Crazy in Love by Cynthia Blair Read Free Book Online

pronounced it Sa-ool. “Only people outside my neighborhood call me ‘Sol.’ You know, like the sun.”
    “Oh.” I guess I still looked confused. “What nationality is that? I never heard of ...”
    “It’s Spanish. Or really Puerto Rican.”
    “You’re Puerto Rican?” I don’t know why, but I was totally surprised .
    “Yup. Saul Rodriguez, when I’m in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, I’m just Saul, like Sol the sun god. It’s easier that way.”
    “Did you always live in Brooklyn?” I asked cautiously.
    “You mean do I come from Puerto Rico?” he teased. He could tell I was having trouble digesting this whole situation. I turned red again. “No, I was born in Brooklyn. But my parents are both from Puerto Rico.”
    “Where do you live in Brooklyn?”
    He tweaked my nose then and said, “It’s not a very pretty neighborhood. I bet a cute little girl from Manhattan like you never even heard of it.”
    “Hey, wait a minute.” Having my nose tweaked sets off the same reaction in me as being called Sal. I see red. “First of all, don’t touch my nose. Second of all, I’m not from Manhattan; I’m from Boston, at least originally. And third, I don’t appreciate you being so condescending.”
    He looked surprised, maybe even hurt. “Hey, I’m sorry. I was just kidding. Still friends?” He held out his hand again. I could feel the old familiar melting feeling starting up again.
    “Friends.” I shook his hand. “Wait a sec. Before we go back to the party, or whatever’s left of it, can I ask you something?”
    “Sure. What?” .
    “You know WROX, the rock music radio station?”
    “Of course.”
    “They’re having a songwriting contest, and, well, I’m looking for somebody to collaborate with. Do you think maybe we could try writing a song together and enter the contest as a team?”
    Saul thought about my offer for a few seconds, then said, “Sure. Why not?”
    “Great!” I told him where I lived, and he agreed to come over the very next day to see what we could come up with.
    We went back to the living room. I was kind of disappointed that no one had even missed me. But I was also experiencing a strange kind of euphoria. I wasn’t sure if it was the thrill of finally having found a musical partner, or having met someone as nice as Saul. One thing was for sure: the way my insides were jumping around and the way I started talking a mile a minute and laughing hysterically at every little thing made me wonder if perhaps there was such a thing as love at first sight after all.
     

Chapter 4
     
    The next day could not come soon enough. All night I dreamed about flashing white teeth and mysterious dark eyes. In the morning I washed my hair, even though it was still clean. I told myself that cleanliness is next to godliness. I kept having to remind myself that the reason Saul Rodriguez was coming over was to write music, not to live it.
    “Mom,” I said casually over our Saturday afternoon lunch of grilled-tuna-and-cheese sandwiches, “I have a friend coming over after lunch to work on songs. You know, for the WROX contest.”
    “That’s nice, dear,” she said dreamily. She seemed much more interested in scraping away at the melted cheese stain that Jenny’s sandwich had predictably left on the tablecloth.
    “That’s great!” Jenny exclaimed. “So you finally found yourself a partner. See, I told you it would work out. Who is it?”
    “Somebody I met at Sharon’s last night.”
    “Male or female?”
    I cast a dirty look at Jenny. Usually she’s okay, but every once in a while she starts acting like a little sister. Or maybe I was just being overly sensitive.
    “It happens to be a person of the male persuasion,” I answered coolly. “But let me assure you that my interest in him is purely professional.”
    “Hey, I never doubted it.” Jenny sounded defensive, but I could see that she was hiding an impish grin behind her sandwich.
    “What’s his name, Sallie?” Mom had succeeded