The Good Race

Chapter 9

"That's the dress you got!" Ryan stopped in his tracks as Jackie emerged from her room in her prom dress. She looked stunning in a floor-length, red satin dress that clung to all her curves. He had no idea what marvel of fashion engineering was holding her breasts inside it, but he hoped to hell it continued to work. Her hair was up in a riot of curls with a few soft tendrils drifting down around her face. The cut was nearly to her navel and if she tripped in those ridiculous shoes, the whole prom would get a show.

"It's Stella McCartney."

"It's...it's sex on a stick. It's...it's man bait!"

"Man bait?" Jackie asked looking down at herself. "I'm not trying to bait any man; well, maybe one." She moved to the mirror over the living room couch to put on her earrings and studied her reflection. Ryan's stunned face stared back at her.

"Oh, no. Oh, hell, no," Ryan waved his hands and walked over to her. "If you think you're leaving this dorm in that 'tonight's the night' dress, you've got another thing coming Jacqueline."

"Jacqueline? You've certainly never called me that before," Jackie laughed and turned away from the mirror and back to Ryan. She patted his cheek and moved past him. "Don't worry, brother dear, I don't intend tonight to be the night, unless it feels right. I'm not rushing anything. I'm not going to do anything I'm not ready for and Danny would never push the issue." She checked her purse. When she was satisfied with the contents, she closed it up and turned back to Ryan. "But Ryan, Danny loves me, and I love him. When I am ready, it's going to be with him and you're not going to have any say in it."

Ryan scowled at her for a few moments before saying, "You know what? I don't like what that red dress has done to my sister. It's given you crazy ideas. It's turning you into a sex siren."

"It is not," she laughed. "I'm still me, though I do feel fabulous in this dress. I'm looking to get dressed up and go dancing with the boy I love tonight and have a wonderful time. That's it. I love you, Ryan, and I love the way you watch out for me, but you know you can't deny me life's experiences. I can't stayed sheltered."

"I can damn well try," Ryan muttered as he walked to the door to answer the knock.

"He's here!"

"It's just Cooper," Ryan said after peering through the peep hole. "We going to pick up our dates together. I was hoping McKenzie would have picked you up by now."

"He was supposed to be here already," Jackie said, looking down at her watch. "I wonder what's keeping him."

"Well, I'll wait until you leave. I want to make sure you get off okay."

"You mean you want to glower at him and warn him to keep his hands to himself," Jackie scoffed.

"That too," Ryan smirked, opening the door to Cooper.

Cooper stepped inside. His eyes immediately fell on Jackie. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Wow," he said. "McKenzie is a lucky guy."

"All I care about is that he doesn't get lucky," Ryan said, closing the door behind Cooper.

"You look really gorgeous, Jackie, really," Cooper said.

Jackie smiled in return. Cooper seemed sincere in his compliment and for once, wasn't looking at her like he wanted to get her naked. She relaxed a little and thanked him. "I'm going to call Danny and see what's keeping him," she disappeared into her room and closed the door.

Ryan frowned. The look in Jackie's eyes told him that something wasn't right. McKenzie was never late. Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling about this.