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CHAPTER TWENTY NINE | ONTO THE NEXT STAGE
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i suppose there may be a hundred different ways of being in love.
-jane austen
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"So, is Jackie Hanlon finally gonna let loose and get drunk on this totally bitchin' night?" Laura asked, slinging an arm around Jackie's shoulders and holding her clutch in Jackie's face like a microphone.
Rolling her eyes, Jackie pushed down Laura's hand. "No, she will not."
"Boo!" Laura, Shelly, and Marty all choroused.
"Wrong answer, bud," Marty added, staring at his reflection in the window of his car. He adjusted his cap and winked at himself. "Tonight is the night to let loose, Jackie! No more consequences after this!"
"Yeah," Shelly snorted, filling in her lipstick with the help of a compact mirror. "I mean, what are they gonna do? Take back your diploma?"
"Guys, you've known me for nearly two years," Jackie said, looking down at her watch. "When have I ever expressed the desire to let loose and get drunk?"
"Never because you're the strangest person I've ever met," Marty teased, whacking the corner of Jackie's cap.
"Or maybe I'm just far more well adjusted than any of you," Jackie retorted, fixing her cap. She looked back down at her watch and then back at the parking lot. "Guys, it's almost six— where's Steve? He should've been here, like, fifteen minutes ago."
Graduation was scheduled to start in less than twenty minutes and Steve was nowhere to be seen. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Jackie pushed up on her toes and scanned the parking lot again to make sure she wasn't missing anything.
"Calm down," Shelly said, placing her hands on Jackie's shoulders and settling her. She had an easy smile on her face and not a single worry in her eyes. "He'll be here. You know he'd never miss something like this."
Shelly was right. Jackie was just being paranoid. Nodding, she put her feet back flat on the ground and exhaled heavily to calm herself. Within no time at all, the familiar sound of Steve's car's engine revved into the parking lot. He smoothly parked in the space next to Marty's car and climbed out, running a hand over his perfectly styled hair. The sun glinted off the lenses of his Ray Bans and he approached the group with a smile.
"Hey," he said, looping his arms around Jackie's waist and pulling her back to his front. He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Sorry I'm late— I was taking care of something."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Jackie turned to face Steve. "What could you have been taking care of? We're done classes and you don't have a job."
He grinned crookedly and kissed her hard on the mouth. "I'll explain later. Let's get inside."
