Gracie's Game: Sudden Anger, Accidentally on Purpose (34 page)

"She's divorced," Amy continued her litany of criticisms. "You think her husband left her because she cheated on him?"

"Who knows?" Gracie said. "People get divorced all the time for all kinds of reasons. My mom divorced my dad because he got too involved in making money and didn't have time for her."

Kelly gave her a look that clearly said he knew there were other reasons, like the string of pretty young girls her father had dallied with. But he knew better than to say anything in public.

"Anyway, you can't blame her for trying to look good and find another husband," Gracie said, always one to try to find the bright side of things.

"Yeah, right, husband!" Amy said. "I think she just wants to get laid."

Gracie was no prude but she knew she didn't yet understand all the complications of relationships, especially when they included sex. "Is that really so bad?"

"She can be a slut if she wants, but you'd think she'd stick to men her own age," Amy replied.

"Maybe she does, and she's just flirting with the guys on the team," Kelly suggested. None of these young people had any idea of the titillation a marked age difference could add to an affair.

"Do you think she'd do more than flirt with those guys?" Amy asked.

"I've heard things," Kelly volunteered. "But I never really believed it. Some guys will claim anything, if they think it makes 'em look cooler."

"Those
other
guys may be desperate enough to fawn after her, but Jake wouldn't have anything to
do
with her," Amy said loyally.

Out of the corner of her eye Gracie saw the storm door open, a familiar handsome face framed in the doorway.

Chapter 28

A loud cheer came from the living room. All heads turned to see Jake Salazar make his grand entrance, his arm around Allison Davis' shoulders. Jake's Hispanic heritage was obvious in his golden tan skin, brown eyes, and dark hair worn in a slightly shaggy cut that showed off its fullness. His oval face contained a full mouth in a dazzling smile that showed off very white teeth. He was tall, buff from football practice, and incredibly handsome. Every girl's heart skipped a beat just looking at him, whether they were really interested or not. He had that effect.

Jake pumped a fist in the air and called out, "Go, Team!" He enjoyed the perks of being a good running back, but wasn't so egotistical as to think the other guys weren't important too. His attitude was part of what made him so popular. The crowd roared back and people came forward to give high-fives and fist-bumps, or just offer congratulations.

Allison scooted out from under his arm to give him freedom to respond in kind, but she stayed close and had a big smile on her face. Jake had taken her out before, but he dated a lot of girls and she wanted everyone to see that she'd come in with him tonight. With the typical pale complexion of a redhead she wasn't a classic beauty, though she felt her hazel eyes gave her a 'cute' look; even so she was a little insecure.

"Jake's here!" Amy said excitedly. Then added in a snide tone, "With Allison tonight, I see."

Kelly opened his mouth to ask what was wrong with Allison, but Amy rushed off to the other room to greet Jake. "What is the big deal with football heroes?" he asked Gracie instead.

"I think Amy just really wants to be a part of the popular people," she replied. "She hangs around with Bobby Summers and his car-nut buddies at school but then she shows up at events like this, like she wants to be included in their group."

"Bobby's okay," Kelly said. "He's a little shy, especially if you're talking about anything except cars. He knows a lot more about 'em than I ever will, and that Mustang he and his dad are restoring will be awesome when it's done."

"It just seems odd," Gracie mused. "It's like Bobby's her buddy but I don't think she sees him outside of school, and I've never seen her with a date at any school event."

"Lots of girls don't bring dates," he said. "You didn't used to." He smiled at her.

She grinned back. "That was before I met you. I want to go get some of that queso Andrea said was so good, now that I've got room on my plate."

"You go ahead, I'm not done yet. I'll steal some of the chips off your plate when you get back."

Gracie made her way to the food table and ladled a pool of queso onto her plate noting that the Crockpot was almost empty, adding a couple of handfuls of chips. She was surveying the other snacks when she noticed Meaghan Pruitt standing at the other end of the table with an empty plate in her hand. Meaghan reached up to brush her bangs out of her eyes and back into their accustomed slanted position across her forehead, then flipped a shoulder-length strand of dark blonde hair over her shoulder.

