Promise Read Online Free Page A

negative reaction at some
point. But Tristan …I didn't want to avoid him. Something
inside me seemed to click with him already.
    I knew I was making a mistake, setting myself
up for disappointment…or worse. Guys who even had a fraction of his
looks could pick any girl, throw her a bone and she'd do anything
for him—like his homework. That was the only reason they talked to
freaks like me…unless they thought we were an easy score. I didn't
want to think that way about Tristan, though. It wasn't fair. But
if either were true, he'd be the one disappointed. For now, I'd
give him the benefit of the doubt and pretend like it was perfectly
normal for him to be talking to me. Again.
    "So you live close by?" he asked.
    "Yeah. Cape Heron, with my sister, Sophia.
She bought a bookstore." Why am I telling him all this?
    "The Book Nook? The one on Fifth?"
    "Yeah, you know it?"
    "I live in the Cape, too. I noticed it was
re-opening soon."
    "In a month or so. It's been closed for over
a year, so it's needed a lot of work."
    "Let me know if she needs any help. I'm good
with my hands." He waved his hands in emphasis.
    I tried not to think about what his hands may
be good at. It made me giddy.
    I was glad she'd already hired someone. Mr. Beautiful around Mom? They might meet at some point,
considering we had several team projects over the semester and he
lived near the bookstore. I thought I would kill her if she didn't
make it clear that she's not interested. Although he couldn't
possibly be interested in me, I didn't think I could stand for him
to date her… to be my mother's boyfriend. Ugh!
    "I'm taking a gamble here, but I'd say that's
your ride?"
    Besides a motorcycle, my 15-year-old, white
VW convertible was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The other
classes must have let out early for the first night. He walked me
to my car.
    "Guess I'll see you Wednesday?" he asked as I
opened the door and dropped my bag on the back seat.
    "Yeah, I guess so."
    "Be careful." He paused, then added, "Driving
home, I mean."
    "Um, you, too." I eyed the shiny motorcycle.
I didn't know what kind it was, but it definitely wasn't a
Harley-Davidson, the only kind I really knew. It looked more like a
racing bike, the kind seen screaming down the highway at ninety
miles an hour, the rider hunched over the handlebars, dangerously
weaving around traffic. He had a risky side. Maybe that's what the
mind-nudge detected.
    "You don't like bikes?"
    "I like Harleys." I hoped that didn't offend
him, if it was a Chevy-versus-Ford kind of thing.
    He chuckled. "My other one is a Harley."
    My eyes widened. "Your other one?"
    "I like toys." He shrugged with a grin. "See
you Wednesday."
    I sat in my car and watched him walk away in
my rearview mirror. About halfway across the parking lot, his whole
body seemed to shift, to relax. I hadn't even noticed he was
tense—he'd seemed so cool and casual. I wondered what made him
anxious. Surely someone like him couldn't be nervous talking to
someone like me. As he fired up the bike, he glanced over at my car
and I started my own engine so he wouldn't think something was
wrong. Don't mind me. Just ogling.

    Wednesday morning I rushed again, this time
to my women's studies class. It was the last place I wanted to be,
so I took my time getting to campus and now I was running late. Why did I take this stupid class anyway? Tuesday had been a
productive day for writing. Going to this silly class now seemed
like a waste of a valuable hour. It would be a long day on campus,
too, with the team meeting in the afternoon.
    I walked into class right at 9:30, but it
hadn't started yet. A low thrum of chatter among the students
filled the room. Not all were female; there were three guys. No…four today . My mouth nearly dropped open. Tristan sat at
the back of the class, talking to a couple of girls. He put his arm
across the desk next to him and shook his head, saving the seat for
someone. I wondered who the lucky girl was as I headed to