Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

devotion toward us.
    “I broke his phone,” I blurt out, attempting damage control. He needs some sort of explanation for how stupid I’m acting.
    “You broke his phone?” he repeats suspiciously.
    “Accidentally. I bumped into him and he dropped it.”
    Spencer smirks. “Well, not to be rude or anything guys, but I really have to get going, got a hot date waiting for me,” he says, shooting me a quick wink as he starts toward the door.
    Skylar must have invited him over to hang out for the evening. I can’t help but feel jealous that I can’t join them. Spencer works most afternoons instead of evenings at the store now because he’s ahead in his classes, and had the opportunity of only taking half days until graduation, which he gladly accepted. His stepfather is wealthy and because of that, he doesn’t really need this job. But taking the afternoon shifts allows him to avoid his mother and stepdad as much as possible which is something he seems to need, though he’s never actually explained to me why.
    I wish we had more shifts together like before, though. The evenings have been pretty lonely since he switched to afternoons, but at least Skylar has someone to hang out with while I’m at work. She’s currently unemployed now that the old hockey rink has been shut down. I know she’ll eventually look for something new, but she doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
    As soon as Spencer walks out the door, Evan turns to me, smiling. “He seems nice.”
    I nod shyly, avoiding his gaze.
    I spend the next four hours showing Evan the workings of the store while trying to avoid eye contact, which is proving to be exceptionally hard since his eyes seem to be trying to make contact with mine. When it’s time to finally start shutting things down and to count the cash in the register, I allow myself to look at him.
    “How long have you been living in Markson Grove?” I ask as casually as possible. I don’t want it to come across like I really need to know, but the alternative would be not bothering to ask anything at all, and that would make me seem like a careless bitch. I don’t want him to think I’m not polite either.
    “Since ninth,” he replies.
    “Oh,” I say. I’m a little embarrassed that he’s been going to the same school as me for the last three and a half years and I’ve never noticed him until tonight.
    “We don’t really hang in the same circles or anything,” he adds as if he can read my thoughts.
    “I don’t hang in any circle,” I reply, looking to the ground. And it’s not a lie either. Skylar and I don’t usually bother with many other people. Other than Spencer, that is.
    “You’re always with your friend, though. You know, the cute Goth girl with the black hair.”
    I jerk my head up and look him in the eye. It makes me feel uneasy that he calls Skylar cute. Is it because I don’t like other people looking at her that way? Or is it because I want him to look at me that way? Both possibilities are unsettling.
    “Skylar. Yeah, she’s my bestie.”
    “Yeah, I know that,” he says with a tiny half-smile.
    He thinks Skylar is pretty. Or was it cute?
    “You think she’s cute?” I ask. I’m not sure why I do it, but there it is, and it’s too late to take it back now.
    He seems a bit caught off guard and thinks about the question a moment before responding. “Yeah, I guess she’s cute.”
    I feel my heart sink. I am disappointed that he finds her attractive and not me. What the hell is wrong with me?
    “Oh.”
    There’s a long silence and then he finally speaks. “I’m not looking for anyone to date. In case you’re trying to set me up with her or something. I… I don’t date.”
    This extremely attractive guy ‘doesn’t date’? How can that be? He must have girls hitting on him left and right. Maybe he’s not into girls at all. It’s the only explanation I can think of.
    “Oh… so you’re gay then?” I ask. I know I’m being overly curious, if not prying, but