Jared slammed on his brakes. Jen was in the back seat with Ryan, and wearing her seat belt, but Ryan instantly threw his arm in front of her to preven... her from going forward. There wasn't an accident or anything, but she was bowled over by his protective and thoughtful behavior. This tiny gesture opened her eyes to him.She thought about that night, and how much fun she'd had with him. And how good it had felt when he'd just touched her, although briefly. She hoped he liked her too, and didn't. She smiled as I skillfully painted my lips, rouged my cheeks, and applied heavy eyeliner, mascara, and eye shadow. "That's just perfect, darling," she said. "You're an expert with makeup. Where did you learn to do that? Who taught you?" I learned right here, mother," I said, "from you. From all the times I watched you doing your makeup. You're so pretty. I loved you. I wanted to be pretty like you. I hoped maybe then you'd love me too."Mother's warm smile told me I'd said the right thing. She. You have five minutes.”She opened her mouth to protest but then thought better of it and quickly put her cup down and rushed from the room. I grinned to myself as I watched her run off. I sat and savoured my coffee while I waited.Her idea of five minutes was obviously different from mine as it was a full ten minutes before she came running down the stairs. I was already standing next to the open front door. To be fair the extra time had been worth it as she looked very neat and tidy. She’d put. As the girls arrived in their locker room, one of the other girls told Little Bit, “I have to warn you about something: We have to take navy showers.”“Navy showers?” Little Bit asked. “What’s a navy shower?”The girl grinned and replied, “You get wet, shut off the water, soap up, turn the water back on, rinse off ... and get the hell out!”When Little Bit still looked puzzled the girl explained, “It’s the dumb hot-water heater. It’s only got a 30-gallon tank or something like that. As it is, it’s.