Gerri Hill - One Summer Night

"Pancakes?"

"And scrambled eggs?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

Jo was just starting breakfast when the phone rang, and though she thought about letting the machine get it, she picked it up on the third ring.

"Jo?"

"Yes."

"It's Deb."

Jo glanced guiltily down the hall, as if Deb could hear Kelly in the shower.

"Good morning," she said.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," Jo said.

"Kelly said you were feeling ill last night. You should have said something, I would have taken you home."

Ill? What kind of ill? Why hadn't she bothered asking Kelly what she had said to them? Because she was too concerned with what they were about to do, that's why!

"Thank you, Deb. I just had too much to drink, and I was feeling a little queasy. Kelly insisted that she take me home."

“Well, it just seemed strange, her leaving poor Lucy there.”

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“I suppose.” Jo didn’t know what Deb expected her to say. Poor Lucy?

"I hope she didn't try anything," Deb said.

"I don't know what you mean," Jo said quietly.

"Lucy's told me how she is. How she goes out all the time, even though they've been dating since the summer.

She even hits on women in front of Lucy."

Oh, God, Jo thought. She didn't need to hear this so early this morning, not after last night.

"They've been dating since summer?" she asked weakly.

"Oh, yes. I thought you knew. Lucy’s head-over-heels in love. Kelly treats her this way and Lucy still wants to move in with her. Go figure."

Move in with her? Jo felt sick to her stomach. Kelly had lied to her. After last night, Jo had decided that she had been wrong about Kelly, that her reputation was undeserved. But it was like Nancy all over again, the lies she told, the stories Jo would hear from her friends. When was she going to learn? She had known from the beginning that Kelly was no good for her. She had known about her reputation and still, she had let herself be fooled into thinking that she was not like Nancy.

"Had I known that she and Lucy were so involved, I would never have accepted a ride from her. I hope Lucy doesn’t think it was my idea.” Actually, Jo could not care less what Lucy thought.

“I’m just glad you’re okay and she didn’t try anything.”

“I’m fine,” Jo lied.

"Well, she's very attractive,” Deb continued. “I can see how someone could be swayed by her."

Swayed? Is that what had happened last night?

"I've got to go, Deb. I'm going to Harry's and he's expecting me. Thanks for calling.”

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She hung up without waiting for Deb's reply and gripped the countertop hard, her eyes shut tight against the threatening tears. How could she have been so foolish?

When would she ever learn?

"Jo?"

Jo kept her back to Kelly while she tried to get herself under control. She would not let Kelly see her cry!

"What's wrong?"

"That was Deb," she said.

"Deb?"

"On the phone."

"I didn't hear it ring," Kelly said.

Jo turned around slowly, but she refused to meet Kelly's eyes.

"How long have you been sleeping with Lucy?"

"What?” She stared at her, lines breaking her smooth brow into a frown. "I’ve not slept with her. I already told you that."

"Deb says that you've been dating since summer."

"Is that why she called?"

"She called to see how I was. She's a friend," Jo said.

"And in asking how you were, she just happened to mention that Lucy and I had been seeing each other?"

"Something like that," Jo said. "She was concerned that you might have forced yourself on me."

"And did I?" Kelly asked.

"No," Jo admitted, finally daring to meet her eyes.

Kelly walked into the kitchen and stood in front of Jo and held her gaze tightly. "Lucy and I went out a few times when I first moved here, but I never slept with her. I could have. She didn't exactly make it a secret that she wanted to.

But I swear, we’ve been nothing but friends.”

Jo said nothing, but she didn't look away.

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"How can you believe that?" Kelly asked, her dark eyes piercing Jo's.

"I refused to believe it with Nancy, even after Betsy and Janis said they had seen her with this other woman. I didn't listen to my friends at the beginning, either. Nancy came with a long list of exes and a reputation fit for the gutter, but I wouldn't listen."

"I'm not Nancy."

"No? Well, maybe I just don't want to be another notch on your belt," Jo said.

"After everything that happened last night, you'd believe that? Hell, maybe I should go check your headboard. You probably have notches all over it. After all, you're the one who brought me here. Twice, now," she said angrily.

Jo stared at her, feeling as if she'd been slapped. "How dare you say that?"

"Oh? Do we have different rules for me?"

"That's not what I meant," Jo said.

"Jo, wake up! Did it ever occur to you that Deb may have an ulterior motive?"

"Like what?"

"She likes you. She wants you. You’d have to be blind not to see that. Do you think she didn't know something was going on with us last night? That’s the only reason she called."

"You're wrong. She doesn't like me that way. We've been friends for too long. She wouldn't lie to me," Jo insisted.

"But I would?"

Jo stared at her, not knowing what to say. Her silence said it all, however.

"I can't believe you," Kelly whispered. "If you want to think that last night meant nothing, that it was just about sex, well, that's fine.”

She walked away from Jo, then stopped. "I guess you're 130

right. There's not anything between us. My mistake for thinking that there could be," she said bitterly. "You've got to have trust in a relationship, any kind of a relationship, and we don't have that. I'm not so certain any more that we can even be friends, much less lovers."

Jo saw the hurt in her eyes as she walked to the door.

"Kelly, don't leave like this," Jo pleaded.

"Why? There's nothing else to say, Johanna.” Their eyes met. "I'm not one of the bad guys, but I can't make you believe that," she said softly.

"I didn't say that you were, but Nancy hurt me more than I care to remember. I can't take that chance again."

"I'm not Nancy. I've never cheated on anyone."

They stared at each other in silence, both weighing the words between them.

"I'm truly sorry, Jo.”

Their eyes held for a moment longer and Jo saw how terribly hurt Kelly was, but she didn't stop her from walking out the door. She wouldn't allow herself.

She stood in the kitchen for a long time after Kelly drove away, then made herself move. She refused to acknowledge the pain that she had seen in Kelly's eyes and that she was the one who had put it there. It was better to end it now.

She called Harry later that afternoon and invited him out to dinner.

"Why don't you come over here, Jo-Jo? I've got some ribs soaking in a marinade. I was going to put them on the smoker."

"Okay. I'll be over by five."

They spent the evening together, and Jo was pleased that Harry seemed to be in a good mood. He talked nonstop and didn't seem to notice how quiet Jo was until she was getting ready to go.

"Tell me what's wrong, Jo-Jo," he said, startling her.

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"Nothing, Harry."

"Don't lie to your grandfather, girl," he said sternly.

"My personal life sucks," she finally admitted, drawing a smile from him.

"This woman you've met?" he asked.

She nodded. "Kelly."

"And?"

"I like her, but she's not right for me."

"What's not right?"

"She's too much like Nancy," she said. But was she really? "With a reputation like hers, anyway."

"I don't think you need to get involved with someone like Nancy, Jo-Jo.” He looked at her. "But you're already involved?"