Man Candy Read Online Free Page A

I’d jumped at the chance
    when Alex offered last week—
    especially when he told me Jaime lived
    upstairs. I’d been really excited to see
    her again.
    Clearly, the feeling was not mutual.
    I frowned. Should I apologize?
    While I thought it over, I returned to
    what I’d been doing when I saw her pull
    in, which was unpacking the few books,
    pictures, and mementos I’d kept out of
    storage. A framed photo of my mom
    when she was younger, and one of us
    together on the beach in La Jolla before
    she died. Most of the books were texts
    for this semester; I was taking a history
    course, a political science seminar, and
    a math class.
    But I also had my senior year
    yearbook, which I’d found while going
    through boxes in my mom’s attic last
    week. She’d given the little house to her
    church in her will, and they used it to
    provide housing to women and children
    who needed a safe place to stay, which
    my mother would have loved. I’d
    quickly had all her personal things
    boxed and stored in the attic, and I’d
    paid for the necessary renovations, but I
    hadn’t been back there since she left and
    figured it was time to clean out the place
    once and for all.
    I’d had no idea how much crap was
    up there.
    I swear to God, you’d have thought
    my mother grew up during the
    Depression or something. The woman
    saved everything . It was going to take
    me months to get through it all, and even
    though most of it would be junk to
    anyone else, I didn’t want to just throw
    stuff out without looking at it. It hadn’t
    been junk to her.
    Picking up the yearbook, I sat on the
    couch and opened it to the front cover. It
    was covered with writing, and I
    wondered if Jaime had signed it
    somewhere. I didn’t see her name
    anywhere in the front, so I turned to the
    back, which was also full of signatures,
    farewells, and phone numbers, but not
    hers. Disappointed, I flipped to the page
    displaying her junior year photo and saw
    that she’d written to me there—neat
    cursive lettering along the white borders
    of the page.
    Quinn, you will probably never see
    this because you think yearbooks are
    stupid and you didn’t ask me to sign it
    anyway. (I took it in study hall when
    you weren’t looking. You are over in
    the corner flirting with someone,
    surprise surprise.) Well, I just wanted
    to say I hope you have a great summer
    and even though I am still mad at you
    for what you said about how to grow
    taller (I still can’t believe I fell for
    that), I’m glad we are friends and I
    will really miss you next year. Maybe I
    can come visit you!!! I think we could
    have a good time… Love, J
    I closed the book, feeling that intense
    attraction for her resurface. Leaning
    back on the couch, I stared up at the
    ceiling. It was quiet up there. Would I be
    able to hear her television? Her phone
    calls? Her shower running? What was
    she doing now? Changing out of her
    work clothes? I thought about her sliding
    out of that pencil skirt she’d been
    wearing, and blood rushed between my
    legs. I loved a pencil skirt and heels on a
    woman. Feminine and sexy, but strong
    too. Was that what grown-up Jaime was
    like?
    Before I could think it through, I got
    off the couch and went up the stairs,
    knocking three times. Sure, she’d
    brushed me off earlier, but I loved a
    challenge, and I wanted to get to know
    her. Maybe I could charm my way into
    her good graces.
    Truth be told, I’m pretty good at
    charming my way into tight spaces.
    FOUR
    QUINN
    SHE OPENED the door wearing a gray
    Detroit Tigers T-shirt with the neck cut
    out, light blue flannel pajama pants, and
    fluffy pink socks. Without her heels, she
    was even shorter than I remembered, and
    I had to fight the urge to tease her again.
    But fuck, she was pretty, even with that
    scowl. Heart-shaped face, big green
    eyes, puffy pink lips. I’d forgotten about
    that dimple in her chin—fucking
    adorable.
    “What.”
    “I came for a visit, like you said in
    my yearbook.”
    She