Strong Read Online Free Page B

my siblings have already found a seat.
    Once she is out of earshot, I give Chase an uneasy smile, “Don't feel obligated, okay?”
    “ Do you want me to come over?”
    “ Yes, of course. I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable. You've known me for a day and you just met my parents.”
    “ I'll be there,” he smiles.
    He takes a long sip of his coffee and then closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, he says, “Tell me more about Kate Galliver.”
    I hesitate before telling him about my favorite hobby. What if he thinks I'm a total nerd? But somehow Chase puts me at ease, so my anxiety dissipates. “I'm an amateur astronomer.”
    To my surprise, he responds, “That's cool.”
    I divulge more. “I'm really an Amateur Astronomer, like, an official member of the Amateur Astronomer's Society. I have an ID card that gets me into any planetarium in the state. I subscribe to an astronomy magazine. I can tell you every constellation that is visible in the Northern Hemisphere in a given month, and I can name almost every star in those constellations. I even saved money to buy myself a $1200 telescope when I was thirteen.”
    I can see that Chase is absorbing the information.
    “Kind of geeky, right?” I venture.
    “ No, it's interesting.” He catches the look of doubt on my face. “Really,” he insists. “I was wondering how you knew so much about the stars when you were going on about them last night.”
    “ Was I really going on about them?” I avoid his eyes for a moment.
    “ A little, but it was fascinating,” he says as he reaches across the table to squeeze my hand, reassuring me.
    “ I would have majored in astronomy, but I doubt there a lot of jobs out there for star nerds like me,” I laugh. I can't believe I just told Chase about something that most of my high school classmates never knew, and that he didn't make fun of me at all. 
    Chase and I spend hours talking as if we've known each other for years.
    I send a quick text to Dani before I go to bed: Saw Chase again. Think I'm in love.
     
    The next morning, my alarm goes off and I'm more than happy to hear the chickens squawking at me. I haven't had a chance to change the alarm tone yet, but it's a welcome sound this morning, because I wake up remembering my second date with Chase. Was it a date? I scold myself for getting so excited about a guy that I just met two days ago. But I can't help it. He is very sweet, easy to talk to, not to mention adorable. But there's something else I can't pinpoint. I feel very comfortable with him, like I've known him forever. 
    I start a hot shower and try to warm up my feet on the bathroom rug before subjecting them to the abrupt change in temperature. The tile floor in the bathroom is frigid, and I haven't seen my slippers since yesterday. I'll have to check Fiona's room. She's always “borrowing” my things and forgetting to return them. I can't complain too much, though. I raid her closet on a regular basis as well, and since we can fit into most of each other's clothes, it's like having a wardrobe twice the size of my own.
    The only thing we don't share is pants. Through some twist of fate, Fiona has about three inches on me, and it's all in her legs. My dad's side of the family has some height, but it seems unfair that it is so unevenly distributed between my sister and me.
    Once the water is warm enough, I let it engulf me. I grab the new shampoo and find myself wondering if Chase will like the smell of sweet pea in my hair. I stop, mid-thought and scold myself once again. You have only known him for two days!  Besides, you won't even see him today.
    As my hair is starting to dry, I apply my makeup and a little extra lip gloss.  I'm making sure that the lip liner is even when I find myself thinking about kissing Chase.  Stop it! I tell my brain one more time. But one thing is obvious: I've already developed a huge crush on him.
    I finish my poker-straight blonde hair with a blow dryer.