Gracie saw a quick flash of light from the tiny jewel on the silver purity ring Meaghan always wore. Personally she thought it was a bit zealous; the only one you really needed to promise purity to was yourself. But then Meaghan's family was very religious and rich, too; the jewel was probably real. Meaghan was a popular girl usually surrounded by friends, and she'd be the one giggling so Gracie wondered why she was alone.

"Hi, Meaghan," Gracie said. "There's so much here it's hard to decide what to eat first, isn't there."

"I know, right?" Meaghan said. "It's just that I'm not feeling very good tonight, my stomach's upset, and all this stuff looks so greasy."

"Hope you're not coming down with the flu," Gracie said, concerned. She scooped up some queso with a chip and munched.

"No, it's not that," Meaghan assured her, looking a little queasy at Gracie's gusto. "I haven't been sleeping very good; I think it's stress from getting everything ready for Homecoming. Hopefully I'll feel better after the weekend."

"Then you don't want this stuff, it's really spicy!" Gracie told her. "A few chips might help settle your stomach. Get some rest over the weekend, and I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, Gracie," Meaghan said with a wan smile. "I hope so, too."

There was a crowd around the buffet when she returned, so she squeezed in next to Kelly. They re-hashed the night's game and festivities, added bits of gossip and opinions on the latest music. Jake had joined his teammates clustered around Maggie Lane, but now wandered over to the food table.

"Hey, Maggie!" Jake called loudly, adding a piercing whistle to get her attention over the loud music and buzz of conversation. "Got any more of this queso?" He pointed to the Crockpot.

"Sure do!" Maggie called. She turned to the others and said, "Back in a jiffy."

Maggie sauntered across the room, her hips swaying in an almost exaggerated motion, and disappeared into the kitchen. She came back carrying a sauce pan and began pouring its contents into the Crockpot. When she was through she used her finger to wipe the edge of the pan so it wouldn't drip, and then stood there looking for a napkin.

"Here, let me take care of that for you," Jake said.

He took Maggie's hand and brought it to his open mouth; she got the idea and stuck her finger in up to the knuckles. Jake made a production of licking and sucking the sticky cheese from her finger, and Maggie closed her eyes as if in ecstasy. Jake's teammates roared their approval of this display.

"That was
disgusting
!" Amy said.

Everyone else seemed to agree. Gracie made a mental note to herself to ask Kelly just what kind of rumors he'd heard about the teacher. Thankfully the noisy group left the dining area after that scene, taking the noise level down so they could actually hear each other for awhile.

Gracie was only half listening to a discussion of a new movie she had no desire to see, one whose main purpose seemed to be showing as many explosions and car crashes as possible resulting in way too much blood and guts for her taste. She noticed Allison wander through the room carrying an empty plastic water bottle. Although there was a trash can at the end of the folding table Allison headed for the kitchen. When she came out a couple of minutes later the bottle was about one quarter full.

"That's odd," Gracie muttered to herself.

"What?" asked Elyzabeth.

"Why would Allison put just a little water in her bottle? Why not fill it all the way up?"

Elyzabeth laughed. "Because she doesn't want to drink a whole bottle of vodka!"

"Vodka?" Gracie asked, shocked. She knew some of the students drank when they could, but she'd have never thought it of Allison.

"You didn't know?" the other girl asked. "I thought everyone knew that."

"But Allison's always going on about how she wants to be a doctor," Gracie said. "You'd think she'd know better."

"Yeah, and she's always under stress, at least to hear her tell it. She's
got
to get good grades so she can get into med school. Plus every time she has some odd symptom she's convinced she's contracted some weird disease."

"Sounds like my Aunt Jeanine," Gracie told her. "She's always coming down with something but never has the money to go to the doctor. I think it's just an excuse not to get anything done, myself."

