Breathing For The First Time by Mary E Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

body responds to her. I want to go to her now, but I know I can’t. This isn’t the place for us to talk. There are too many people here, and this is a personal conversation. I have to wait until we can be alone.
    I watch Brooke sit down and smile at the women seated across from her. The ladies fall into a conversation that I’m dying to hear, if only because it brings a smile to Brooke’s face, one I wish I put there.
    Rachel drops into the chair next to me, tearing my attention from Brooke. She follows my gaze. A frown creeps across her face, but she plasters on a smile when she turns back to me. I try to return her smile, but I know it isn’t genuine. She knows it, too.
    Jon and Jessica sit down across from us before we say anything, and the awkwardness drifts away. I’m distracted and know I always will be when Brooke is in the room.
    Jon asks if I’m feeling better and I tell him a little, hoping to keep the ruse up for my after dinner escape.
    Rachel slips her hand on my knee, letting it rest there while she talks to Jessica about the wedding. A part of me believes that Rachel is hoping I’ll propose to her, but the idea of marriage with her is nowhere on my radar. I look across the room and the image of Brooke in a wedding gown stops my heart.
    What am I thinking?
    I’ve got it bad. Worse than I thought. I need to talk to her. Tonight.
    I watch Brooke and her friends get up from their table at the end of dinner. I clutch my stomach and tell my friends I’m suddenly not feeling well again and that I need to go. I rush out of the dining room, ignoring Rachel’s offer to go with me.
    Brooke is gone when I reach the common room. But I see a flash of blue, the color of her dress, and I follow it.
    I have no idea if I’m following the right person, but I have to take a chance. When I finally get closer, I know those legs are hers. My eyes travel up her body, appreciating her from behind. I want that body pressed against me again.
    They are going in to watch tonight’s show. I get to the door just in time to see them sit down, without a free seat anywhere close to them. I find an empty chair in the corner of the theater, in the darkness where I won’t be seen.
    And wait.
    The show is good, but I barely watch it. I’m focused on Brooke, her face lighting up with laughter, her lips moving as she whispers to her friends, and her eyes shining in the lights from the stage.
    When the show is over, I step into the hallway, waiting for Brooke. They walk past me before I realize they went through the other door, and I’m chasing her again. I freeze when I see the three women enter the club. I’ve never danced with Brooke, but the idea of her dancing with someone else, his hands on her body... I can’t take it.
    I throw the door open and look around. The brilliant blue of her dress shines in the flickering lights and the rest of the world disappears.
     

     

CHAPTER NINE
    Brooke
    Despite Tyler and his girlfriend, I’ve managed to have a really good time. Tyler has tried to talk to me a few times, but Paige and Tiffany are blocking him. A part of me wants to talk to him, to understand what the hell is going on, but I can’t. I know if I do I might not be strong enough to keep from giving in to him. I’m still hurt and confused.
    The last three days have been full of shore excursions and lots of fun. During the day I completely forget about Tyler, but at night I dream about him. I know I can’t have him, but I really felt like we had something going on. God, I imagined forever with him. But that’s never going to happen.
    I need to shake this funk. It’s going to get worse when we’re back at school. I won’t have Paige and Tiffany around to keep me safe, keep my heart safe.
    The music fills me as we walk inside the club and onto the dance floor. I feel my body let go, letting the music wash over me. I lose myself completely and don’t think twice when he comes up behind me, my skin sizzling under his touch. I