Shades of Amber Read Online Free Page B

not.
    I turned the corner, and
found Troy leaning against the wall. His hair fell in his face as
he watched me move toward the stairs.
    As soon as I passed him,
he swiped my bag and fell into step beside me.
    “ Now what are your
plans?”
    “ I’m leaving,” I replied
as my boot hit the lobby floor. I reached for my backpack, but he
took my hand, releasing a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. I
gave myself a mental shake and pulled away.
    “ We could work on our
project.”
    I shook my head. “I’m
leaving.”
    He held the door, waiting
until I walked through to try a new approach. “We could discuss it
over lunch… or dinner.”
    “ No, we’ll finish it
tomorrow.” I walked off in the direction of my car, but he stayed
on my heels.
    “ Why when we have the rest
of today?”
    “ Aren’t you tired? You’re
in three of my classes! Which is extremely unsettling.” I could
feel my cheeks growing red with frustration.
    “ I’m sure you share
classes with a lot of people.”
    My voice turned shrill.
“Yeah, but they don’t stare at me the entire time.” I paced back
and forth, looking anywhere but at him.
    He looked like the
proverbial bad boy as he leaned against the side of the Media
building. I tried to turn so that he wasn’t in my line of sight,
but I could still see him.
    Frustration got the better
of me. I walked over and poked him in the chest with my index
finger. “What the hell do you want?” I asked, standing on the tips
of my toes so he could see how serious I was.
    He took my hand. “I’m not
tired of seeing you. I want you to sit down so we can get better
acquainted.”
    Crossing my arms, I sank
onto the bench a few feet away. “I already know you. You’re cocky,
attractive, and dangerous to my academic health.”
    The corner of his mouth
rose. “You think I’m attractive?” He put his arm around my
shoulders.
    I found myself wanting to
relax, but I shook it off. “You’re alright.”
    He tilted my chin. “Tell
me about yourself, Jade.”
    Hearing the intimate
whisper made me shiver. I took a deep breath and tried to scoot
away, but there was nowhere to go.
    “ I’d rather hear more
about you, Troy.”
    “ You are far more
interesting.”
    “ Yeah right.” I shoved his
arm. “You’re whole persona screams mystery.”
    “ When is your
birthday?”
    At first, his question set
me on high alert, but then I decided it wasn’t too personal.
“November 11 th . When is
yours?”
    “ April
12 th . What’s your
favorite thing to do when you get home?”
    I paused, wondering where
this line of questioning was going. “I love to read. I just
finished The Vampire Diaries by L.J.
Smith.”
    “ You’d rather go home and
read than spend time with a guy who is interested in
you?”
    I looked up and found two
squirrels fighting over a nut. “You make me uncomfortable,” I said
as their food fell from the tree.
    He nodded. “And why is
that? Could it be because you like me, even though you don’t want
to?”
    I looked away.
    “ No.”
    “ It’s alright to admit
it.” He traced the curve of my ear. “You like me, at least a
little.”
    “ Maybe.”
    He leaned closer. “You
have to learn to accept that feeling. I’m not going anywhere.” As
his lips brushed my cheek, I knew there was nothing I could do to
keep him away. Even worse, was the realization that I wanted him
almost as badly as he seemed to want me.

Chapter 5
    October 1, 2007
    The sun warmed my skin as
I stood outside the library. It was 2:05, but I couldn’t get my
feet to move. I fingered the keys in my coat pocket.
    How long would a guy wait
before he gave up?
    Troy might wait five,
maybe ten minutes before he started looking for me, which gave me
two options: go home now or suck it up and get the project
done.
    My stomach twisted with
tension, making my decision that much easier. Hiking my bag onto my
shoulder, I spun around and collided with a wall. My hand rose as I
studied the solid structure. I blinked a