Broken Pieces Read Online Free Page B

sorry for being a bitch. You were just being nice.”
    I don’t move my hand when his other comes up to cup my face. His face has this soft but dead serious look, and his voice is the same. “It’s fine. Just don’t ever call yourself a bitch again, ‘kay sweetheart?”
    Oh, butterflies. It feels as if we’re the only two people in this crowd. He’s slowly knocking down the walls …
    I go to look down, but he takes the hand cupping my check and tips my chin back up. “Look at me, please.”
    We stand there, staring into each other’s eyes. Everyone around us is as oblivious to us as we are to them. There is something there that draws me in; I could stare into those eyes forever. My instincts are still telling me to stay away, but for a totally different reason. I feel safe being close to him, but I don’t want to fall. I know what happens then. I tried it once and it ended badly. I’m not the same normal girl that I was before. I can’t just date a guy because, when he gets to close, the memories from the past come back. So I should just save both of us the heartbreak, but it’s hard fighting these feelings.
    It felt like forever that we stared into each other’s eyes. It would have been one of those awkward silences with anyone else, but it wasn’t with him. Then he broke the silence. “Would you like to go grab a bite to eat?” He looks hopefully into my eyes.
    Holy crap! Did he just ask me out? “Um … I’m sorry, but I don’t know you very well. I don’t go out with strangers. Plus, I came here with Lauren.” I hate what I’m saying because I really want to go. I know he is a good guy, but I just can’t. The thought of being alone with a guy makes me shudder, and not knowing the guy makes me sick.
    It doesn’t matter how long you know someone, they can change in a heartbeat.
    Just then, Lauren comes dancing up. “Go have fun, Kara! It’s fine, don’t worry about me! My daddy’s car is going to take me home.” She says, as she waves her hand dismissively in the air.
    I give her this look that I’m sure says it all. She leans in and whispers, “It’s fine, Kara. I know him and he’s nice! Go!”
    I look back up at him, then wish I hadn’t because the look on his face looks almost too hopeful. I have too soft of a heart and I know it. It’s the reason I get myself into the majority of shit that I do. “Fine. Okay, if you can take me back to the dorms after?” That was important because for one, I came with Lauren, and two, I don’t know my way around this city very well. My warning bells go off again. What the hell am I thinking going into a city that I don’t know with a guy that I don’t know? True, he does not feel like just any guy to me, but still. I know I shouldn’t go, but something is telling me it is okay.
    “Of course,” he says, trying to hide that flawless smile of his.

 
     
     
    I took my sweet time finishing my drink so I could pull myself together before I go to eat with him. As I walk out of the club, he puts his hand on the small of my back, protectively. Who am I kidding? He doesn’t see me that way. I have been his charity case all night; I’m sure he doesn’t want to have another confrontation tonight. As we make our way to the door, he stops and looks at me. Being as self-conscious as I am, I start looking down at my dress, thinking something is wrong with me. When I look back up and meet his eyes, he’s amused.
    “What?” I ask, confused.
    He leans in really close. I tell myself that it’s because we are still in the club and I probably couldn’t have heard him otherwise. I can feel his hot breath on my neck, as he sternly whispers, “Stop. There’s nothing wrong with you. I was going to ask if you had a coat.”
    Well, now I feel like an idiot. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed that we had walked up to the coat guy from earlier. I feel as if I have lost my mind tonight. I turn to see the coat guy staring at me. “Do you have