Black Tuesday

Author:Susan Colebank
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

“What do you mean she’s Diane’s stepdaughter?”

“Young lady, keep your voice down.”

Jayne had cornered her mom by the stone grill outside. They were behind a bougainvillea bush that hid them.

And their argument.

“Fine.” In a lower voice that was just as pissed, Jayne overly enunciated her next question: “What is she do-ing here?”

“Don’t take that tone, little girl.” Her mother crossed her arms, her silicone boobs showing even more cleavage in the black bikini. “I didn’t know that Lori was Diane’s stepdaughter. God, Diane just got remarried a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know the name of the guy or his history.”

Which made sense, actually. Gen wasn’t big into details. Especially if they had nothing to do with her.

“Hey, stranger.”

Jayne turned to see Darian walking up behind her, his Hawaiian swim trunks showing off muscular calves and his open button-down showing off a six-pack.

He almost made her forget who was here.

Almost.

“Hello there.” Gen’s voice was no-nonsense. “I’m Gen Thompkins, Jayne’s mom. You’re . . . ?”

“Darian, Mrs. Thompkins.”

“And you know Jayne from . . .” Gen, the consummate interviewer, led with another open-ended question.

“The Outreach program, ma’am. Building up my college résumé, just like Jayne here.”

“That’s good to hear.” Gen’s tone was distracted. She lifted her hand to wave at someone. “If you’ll excuse me, Damon, my producer just got here and I need to speak to him about a few story ideas. Excuse me, will you?”

She didn’t wait for an answer.

“Your mom is Gen Thompkins?”

Jayne raised her eyebrows. “What does it matter?”

They stood staring at each other in silence for a few moments, Jayne unsure how to take Darian knowing who her mom was.

“Feel like taking a dip?” He tilted his head toward the pool, a smile emerging on his lips.

Jayne turned, taking in the scene. From the “Marco” and “Polo!” she heard, she could guess what was going on. In the dark, it was hard to make out who was out there.

She could, however, make out Ellie in the Jacuzzi, holding court with a group of her mall buddies.

Ellie’s eyes were fixed on them.

“I don’t have my swimsuit on.”

“No worries.” Before she knew it, strong arms slid under her knees and behind her shoulder blades.

“Aaahh!” Jayne clasped her arms around his neck, afraid that her head was about to connect with the concrete. “Darian! Put me down!”

“What’s that you say?” Jayne opened her eyes to find herself a few inches from his face. He was smiling, two dimples creasing the sides of his cheeks. “You want me to put you down?”

She felt a smile pulling at her lips. She nodded. “Yes, please.”

He shrugged, and her body went up and down with the effort. Gorgeous and strong. “Alrighty, then.”

Before she knew what he was doing, he stepped up to the edge of the pool and jumped in—with her still in his arms. About a second before he did it, Jayne realized what he was about to do and took a breath. Which was the only reason she didn’t drown when the water came up over her head.

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