Eye Candy by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

apartment dark. Ann-Marie wasn’t home. Probably out with Lou. And Luisa was at work.
    I stepped into my bedroom and checked the phone machine. One message. I recognized the voice immediately:
    â€œHi, Lindy, this is Jack Smith. Listen, I had such a
great time last Saturday, you know, at the play and
everything. I thought maybe I’d catch you at home and
we could . . . see each other maybe next week. So . . .
I’ll try you again and—”
    I jumped, startled, when the phone rang before the message had ended. This must be Jack, trying again, I thought. Calling this early in the morning?
    I really didn’t want to talk to him, but the machine was still rewinding and wouldn’t pick up. So I lifted the receiver and clicked on the cordless phone. “Hello?”
    I heard someone clear his throat.
    â€œHello? This is Lindy. Who is this?”
    Then I heard hoarse breathing. Open-mouthed and slow.
    â€œHello? Who’s there?”
    No reply.
    I felt a cold tingle at the back of my neck. “Hello—?”
    I heard soft, slow breathing.
    Someone at the other end. Someone listening to me. So close. Like being in the room with me.
    A sharp intake of breath.
    â€œHello? Is someone there?” I didn’t feel frightened, just annoyed.
    More soft, steady breathing, just loud enough to be heard.
    â€œWho’s there? Who
is
this?”
    No answer. A phlegmy cough in my ear.
    I clicked off the phone, shaking my head. How stupid. Was that supposed to be sexy? Was it supposed to scare me? I tossed the phone onto the bed.
    I kicked away my sandals and started to pull off my top. I stopped when I heard the front door open.
    Footsteps in the livingroom. The front door clicked shut.
    I froze.
    A chill tightened the back of my neck.
    First the creepy phone call, and now . . .
    More footsteps, heavy thuds on the hardwood floor. Then whoever it was bumped something, the table next to the couch, probably.
    I heard a muttered curse. In a voice I didn’t recognize. A cough.
    Dragging footsteps now, scraping the floor.
    I took a breath and finally found my voice. “Who’s there? Ann-Marie? Is that you?”

10
    You totally freaked?”
    â€œNo. Not really,” I said. “Well . . . just a little. I mean, you’d think crazy things, too, wouldn’t you, if you had a sick phone call and then someone came creeping into the apartment?”
    Colin squinted at me over the round lenses of his blue sunglasses. “And so you screamed?”
    It was the next day, a sunny Sunday afternoon, the sky blue and clear as glass, the Bleecker Street side-walks crowded with tourists window-shopping in the tiny stores and drinking espressos at little, round tables in front of cafés. Families enjoying the first nice day of spring, lots of babies in strollers and dogs eagerly tugging at their leashes, and kids on skateboards and silvery razor scooters.
    â€œI only screamed a little,” I said.
    â€œLindy, how do you scream only a little?”
    â€œLike this.
Eeek
.”
    We both laughed.
    Holding hands, we made our way past a group of Asian tourists trying to squeeze into a tiny boutique of Native American jewelry. A Hess oil truck making a delivery at the corner blocked the street, so traffic was backed up and not moving. Drivers honked and honked, as if that would speed up the oil delivery.
    â€œAnd it was just your roommate Ann-Marie coming home?” Colin asked. “You called out, right? Why didn’t she answer you?”
    â€œToo wasted,” I said. “I don’t think she remembered her name.”
    Colin snickered. “You hungry?”
    I nodded. “A quick lunch. I have to get back home. I have two manuscripts to read.”
    He got a pouty look on his face. Did he expect me to go back to his apartment with him and make love all afternoon?
    Actually, I wouldn’t mind. . . .
    He looked so cute. He hadn’t shaved, and his face was covered in