A Flawed Heart Read Online Free

running between us and I wonder
why he’s affecting me with such intensity. I’ve never felt anything like this,
for anyone.
    I open my mouth to make small talk with Lydia, but I don’t
get the chance to get the words out.
    “Are you enjoying your sandwich ,  Claire?”
Something about the way his mouth shapes my name is doing things to my body.
    “Yes, thank you.”
    I watch him as he eats. His lips are big and pouty for
a guy. He breaks a piece of the grilled cheese off and pops it in his mouth.
Rather than using his napkin he licks his fingers. His jawbone protrudes
as he chews, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.
He slides back in his chair and relaxes as he eats. When he finishes his
sandwich, he places his plate in the sink and walks out of the kitchen without
looking at me again.
    “You mind washing the dishes, Lydia? I can’t risk having the
dish soap dry out my hands before the show.” He calls back at us, and I hear
him laughing.
    “Dick,” Lydia says.
    The door opens, and in walks a guy wearing a Metallica shirt
and green cargo pants. He has short, dark hair, and from where I’m sitting, he
looks like he’s eight feet tall.
    “What up? I’m Ben.” He gives me a salute.
    “This is my roommate Claire. She’s from Georgia,” Lydia
says.
    “Welcome to the jungle.” He walks toward the bed rooms.
    “That’s Jason’s roommate. You ready to get out of
here?”
    I nod. “All right, yeah, let’s go.”
    Lydia, Kat, and I walk out onto the sidewalk and Skye, Ben,
and Jason join us shortly. Jason has his guitar case slung on his back, and he’s
smoking a cigarette. Skye chats with Ben about someone named Alana, and Lydia
joins them. I reach into my bag and grab my cigarettes, but I can’t find my
lighter and I fumble around with the zippers and pockets.
    “Hey, let me light that for you.”
    Jason pulls out a Zippo. His thumb flicks it and it opens
with a flame. I wrap my lips around my cigarette, place the tip in the flame,
and look up at him. He looks from my eyes to my mouth, and back to my eyes
again. The flame is reflected in his eyes, and he still has that sexy grin on
his face. I puff and pull away from his light but not his gaze.
    “Thanks, Jason.”
    Lydia grabs my elbow and pulls me along with her, which ends
the moment.
    “Let’s go get wasted,” she squeals, and tugs me along beside
her. We walk about ten feet ahead of everyone, her arm linked in mine. I look
back over my shoulder and Jason is holding Skye’s hand. I feel a lump rise in
my throat.
    “How long has your brother been dating Skye?” I ask Lydia.
    “Like a week. I don’t think they’re, like, really  a
thing ,  though. I
don’t think Jay asked her to go out, you know, or whatever. She’s totally into
him, and she’s like, mentally  willing  him to be hers, or
something. I don’t trust her. She’s a typical groupie. She has a boner for
Jason because he’s a musician. Maybe she thinks she’ll be a rock star’s wife
one day, or something. She’s pretty lame, but I’m sure Jason could do worse.
Ben, on the other hand, has been talking to Skye’s friend Alana. She’s awesome.
Oh, that reminds me—Alana wanted me to tell them she’ll be coming late tonight.
I’ll be right back.”
    Lydia frees her arm from mine and runs back toward Ben and
Skye. Jason is no longer walking with them. He’s walking toward me. He takes
long strides and quickly catches up.
    “Hey,” he says.
    “Hey,” I reply. 
    His pace is even with mine. The wind blows and I get
whiff of his cologne. It smells spicy, and I recognize this smell from his
pillow .  I blush at the memory, wishing now more than ever that
my fantasy had been real.
    “So, you moved in today?” he asks.
    “Yeah.”
    “Cool. You have a job yet?”
    “No. I was thinking of looking into substitute teaching or
something. I was an English major.”
    “Really?” he turns his head and looks me up and down. “I had
you pegged you for a