Andre by V. Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page A

had the salesclerk at the electronics shop set everything up so it would be ready to use. I lean over to turn it on, and more than the tablet hums with an electric surge. My body buzzes with the energy we create, and when his unique scent floods my senses, I have to blink to focus.
    We peruse a few things before Jake slips into boss mode and announces it’s time to go to the holiday break frat party on campus. I stand and am about to go get my coat when Andre grabs my hand. I curl my fingers around his, as if it’s a natural gesture for us, before I turn to him. He says, “Thank you, Vanessa. I love my present.”
    “You’re welcome.” He doesn’t let go, and it must be the wine that makes me so agreeable, because I let him lead me outside.
    Ginny and Adrian are ahead of us, and she calls out, “Nessa!” as she tosses me the keys. I release Andre’s hand to catch them, and the metal is hard when it hits my palm. She says, “I’m going with Adrian.”
    “Guess you’re stuck with me,” I say to Andre. Our song invades my mind along with a new line. It won’t go away.
    When we get in the car, I ask, “How goes the composing?”
    His seat belt clicks into place. “Good now that you’re helping.”
    He does dream what I do! Heat rises to my cheeks as I recall the sexy parts, and I’m grateful we’re in near darkness. I sing the lyrics I have so far and make my voice deeper for his lines.
    “I didn’t know I was lost,
    You showed me the way.
    You told me to leave,
    You asked me to stay.
    The love that I’ve found,
    It won’t go away.”
    The steering wheel is frigid under my mitten-covered hands, and I repeat the first line. Andre sings the second line, and we run though what I’ve got so far. When we’re done, he says, “I like it.”
    I glance over at his full smile and say, “I do too.”
    When we get to campus, music and voices from the party carry all the way over to the parking lot of my dorm. Adrian and Ginny parked next to us, while Brita and Jake most likely parked in the lot by her dorm. Our boots crunch over snow as we walk. I ask, “Adrian, I hear all the Lindquist brothers are musical. What do you play?”
    “My favorite instrument is the saxophone. That way nobody makes me sing.”
    “You can’t be that bad,” I say.
    Andre makes a small noise of disgust before he says, “He’s that bad. But he’s got lungs.”
    Ginny says, “I love the sound of a sax. You’ll have to play for me sometime.” She bumps her body into him, and he wraps an arm around her waist. That’s my sister. She goes after what she wants and doesn’t waste any time. I wish I were as quick to embrace change, but I’m not, so Andre and I continue to walk without touching.
    I steal a quick glance at the man next to me. The one who is in my dreams and working his way into my heart. He catches me looking, and his lips twitch with his barely-there smile. I offer him one back, and I wonder when that got so easy.

Chapter 10
    W hen Ginny , Adrian, Andre, and I get close to the frat house, we find Brita and Jake walking toward us from the other direction. Brita rushes forward and says, “Girls, come dance with me.” Her hands are cold when she grabs ours and says to Andre, “If you guys get us drinks, we won’t make you join us.”
    Jake says, “I like that plan. Come find us when you’re thirsty.”
    We enter into the humidity of sweaty bodies, and music vibrates through my limbs as we head to the dance floor. We’ve just begun to move when I notice Eric weaving his way through the crowd. He yells, “Hey! I was hoping you’d be here.”
    Sweat-soaked hair is stuck to his forehead, and he steps close to dance with me. When I catch a whiff of his musk, it makes me crinkle my nose. He places his hands on my hips and leans in to say, “You look hot tonight.” His words are slightly slurred, and I guess that his inebriated state has made him throw caution to the wind.
    I step back to shake off his grip. I’m