The Weight of Words (The WORDS Series) Read Online Free

“I know it’ll be expensive, and I’ll pay. I was going to treat Sarah anyway and, I don’t know, maybe you’ve got plans with someone else, ’cause I don’t know what’s going on with you and stuff, but I’d love to do this for you, I mean with you…” He ran out of steam, trailing off.
    I was touched by the sentiment and frankly pretty damn excited about the prospect of eating at Canoe, regardless of the circumstances. I’d always dreaded Valentine’s Day and the way popular culture made single people feel crappy—as if we didn’t already feel like losers every other day of the year.
    “I would love to join you for dinner on Valentine’s Day. I’ll gladly pay for my own dinner, but promise me if you and Sarah get back together, or if you meet someone else you’d rather take, you won’t be all freak show about it. Give it to me straight, okay?”
    “It’s only two weeks away. I think the odds of me meeting the girl of my dreams between now and then are slim to none. As for Sarah, well, she was very, um… decisive .” His face twisted as he spoke, the previous night’s events still too raw.
    “You know what I mean,” I said, squeezing his hand.
    “Yeah.”
    “Now, I hate to pull the rip cord on our film festival, but I need to get some reading done before tomorrow. You gonna be okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. You go ahead,” he said. “I might bail on the rest of the movie and take a nap anyway. I’m friggin’ exhausted.” He punctuated his words with a huge yawn and stretch.
    Satisfied that he was all right, I grabbed my backpack, snagged some munchies from the kitchen, and retreated to my room where a giant pile of homework awaited me.
    I changed into some cozy clothes and flopped onto my bed. I knew I should do some reading for my children’s lit course, but I didn’t. Instead, I found some mellow tunes on my iPod and flipped through my Norton Anthology of Shakespeare until I found Hamlet. I scanned the play, contemplating some of the important themes that might come up in the tutorial.
    As soon as the idea of the impending tutorial began swirling in my mind, I completely lost focus. I saw Daniel holding court at the head of the table. I imagined him gazing at me in admiration, oblivious to the other students, as I made one incredibly insightful observation after another. Then the tutorial ended and the room emptied, leaving us alone. He closed the door and swept the table clear of all books and papers so he could lean me over it and have his way with me right then and there—
    Crap! What was it about this man that had me feeling like a high school girl with her first crush? Here I was, twenty-three years old and mere months away from graduating from university. I normally wasn’t prone to such idle daydreams. But as much as I tried to stop thinking about him and focus on reading, my mind continued to wander, replaying the events of the day.
    What had he been arguing with his dad about? What had he been thinking about when he’d looked at me after the lecture? Was his relationship with this Penny woman serious? And did the man really not have access to an iron, razor, or hairbrush? I smiled against my hand.
    Feeling more and more like an infatuated, hormone-riddled teenager with every passing moment, I balled up my fists and rubbed them against my eyes. My reading of Hamlet wasn’t going well.
    I slammed my anthology shut and crawled into bed with my copy of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, yet another book I was supposed to have finished reading by now. I struggled along for about an hour, but my bed was so comfy and warm and the music from my iPod dock so soothing that soon my eyes began to close.
    My last thought before drifting into unconsciousness was the look on Daniel’s face as he’d nodded at me, giving me silent kudos for identifying Professor Brown’s Hamlet passage. I’d probably never know what he’d been thinking, but at least he’d noticed me. That was something,