Mississippi Blues by D'Ann Lindun Page A

big.” Lindy couldn’t wait to talk about Jace. Maybe Candy would understand the fascination he held for her.
    â€œWhat do you think of my new outfit?” Candy did a spin, her arms held out. The gold hoop in her nose glittered in the low light.
    Frustrated by her friend’s lack of interest in her big news, Lindy gave a thumbs-up for Candy’s simple black dress with a half dozen chains wrapped around her waist, fishnet stockings, and spike heels. She had on more makeup than Lindy did and her jet-black hair glimmered under the mirrored ball.
    The kids Lindy would’ve considered losers her freshman year were now her crowd. The thing she liked most about her new group was they weren’t afraid of what anyone thought, and they went out of their way to prove it. Annoying the Chief was high on their list of priorities. Drinking, and getting high when anyone could come up with weed was another favorite activity. School and work didn’t matter to them.
    Jimmy Ray hung over the bar. “What’re ya havin’ tonight, babe?”
    Skinny, wearing a wifebeater undershirt that showed off his overlapping tattoos, a nickel-studded belt that didn’t hold up his jeans, and heavy silver rings on every finger, he reminded her of Keith Richards. At least she thought he looked like the Rolling Stone before Richards got old and wrinkly and ugly.
    â€œRum and Coke.” She angled her shoulders so he could get a good look down her shirt. As long as she let him look, he let her party.
    â€œComing right up.” He placed the drink in front of her with a wink. When she dug in her purse he said, “On me.”
    â€œThanks.” Lindy wrinkled her nose and took a big gulp of the drink. She didn’t really like the bitter taste, but she’d found the more she drank the easier it went down and the better she felt. When she got plastered, she didn’t have to think about anything. Especially her dying mother, her stoic dad, and her exiled brother.
    She still couldn’t believe Trey showed up out of the blue. What did he want? More than to wish her a happy graduation, that’s for sure.
    She turned and leaned against the bar. Candy was on the dance floor gyrating her hips against some guy. Probably the one she just met. Lindy wondered where the rest of their friends were. Probably already at the quarry getting high. No one here interested her. Most everyone else was ancient — thirty, at least. She downed her drink and ordered another. Swallowing half of it, she mumbled, “This bites.”
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Lil Sugar?” Jimmy Ray sounded less than interested as he dried a glass.
    â€œI’m bored.” She wasn’t, not really. Her insides ached like they were crumbling in on themselves. Being here with these losers was a hell of a lot better than staying home and watching her mother waste away. And watching the Chief ignore them all.
    â€œIs that a fact?” He put away the glass and rested his elbows on the bar.
    She pouted, finishing her rum and Coke in two quick gulps. “Give me another one.”
    â€œComing right up, Lil Sugar.” He made a gun out of his fist, thumb and index finger and pointed it at her, making a clicking sound with his mouth.
    She held out her empty tumbler. “Stop calling me that and pour.”
    He shrugged and fixed her a drink. “Bottoms up, baby.”
    An hour later, a couple more drinks, and Lindy no longer dwelled on things she couldn’t change. She spun around the dance floor with anyone who asked, and some who didn’t. Spying an empty table, she climbed up on a chair and stepped onto the tabletop. Someone whistled and she moved her hips in a seductive arc. Who needed ballet? Who needed approval? Shaking her ass in front of this crowd was much more fulfilling.
    Inspired, she did a pirouette. One of her heels caught in the middle of the table and she toppled like a doll, landing on the floor