Impostor Read Online Free Page B

having one-on-one lessons with Alec. Let me spell it out for you: Alone. With Alec. This is your chance.”
    If she’d seen us last night, she’d know how hopeless it was.
    “You know how focused Alec is during training. He wouldn’t even notice me if I walked into the dojo naked.”
    “We’ll see.”
    I slumped down on my bed and watched Holly rummage in her drawer. When she actually set her mind on something, she was a force to be reckoned with, and Alec and I were on top of her to-do list.
    She flung an article of clothing at me and it hit me in the face. The scent of peach and vanilla filled my nose as I pulled it over my head. It was a white T-shirt. Without protest, I put it on.
    “What’s so much better about this shirt?”
    Holly pointed at my chest.
    “Holly!”
    “It’s funny.”
    I groaned. In big red letters, PLEASE TALK TO MY FACE; MY BREASTS CAN’T HEAR YOU was written across my chest. “I’m not wearing this.”
    “Oh, you are. And here, take these sweatpants. They’re not as loose as yours.”
    I didn’t have the energy to argue with her, not with the way my brain had been in turmoil ever since I saw Madison. I wiggled into Holly’s sweatpants. At least they were black and happily devoid of any printed sayings.
    I glanced at the clock. “Great, now I’m late,” I said as I hurried out of our room.
    “Your legs look great,” Holly called after me.
    “No running in the corridors!” Mrs. Finnigan, Major’s secretary, shouted. I’d never seen her run in the corridors, but she barely fit through the doorframe so it wasn’t really an option for her. I stumbled down the staircase, hurrying as fast as I could to the ground floor.
    Within a minute, I arrived in the dojo, breathless from running four floors. I glanced over the green mats, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and suspended punching bags. Alec was practicing high-kicks on one of the bags. I stopped short in the doorway. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only black training pants. His muscles tensed with every kick, and the artificial light of the halogen lamps made his skin look golden. A large black dragon tattoo covered his right shoulder, hiding the scar he got as a small boy. He’d fallen through a banister, down two floors, after his parents had abandoned him in a crowded mall the day before Christmas. He shouldn’t have survived the fall, but his Variation saved him. Alec always said his Variation helped him cheat death but the FEA helped him survive.
    Without looking over at me, he said, “You’re two minutes late.” He did another kick before he turned around.
    His eyes immediately dropped to read the words on my chest. Warmth crawled up my neck, and I promised myself I’d thank Holly later.
    He tore his gaze away from my breasts and looked at my face, showing not a hint of embarrassment. “Nice shirt,” he said dryly. “Oh, and twenty push-ups for being late.”
    My smile faded. I walked up to him, trying my best not to openly admire the display of muscles on his chest. “Oh come on, Alec. Don’t act all high and mighty. You’re not Major.”
    His gray eyes held mine, his expression hard. “Thirty push-ups, Tess.” His voice was strained.
    Every time he used that nickname I wanted to bury my nose in his neck and let him hold me. Many years ago my mom had called me that. Back when she’d still cared for me, maybe even loved me.
    I got down on my knees and supported my weight with my arms. The first few push-ups were okay, the following ones not so much, and by the time I reached number twenty my arms began to quiver.
    “You should work out more often. Your arm muscles are almost nonexistent.”
    What the hell. Was he trying to be funny? My arms weren’t that bad. Not everyone could be as strong and muscley as Alec. Actually, nobody was.
    “Shut up,” I retorted.
    I pushed myself up again. Only ten more to go. The mat beneath my body was the same pale green as the hospital gown Madison wore. A vivid image of her frail