Eternal Seduction (The Sexy Series #3) by Kate Edwards Page B

be an artist,” she said, as she sat on the other end of the table.
    I bit into the biscuit, my eyes lit up like torchlights. Nostalgia and wonderment overwhelmed my senses. “My goodness, this is amazing,” I said, catching a large crumb from rolling off the side of my lip.
    “ Glad you like it,” she said. “So what happened?”
    “ Oh yeah, sorry,” I said, while masticating gravy and biscuit mush. “You were right, the place is too dangerous.”
    My mother’s brows curled up. They always did that when she was proven right. “I knew it. So what happened?”
    “ Well, the war next door in the Congo spilled over the border and explosions could be heard just a few miles away. Only the die-hards stayed behind,” I said, again lying through my teeth. I would have to sacrifice an entire week of television and internet for penance as soon as I got back to the convent.
    “ Is it okay if I stay here a couple of nights?” I asked.
    Mother smiled from ear to ear. “Of course,” she said, with pep in her voice.
    We continued our dinner late into the night, catching up on years of missed conversations and dialogue. It was good to be back home.
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    I woke up to the sounds of sparrows chirping outside my window. I reached my arm out to tap the snooze button on my alarm clock, but instead knocked Spirit , the limited edition, albino My Little Pony off the nightstand.
    Mom brought out all my old toys as soon as I left for the convent and placed them all over the room, probably to remind her of the good old days, where I would run into my parents’ bedroom and bounce on top of dad and her, while I begged for pancakes.
    I got up from my twin-sized bed, which was decorated with a frilly princess comforter and matching bed set, and put on my slippers. I noticed a note stuck to the door. I got up and grabbed it, rubbed my eyes and aimed it toward the sunlight that shone through the bedroom window. It read, Gloria’s in town, she wants to see you, call her 412-555-3657, in mother’s beautifully skilled handwriting.
    I folded the note and placed it on my dresser and headed to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal. As I poured a bowl of Cap’n Crunch, I thought long and hard about getting in touch with Gloria. I didn’t think I was in the mood for an awkward meet-up that most certainly would involve discussing a certain situation in a hot tub. However, I grew up with Gloria, and we were practically sisters as we went through school together.
    I picked up the cordless phone and walked into my bedroom with cereal bowl in hand, and dialed Gloria’s phone number.
    “ Hello,” said the familiar, high pitched, cheery, and overtly feminine voice.
    “ Gloria?”
    “ Jessie? Oh my God...how you been?”
    “ Okay, I guess,” I said, while chomping down on a crunch berry.
    “ What are you doing tonight?”
    “ Umm,” I paused, scanning the room for a hair brush. “Nothing, I guess. I’m at mom’s and there really isn’t anything to do.”
    “ You want to hang out for some coffee?”
    “ Sure. What time?”
    “ How about six?”
    “ Yeah...yeah...sounds great! I’ll be at the coffee shop at six.”
    Everyone knew what the coffee shop was.
    “ It’s good to talk to you again, Gloria. I’ve missed you.”
    “ Me too, there is so much that I want to talk to you about.”
    “ That makes two of us,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”
    “ Later, Jess.”
    I hung up the phone and went to my closet to see what my prospective wardrobe looked like. My dresses, shirts, shoes all looked a bit dated, except for the small, skin-tight, black dress. The one I wore the night of the hot tub event.
    I wanted to meet up with Gloria tonight, I had no money, and no car to shop for a new set of clothes. The little black dress had to make do once again.
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    I wen t down to the grocery store to stock up on some of the food I had voraciously eliminated from my mother’s kitchen upon my