Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,63
her life and moved to Boggy Creek a few years ago.
I knew it had to be hard for her, and I wouldn’t even try to understand what it was like to be a person of color living in a predominantly all-white community. Everyone in my immediate circle welcomed her with open arms, including my folks, who simply adored her. Kyle and Bishop, of course, tried to sleep with her for at least a year. Candace had fun with it and flirted shamelessly, only to keep turning them down. It was kind of fun watching them chase after her. Candace was stunningly beautiful, both inside and out. I was positive I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the last five years without her by my side.
When she walked into the room, I couldn’t help but smile. Her shoulder-length curly hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head, and she wore a light blue sweater with black pants. She looked like she was ready to take on the world, but I knew better. She wanted answers about last night, and she was going to get them.
With a smile, I said, “Don’t you look nice.”
Her soft pink lips pulled into a hard frown as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at me with her deep brown eyes. “I was at church, where your ass should have been, confessing all those delicious sins you are about to tell me.”
I felt my cheeks turn red. This was the first Sunday I had missed going to church with her in a long time.
I knew Candace wasn’t mad about me missing mass; she had missed a few Sunday morning services herself. No, she was pissed I hadn’t filled her in on the date last night yet.
With a huff, she walked into the room in full-blown bitch mode. “I cannot believe you’ve been ignoring––”
Her words stopped as she came to an abrupt halt. Her mouth dropped open, and she blinked rapidly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Oh. My. Gawd,” Candace replied, her mouth falling open once again.
“What!”
With a slow shake of her head, she walked closer to me, bringing her hand up to her mouth.
“Are you…are you about to cry?” I asked in disbelief. “Did something happen?”
Stopping right in front of me, Candace dropped her hand and reached for both of mine while she nodded frantically. “Yes. Yes! It’s happened. Praise Jesus Almighty, it’s finally happened!”
“What’s happened?” I asked, so confused I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack. “What’s happened!”
A wide grin moved over her face. “You had sex! No, no, wait.” She held up her hand and then pointed at me. “You had hot, passionate, orgasm-inducing sex!”
My eyes widened, and I opened and closed my mouth at least five times. When my voice finally caught up to my brain, I replied, “What…do you mean?”
Candace rolled her eyes. “Don’t even go there with me. I know you too well. You are way too relaxed right now. I also have it on good authority that you didn’t come home last night.”
“Who told you that? Is nothing in this town private?”
She folded her arms across her chest and gave me a cheeky grin. “Actually, I didn’t really know that, total fishing expedition, but thank you for confirming it.”
I gasped. “You lied! And on a Sunday!”
With a one-shoulder shrug, she replied, “I misled you, and, hello, you shouldn’t lie any day of the week, not just on Sunday. Are you not learning anything from church, Greer?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “That’s the same damn thing, Candace.”
“Whatever. We’re moving on from that. Tell me all about it!” She turned and looked at the outfit laid out on the bed. “Oh, no. Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing?”
I looked at my jeans and sweater. “What’s wrong with it?”
Candace kicked off her heels and rushed into my closet. “First off, it’s your birthday dinner with your folks. Secondly, I do have it on good authority that Hot Word Man is joining you.”
I almost laughed at Hudson’s description.
She peeked her head out of the closet. “I ran into Kyle at the hardware store before I called you. He told me Hudson would be joining you guys for dinner.”
“Yes, he is,” I confirmed.
Ducking back into the closet, she called out, “So it’s another date.”
I started to argue it wasn’t a date, but then pressed my lips together. It was most certainly another date. And it was at my parents’ house.