David: Sophomore Year (Three Daves #1) Read Online Free Page B

started her out with a basic knee bounce. “You’ve got to meet it right about here.” He slid his hand under the bend of her knee, holding her leg in the proper position. “Okay, try it.”
    He handed Jen the sack. She dropped it, lifted her knee…and the sack hit the ground. David continued his verbal instruction, and Jen eventually made contact with the bag, but rarely achieved so much as two bounces in a row.
    David stood back, watching her, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the tree. “Nice form.”
    “Liar.”
    “Oh, well, yeah, your technique stinks. But nice form.”
    She tuned to see his eyes meander up her body, from her ankle-high boots, over the curves of her jeans, and to her face. He winked, and she flushed. It was the first time he’d ever overtly flirted with her.
    “Maybe we should try something different.” He stepped away from the tree and put his hands on her hips, turning her so that her back was to his chest. Though they were separated by her ribbed down coat and his hoodie/jean jacket combo, she was warmed by his body heat. “Mirror me,” he said, lifting his leg and reaching across her body to slide his hand under her thigh and lift it side-by-side with his.
    Jen was much too distracted by the contact to pay attention to anything he said after that. Like a robot, she mimicked his movements, keeping her leg pressed to his as it pumped up and down. David alternated dropping the sack onto his leg and then hers. She was broken from her trance when she heard a laugh in the distance. Something about it sounded vaguely familiar. Glancing over, she recognized Ashley’s strawberry blond curls pulled up into a high ponytail. David’s ex was walking across the opposite edge of the quad with a few other girls. Jen flicked her gaze at David, but his concentration stayed fully on their game.
    She slid her eyes back across the square until Ashley and her friends disappeared from her sight. Lowering her leg, she took a step away from David. “I really do need to get working on that paper. This was fun, though.”
    “Yeah. I should probably do something productive, too.” They hoisted their backpack straps onto their shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry I was a jerk the other day.”
    She nodded. “No worries. I’m sure I’ll make it up to you one day.”
    He smiled. “Do you want to do something this weekend?”
    “Um, sure, yeah.” Was he asking her on a date?
    “I’ll be in touch.”
    * * *
    The next day, Jen’s phone vibrated with a text during her sociology class. She was sitting in a large lecture hall, so it was easy to pull out the device unnoticed by the professor.
    David: Mitchell’s laid hands on something heretofore only considered myth. He’s prepared to unveil it Saturday night to a select few. Would you like to be one of the few?
    Jen: Ummmmm sure?
    David: Great. I’ll swing by your dorm at 8ish.
    Jen: Are you going to tell me what this mythological creature is?
    David: Nope.
    Jen was waiting for him in the Longbourn lobby when he showed up at eight-fifteen. They headed west, just off campus toward the house where Mitchell lived. Jen had met Mitchell the previous year but hadn’t ever been to his place.
    Nothing in David’s actions indicated one way or another whether he intended this to be a date. “What’s your tolerance for suspense and gore?” he asked as they walked along the cracked sidewalk spanning a row of small houses. This late in the year, it was already dark outside. The overcast sky didn’t even provide starlight. Only a faint glow from the moon made it through the haze.
    “David, seriously—what is this thing?”
    He grinned. “It’s not too late to back out.”
    “Do you want me to?” She stopped, crossing her arms over her chest.
    “What? No. Come on.” He ran his fingertips along the side of her arm. When she loosened her stance and dropped her hands, he grabbed onto one of them. “I’ll protect you.” He tilted his head and,