"I think Allison takes all that medical stuff too seriously," Elyzabeth said. "Or maybe it's her way of getting attention. Did you see that smirk on her face when she came in with Jake while ago? Like it was some kind of coup? He'll be taking someone else out tomorrow night."

"That is
so
true," Gracie agreed. "I bet Mrs. Lane will be mad when she finds out about the vodka, though."

"Oh, like she cares. I bet most of the bottle went in those cups the team have."

Gracie's first thought was that she'd promised her mother there would be no liquor at the party; her second that since she and Kelly weren't drinking she could ignore the situation, and know better than to attend another of the teacher's parties. She began to understand why her mother hadn't thought it was such a good idea to come.

"Coach would be mad if he found out," Gracie said a little lamely.

Elyzabeth shrugged. "I'm not tellin'. But I think I'll make sure to leave before any of them get behind the wheel."

The party went on and Gracie and Kelly moved from group to group, though they avoided the noisy throng hanging around Maggie Lane. From time to time they could hear her high-pitched laughter and it seemed obvious that she was imbibing fairly heavily whether she was spiking the football team's drinks or not. They were enjoying themselves and uninterested in whatever was going on with that bunch.

Gracie was looking over the food choices again, though she found herself avoiding the queso even if it had been tasty. She happened to look out the sliding glass door to the patio as she tried to make up her mind what she wanted to eat. Though it was a cool night, people had been going in and out during the evening; some couples wanted privacy to make out, a few went to smoke a cigarette or maybe a joint. But what caught her attention was seeing Jake and Meaghan sitting at the patio table in earnest conversation.

She watched a couple more minutes, then beckoned Kelly over. "What's up with them?" she asked.

"You think she's mad because Jake brought Allison to the party?" Kelly suggested.

"Could be, I guess," Gracie allowed. There was just enough moonlight that they could sort of see Meaghan's face. "But she looks more upset than mad, don't you think?"

"Don't know why she'd be upset," Kelly offered. "Jake does seem to date her a lot, but it's not like they're a couple or anything."

"Maybe she's breaking up with him," Gracie mused. "She told me earlier that her stomach didn't feel good, it could've been nerves."

"How could they break up if they're not a couple?" Kelly asked innocently.

"Well, maybe she
wants
to be a couple," Gracie said, one eyebrow raised at the unaccustomed denseness of her boyfriend.

"Oh, yeah," Kelly said. "Like
that
will happen. She ought to know that Jake plays the field, both in and out of the stadium."

Gracie shook her head at the pun, but laughed as well. "None of our business, I guess," she said.

They went back to the party. Emily Parker was in the middle of a breathless recitation of some minor event that she managed to turn into a crisis. She waved her hands wildly in the air and used her expressive blue eyes to help make her current point; then, suddenly conscious of her looks, would finger-comb her long curly auburn hair while she enjoyed the reaction her story had gotten. Gracie reflected that it was appropriate that the Drama Queen belonged to the Drama Club.

"Hey, stop that!" Maggie Lane suddenly shouted. She lunged out of the protective circle of young men to point a finger at Madison Stevens who was gliding across the living room on heelies. Maggie took a step forward and swayed a little, glaring at Madison. "You're leaving black marksh on the floor," she accused.

Madison turned toward the teacher and let her toes dip toward the floor to stop herself. She grinned, unrepentant, mumbled "Sorry", and bent down to work the mechanism that retracted the wheels into the soles of her shoes. She shook her head to settle the reverse bob of light brown hair and walked off. Maggie retreated to her spot on the couch, helped by one of the boys. She handed her cup to another young man who took it and headed toward the kitchen.

But Madison couldn't resist one more trick. Always the tomboy, she stalked up the two steps into the dining area, then slid down the wrought iron handrail calling out "Whee!"

Jake whipped his head around at the sound, then dashed across the room to catch her in his arms as she flew off the end. He set her on her feet, kissed her cheek, and went back to his teammates.