Page 69 of Keeping Kara

She didn’t like that, not at all.

“I’ve seen him,” Penny blurted. “Asher, not Fred, that is. I heard you guys coming down the hall one night and looked through the peephole in my door. He’s handsome.”

Jen blushed. “Yeah. He’s a little older than me, but distinguished-looking.”

“How is he in bed?” Zita asked with a grin.

The pink in Jen’s cheeks deepened. “I don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far in our relationship. As I said, we’re both really busy, and he doesn’t want to rush into anything, because he says he can see us having a long future together.”

“Seriously?” Mandy asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Penny asked. “I mean, I’m all about a man not being a horndog and trying to get you into bed after one date, but it’s been about a month now, right?”

Jen shrugged. “Honestly? It surprised me. And I’m more than ready. But if he’s not, I’m not going to rush him.”

Kara listened to the conversation without participating. Now, full-on warning bells were going off in her head.

She couldn’t help but compare Jen’s new guy to Nolan.

Aside from attempting to kiss her good night a few times, he’d also claimed he didn’t want to rush sex between them. At least, when it was obvious Kara wasn’t ready. Until she’d tried to break up with him—and then he’d taken by force what she hadn’t been willing to give.

But she didn’t want to speak up and ruin Jen’s obvious happiness. Not when Kara couldn’t be sure if it was her past experiences making every man out to be like Nolan. Also, she hadn’t trusted Arrow in the beginning, and she’d turned out to be wrong about him, as well.

“What about Edge?” Laryn’s words sat out there like an elephant in the room. She’d asked what no one else had the nerve to bring up. “Because I’ve known the man a long time. Years. And he’s definitely into you.”

Jen looked down into her wineglass. “Roman is out of my league.”

“What?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“What are you talking about?”

Kara was just as floored as the other women at Jen’s disparagement of herself.

“Look at me,” she said, gesturing to herself. “I’m weird-looking. If I didn’t have all these cool wigs, people would stare and call me a freak. Trust me, I know from experience. And news flash, I don’t sleep in my wigs. I take them off at night. My hair is mostly nonexistent but I do have some, and when I let it grow, it’s patchy and thin. I usually keep it shaved to make the wigs fit better. I have no eyebrows. Hell, I have no pubic hair. And none of you have any idea how much this stuff turns guys off!”

Kara blinked at the outburst. She’d had no clue Jen had such low self-esteem. The image she projected to the world was outgoing and fun and self-assured. But she should’ve known better, because didn’t she herself do the same thing? Didn’t most women? They hid their insecurities beneath a veneer of confidence.

Penny put her wineglass down, walked over to where Jen was sitting, and knelt in front of her. She put her hands on her knees and leaned in close. “Listen to me, Jennifer Williams. You are beautiful. And any man would be damn lucky to call you his girlfriend. The other night, when I was overwhelmed and PMSing and Bowie was driving me crazy, you came over without question, giving me half an hour to take a walk and breathe. You’re the first to volunteer to dog-sit Rain and Waffles. You’re unselfish and caring, and stubborn to boot. Don’t think we haven’t heard the stories about how often you’ve insisted on continuing a search after everyone else has given up—and most of the time, you and Fred ending up finding who you’re looking for. You aren’t allowed to think that you’re not beautiful. You hear me?”

Jen just stared at Penny.

“And who cares about not having hair?” Mandy added. “I’m thinking many a guy would love the hairless thing when they’re going down on you.”

Everyone chuckled at that.

“I love your wigs. If I could get away with wearing them, I would,” Zita added.

“And if a guy doesn’t love you for who you are inside, then they aren’t worth your time,” Kara said softly. “Because looks change. We get old. Wrinkly. Saggy in places we never thought we’d sag. As do they. Women aren’t the only ones who change. And I’m new to the group, but I’ve also seen how Edge looks at you when he’s around. He wants you, Jen, you just have to give him a chance.”

Jen shook her head sadly. “I doubt that. I’m just…me. And he’s a hero. Besides, I’m quite a bit younger than Edge.”

“So?” Mandy said a little forcefully. “Nash is almost a decade older than I am, does that mean we shouldn’t be together?”

“No, of course not.”