Cherry Red Summer (Emely and Elyas Book 1) by Carina Bartsch Read Free Book Online

messenger bag . . .
    Things got worse.
    “Hi, darling,” he then said to me, cocking his head slightly to one side and leaning forward as though he wanted to kiss me.
    “Ew!” I said, taking a step back. My glare didn’t seem to make the least impression on him, however, and he chuckled softly and stood back up straight.
    Undoubtedly, Elyas had some new plan underway to make my life hell.
    After our tiff last week, I had hoped we would just ignore each other, but no. I stuck to the ignoring plan, of course, but Elyas seemed to be executing the opposite strategy. He was trying to drive me crazy. And, goddammit, it was working.
    Alex apparently found her brother’s little routine funny. She giggled, and I shot her a sharp glare that instantly silenced her. She cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?” she said, turning back to Elyas.
    Good question. A damned good one, in fact. The question might even be expanded to “What are you doing at this campus?” or “What are you doing on this planet?”
    “I thought I’d invite the two of you for a drink,” he said, smiling in his most charming way, which I couldn’t stand any more than the rest of his ways. Get a drink with this guy? I snorted.
    As I opened my mouth to respond with an extremely nasty retort, Alex butted in and worded things much more considerately than I would have.
    “Unfortunately, Emely can’t join us. She still has to finish her paper, and then she has a shift at the bar. But I’ll go.”
    I smiled at her. Although she could have been a touch more insulting, she had done well.
    “A paper?” Elyas looked at me, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. Evidently medical school didn’t involve a lot of papers. “What class is that for, Madame, if I might ask?”
    A delightful, warm sensation started spreading through my gut. It was pride. I couldn’t even describe how good it felt.
    I enjoyed each syllable as they passed my lips in slow motion. “German lit,” I said smiling. He was wide-eyed that I might be studying something intellectually challenging, and his eyes grew wider when I added, “That’s my major, actually.”
    Elyas wasn’t often speechless, so I made the most of relishing this moment. But much to my chagrin, he recovered much faster than I had hoped. A few seconds later he was grinning devilishly again.
    “German lit,” he repeated intently. “Who’d have thought?” His pupils seemed to emit laser beams, burning deeper and deeper into me with every second. Eventually I started to feel like he was sizing me up like a piece of meat, so I decided it was time to go. Otherwise I might have had to murder him after all—a job I probably would have failed at, embarrassing me even more.
    “Well, I’d better get going now,” I said. “I have to get back to my exegesis of Harry Potter, books one through twenty-seven.” I looked at Elyas, who raised an eyebrow.
    “Harry Potter, books one through twenty-seven?” Alex asked.
    “Oh, you can have your charming brother explain it to you,” I replied, pulling her into a hug to say good-bye. I had told her about his ballsy attempt to come on to me, but had left out a few details.
    We finished our hug. “All right then, take it easy. Maybe we’ll see you later,” she said waving.
    I stole another look at the Mustang. What year was it? I was guessing a 1967. I would have loved to know if I was right. But there was no way in hell I was asking Elyas.
    Reluctantly I looked away and walked back to campus.

    Back in the dorm, I got right back to work on my paper so I could finish it before my shift. I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn’t be up to it after work. And lo and behold, without someone continually chattering away, I made amazing progress.
    I finally finished after an hour and was about to close my laptop when I remembered that strange e-mail. I probably should have deleted it, but I couldn’t help reading it again.
    Luc a . . . Luc a . . . Who could that