Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell Read Free Book Online Page B

his persistence.
    He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face so he could look into my eyes. But I kept them averted. “Ellie, you did nothing to be ashamed of on Saturday night. I wanted you, too. I slowed us down only because I wanted things to be perfect between us.”
    My cheeks turned bright pink, and I continued staring down at the ground. “Me too, Michael. I was just so embarrassed. I’ve never behaved like that—felt like that—in my life, and then to have you—”
    He placed his finger over my lips and whispered. “Shh. Ellie, I’ve never behaved or felt like that either. And I’m sorry I pushed you away.”
    “Really?” I asked without shifting my gaze, too scared that if I looked at him he might just disappear like a character from one of my dreams or suddenly rebuff me again. Once again, Michael seemed just too good to be true.
    “Really. Can we start again?”
    Finally, I looked into his eyes. I smiled sheepishly and said, “I’d like that.”
    Michael led me down the steep library steps to his waiting car and opened the door for me. As I waited for him to get into the driver’s side, I noticed a couple walking up the stairs to the library. Their attractiveness caught my attention at first, and then I realized that I recognized the girl. It was Missy. She was walking very close to a tall, blond guy who definitely wasn’t Charlie, the senior I thought she’d been seeing since last year.
    The driver’s door opened, and Michael slid in. Before he said a single word, he leaned in to kiss me. The chaste action was a far cry from the night before, but the gesture helped assuage my fears and drove out all thoughts of Missy and whomever she might be dating these days.
    “Do you mind if we drive down to the ocean? There’s a great spot where we can watch the sunset,” Michael asked.
    “Sure, that sounds great.”
    To my relief, Michael launched into safe topics like homework and classes during the drive to the shore. I hardly noticed the change in scenery because I was so engrossed in Michael. And happy to be back with him.
    We pulled to the side of the road and got out of the car. Michael had parked at the flat top of a steep cliff that overlooked a beach. I crept over to the edge and looked down onto a picturesque cove that I’d never seen before, not in all my years living in Tillinghast.
    “What is this place?”
    “It’s called Ransom Beach.”
    The sun was just beginning to descend. Its fall cast purple shadows over the white sand beach below. Michael grabbed my hand and started to lead me down a jagged trail cut almost invisibly into the cliff face. He directed us so expertly down the precipitous path that I realized he must have come this way many times before. In minutes, we scuttled down the rocks onto the sand where the cove’s huge, craggy boulders wrapped around us like a cold embrace.
    Michael put his arm around my shoulder to shelter me from the moaning wind, as we watched the sun. We made small talk about how pretty it was, and then he asked quietly, “I’d like to talk about last night, if that’s okay.”
    I stiffened and then tried to lighten the mood a little. “We haven’t talked about it enough already?”
    He laughed. “Almost. I want to talk to you about the reason I think we respond so strongly to each other, Ellie.”
    “You do?”
    “Have you ever sensed that you were different from other people?”
    I had to laugh again, and not just because he was acting so melodramatic. Looking up at him, I answered honestly. “If by ‘different’ you mean more awkward than most people, then yes.”
    “Awkward? You’re kidding, right?”
    I shook my head. Even though I found my gawkiness funny sometimes, I definitely wasn’t kidding.
    “If you’re really serious, then you’ve got to understand that you are the only one who sees you that way. Everyone else sees you as smart and intimidating and worldly and pretty.”
    I almost snorted with laughter, but then