Head Over Wheels (Steamy New Adult Romance) Read Online Free
Author: January Valentine
an opening conversation. But there it was again ... that troubling expression on his face. Moody? God, I hoped not. Solemn? Heartbroken – that was the look. Please don't let him be crushing on someone who didn't love him back. What girl in her right mind wouldn't have loved him back?
My heart skipped a few more beats. Rushing adrenaline shot through my limbs, jellifying my brain. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't felt this way since my first high school crush which ended in disaster when I slid across the cafeteria floor thanks to the banana peel that adhered to the sole of my shoe.
Nikos was a thing of the past. I'd had time to come to terms with being dumped instead of dumping. This wasn't rebound. Maybe not even the flavor of the month. It was something I just knew. Like when the clock struck twelve, you knew it was noon. Wait ... maybe midnight. I was so confused, but one thing for sure. This guy could be capable of eradicating the resentment that knotted my stomach if I lost control. If I lost control? What a joke.
Maybe the look in his eyes hastened my recovery. Was it vulnerability? Was there something inside him that could somehow match the disturbance shuddering inside me ? The uncertainty? The longing?
As though I'd grown wings, my body turned fluid and capable. Next thing I knew, my ballet flats slid across the floor, bringing me close enough to see his eyes were green, no, blue, wait, gray? They looked versatile, changing with the colors he wore. In tan Khakis and peach pullover, they appeared turquoise: big, bright, tropical seas.
Skimming past bodies, drawing looks from customers acting as if I were a line-cutter, heated my face, but I didn't care. I was back on course. And this was a mission. The adrenaline I thought I'd depleted surged. Hopefully, the rush would remain hidden beneath my olive complexion.
A second barista appeared and the snaking line divided in two, stealing him further from my planned invasion. In a final attempt I closed in and stuck an arm between two women, excused myself, slipped up to the counter and snatched a couple of packets of sugar to go with my invisible coffee. I couldn't just glide up to him, but I could angle my body just the right way ... and that's precisely what I did.
Apparently, he noticed my maneuvers. "Mocha latte?" The slight curl of his lips angelic, but oh so sexy.
Was he as nervous as me? I found my voice, about to accept his gracious offer – was it an offer? Hold on, Jewelia – when for some reason, as he gazed over my head the smile slid from his face like a dying sun. Then his luscious lips drew into a brittle line and his eyes were no longer on mine. The reason turned out to be a scrawny blonde who wedged herself between us, shot me a dirty look, then turned her back, completing the takeover in a slithering second. Talk about insults. Stuck up bitch, I wanted to scream as I slammed her in the jaw. With what had to be Divine Intervention, I kept my hands from balling at my sides and did neither. The pulse of my cell phone had to have been my saving grace.
Pete: Reminder. Movie night
Of course, I'd forgotten.
Me: Can't wait
Liar.
Pete: Dinner first @ Six
Me: Already starving
Pete: Laters
Me: Pete?
Pete: Yeah Kit Kat?
Me: Miss U
Pete: Miss u 2 babe
So, that was that. I left Kelly's without my latte fix, even more devastating, without making actual contact. I jogged ten blocks to the class for which I was about to be late. All for nothing! My ballets flew, coming to a squeaking halt before my classroom door. After this, I'd have cause to skip the gym. By the time I collapsed in my seat my feet ached, but my ballerinas bore the brunt of the mad dash. Professor Eidlehorn was in the middle of explaining why acid wouldn't permanently erase fingerprints. No one seemed to notice that I was panting. Maybe they just didn't care. I fought to focus, and ward off my professor's lethal breath when he leaned into me as he dropped an assignment in my
My heart skipped a few more beats. Rushing adrenaline shot through my limbs, jellifying my brain. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't felt this way since my first high school crush which ended in disaster when I slid across the cafeteria floor thanks to the banana peel that adhered to the sole of my shoe.
Nikos was a thing of the past. I'd had time to come to terms with being dumped instead of dumping. This wasn't rebound. Maybe not even the flavor of the month. It was something I just knew. Like when the clock struck twelve, you knew it was noon. Wait ... maybe midnight. I was so confused, but one thing for sure. This guy could be capable of eradicating the resentment that knotted my stomach if I lost control. If I lost control? What a joke.
Maybe the look in his eyes hastened my recovery. Was it vulnerability? Was there something inside him that could somehow match the disturbance shuddering inside me ? The uncertainty? The longing?
As though I'd grown wings, my body turned fluid and capable. Next thing I knew, my ballet flats slid across the floor, bringing me close enough to see his eyes were green, no, blue, wait, gray? They looked versatile, changing with the colors he wore. In tan Khakis and peach pullover, they appeared turquoise: big, bright, tropical seas.
Skimming past bodies, drawing looks from customers acting as if I were a line-cutter, heated my face, but I didn't care. I was back on course. And this was a mission. The adrenaline I thought I'd depleted surged. Hopefully, the rush would remain hidden beneath my olive complexion.
A second barista appeared and the snaking line divided in two, stealing him further from my planned invasion. In a final attempt I closed in and stuck an arm between two women, excused myself, slipped up to the counter and snatched a couple of packets of sugar to go with my invisible coffee. I couldn't just glide up to him, but I could angle my body just the right way ... and that's precisely what I did.
Apparently, he noticed my maneuvers. "Mocha latte?" The slight curl of his lips angelic, but oh so sexy.
Was he as nervous as me? I found my voice, about to accept his gracious offer – was it an offer? Hold on, Jewelia – when for some reason, as he gazed over my head the smile slid from his face like a dying sun. Then his luscious lips drew into a brittle line and his eyes were no longer on mine. The reason turned out to be a scrawny blonde who wedged herself between us, shot me a dirty look, then turned her back, completing the takeover in a slithering second. Talk about insults. Stuck up bitch, I wanted to scream as I slammed her in the jaw. With what had to be Divine Intervention, I kept my hands from balling at my sides and did neither. The pulse of my cell phone had to have been my saving grace.
Pete: Reminder. Movie night
Of course, I'd forgotten.
Me: Can't wait
Liar.
Pete: Dinner first @ Six
Me: Already starving
Pete: Laters
Me: Pete?
Pete: Yeah Kit Kat?
Me: Miss U
Pete: Miss u 2 babe
So, that was that. I left Kelly's without my latte fix, even more devastating, without making actual contact. I jogged ten blocks to the class for which I was about to be late. All for nothing! My ballets flew, coming to a squeaking halt before my classroom door. After this, I'd have cause to skip the gym. By the time I collapsed in my seat my feet ached, but my ballerinas bore the brunt of the mad dash. Professor Eidlehorn was in the middle of explaining why acid wouldn't permanently erase fingerprints. No one seemed to notice that I was panting. Maybe they just didn't care. I fought to focus, and ward off my professor's lethal breath when he leaned into me as he dropped an assignment in my
Readers choose
Bonnie Lamer
Joanne Horniman
Shyla Colt
Kristine Mason
Nalini Singh
Malcolm Gladwell
Tom Lichtenberg, Benhamish Allen
Kele Moon