Page 19 of September Lessons
“Still a huge step up from what I’m used to. Where I’m from, looking at a girl wrong might get you kicked out.”
Leigh-Ann tilted her head to one quizzical side. “Is that why you got expelled from your old school?”
Oh, she walked right into that one. Before Leigh-Ann could get the wrong – or right, honestly – idea, Carrie said, “Look at thewronggirl the wrong way, I should say. Depending where you are and who your folks are, they don’t care as much about that anymore. Get some spiel about Jesus and making your grandmother have a heart attack, but I know a few out girls in the area I’m from. Guys, though… ah, it’s another story.”
“I bet.”
Carrie had another thought. “You said kids go making out on that hill, too, right?” She shot Leigh-Ann a diabolical look. Not quite flirtatious. Maybe enough. “Yet that was the first place you invited me to go with you a couple week ago. Hm, Leigh-Ann? What’s up with that?
She was pretty when she blushed, wasn’t she?Not the first time I’ve had that thought…Leigh-Ann had the right number of freckles that blushing connected them together in an intricate constellation. Her skin had a healthy sheen of sweat, too, that implied she wasn’t afraid to go out and get a little exercise.Must not be if she’s asking about climbing hills.Leigh-Ann’s bike leaned against the building. It might have been mid-September in an area known for its cooler temperatures, but biking in jeans and a sweatshirt would give a girl a certain glow.
Am I really checking her out right now? Of all the times…Like Christina, Leigh-Ann had made her sexual affiliation clear. Paradise Valley may have touted itself as a lesbian haven, but Carrie had yet to score any luck on that front. Maybe it was the school.Do I want to date anyone from that school, anyway?Leigh-Ann was the only one worthy so far. All the good it did Carrie.
“Like I said, there ain’t much to do around here.” Leigh-Ann cast her eyes down to the table. “I wasn’t gonna take you up the hill to make out with you!”
“Too bad, huh?” Carrie winked at her. “You’re over eighteen.”
“Ew.” Ah, there was the scoff Carrie was looking for. The only time Leigh-Ann was cuter was when she ate her school sandwiches with so much gusto that lettuce fell out of her mouth.It’s cute, all right?“Besides, I wasn’t gonna invite you again. Starting to get colder and a bit rainier. Not a great place to go if you wanna smoke.”
“There was so much pot at that party last night I think I might still have a contact high.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“You think we didn’t have pot in Alabama?”
“I think you didn’t have legalized pot…”
She had Carrie there. “So, where are you inviting me now? A barn?”
“I’m not inviting you nowhere if you keep talking like that.”
“You know I don’t mean anything by it.” Carrie jerked her head toward the clock hanging on the wall. “I’ve gotta get back to work soon,andI need to pee before the rush starts. You gonna be around later?”
Leigh-Ann looked like she didn’t want to answer that. “What time do you get off work?”
“Nine.”
“Oh. That’s a bit late. I have to be up early tomorrow for church.”
“Church!” Carrie slapped her hand against her heart. “Church?Lee-Ann Hardy,” yes, she accidentally said the wrong name, but that’s what happened when the full accent came out, “you telling me you’re a good Christian girl cavorting with a trashy heathen like me?”
That attracted the attention of the two coworkers in the back, both of whom snickered at Carrie’s judicious use of her Southern accent. Unfortunately for Leigh-Ann, she probably thought they were judging her for going to church. “My parents go, okay?” she whispered across the table. “Sometimes I go with them because it ain’t so bad! Not like I’m a ragin’ evangelical or something!”
Carrie burst into laughter that had her gripping her side and wondering if she would ever breathe again. “Relax, hon! I don’t care if you’re a Mormon or a JW or whatever.”
“We’re Methodist!”
“Same difference depending where you’re from.”
“Not around here…”
Carrie had yet to learn the finer differences between denominations in this part of the world, but she knew one thing – she had made Leigh-Ann slightly uncomfortable, and it was imperative they smooth things over before seeing each other again at school on Monday.
“I’m sorry.” Carrie forced the laughter out of her system. “Didn’t mean to twist you up like that. Guess I’m surprised anyone goes to church in a place like this.”
“If it makes you feel any better, they all at least pretend to be super progressive and for the gays or whatever.”
“Sign me up for Jesus, then!”
