jumping out of the car and racing towards the house. He quickly followed her slamming his door behind him.
    Catching up with her at the end of the drive, he grabbed her arm. “You can’t do this?”
    “I’m not cut out for all the snickering and jokes. This was supposed to be fun, and