Hand of Thorns Read Online Free Page A

enough that I can hear Sumner but far enough away that neither of us are a distraction. I don't actually have any homework that needs immediate attention, but I do have research to do. Opening up the browser, I type into the search engine about becoming a surrogate mother in the Los Angeles area. There are many different sites that pop up, all offering better than the last, but too many of them seem too good to be true.
    I open up the notepad on my computer and write down different information so I can compare notes later on. A tingling sensation forms in the center of my stomach, not quite butterflies but close. My body telling me that I'm actually considering doing this.
    I think of those flutters within me being baby kicks and wonder to myself if that is something I could actually handle. An alien growing inside of me kicking and pushing and punching me all hours of the day and night. Strangers trying to catch a feel whenever I go grocery shopping. It could be interesting, heck it could even be fun. I wouldn't know, as I've obviously never been pregnant.
                  Mom doesn't talk much about her pregnancy with me. What I do know is that she tried to get pregnant for so long, with two prior miscarriages that left her nearly defeated. When she found out she was pregnant, she wouldn't let anyone touch her until her third trimester unless it was her doctor, Dad included. I also know that she went four weeks over the due date, so I ended up being a hefty sized infant. The knowledge of my time in her womb is minimal, but I feel like maybe I should ask her about it. Get some insight on how I'll feel and the things I'll need to get used to.
    Sumner finishes up minutes after I close my laptop. Her hair is styled with a French braid on one side being pulled into an elegant bun, with a few strands falling all around her head, which are curled loosely. She radiates when she smiles.
    "You look amazing. They did a great job," I tell her.
    She grins, happy for tonight. "Thanks! I love it, too. I can't wait to see how it looks with my new outfit."
    "Then why don't we get back to your house so you can try it on?"
    Looking down at her phone, she loses a hint of her smile. "I have just over an hour until he's picking me up, so I should actually drop you back off to your car. I'm sorry."
    "No, not a problem at all. I expect a picture of your attire before you go out tonight though. Then I want all the details first thing tomorrow morning."
    "Deal."
    Sumner hugs me off before I climb out of her car to get into mine. I wish her good luck before closing the door. I'm excited for her to finally attempt sticking her feet into the dating pool. I had encouraged her several times in high school, but she was too scared of being grounded or having her parents in any way object to her decisions. She hasn't even had sex yet. Not that I can say a whole lot about the topic.
    I lost my virginity to Dustin during senior prom last spring. He broke up with me three days later. So I've had sex once.
    It chewed a chunk of my confidence away, which I didn't have much of anyways. After many tears and conversations with my friends, I chopped it up to a life lesson somehow. We were together most of high school, and he never once encouraged me to sleep with him, even if there were subliminal hints now and again, so I'm not exactly sure what the life lesson is- but that is what we still decided it was.
    Sometimes I want to pretend it never even happened. I want to tell my next boyfriend I'm a virgin, because I do feel like one more often than not. I just can't justify lying about it, but I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable enough telling someone I've had sex once with a long term boyfriend then he turned around and broke up with me. Whoever I'm dating I'm sure will think I royally suck in the bedroom, and not the good kind of sucking either.
    I sneak through the house once I get home, heading straight for the bedroom. I have a minifridge in my room, my