Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) by Christina Smith Read Free Book Online

grinned.
“Gossip, definitely.”
    We ate junk
food and talked late into the night. I had a blast. This was one of the parts
of our friendship we couldn’t include Derrick in; he was too much of a guy for
this. Emma went into detail about her night with Derrick. They hadn’t kissed
yet, but she was sure it would happen soon.
     
    We fell asleep around one or two in the
morning; I was too tired to notice.
    I was in my
backyard, slow dancing in the moonlight. I was so at peace and happy. I’d never
felt like this before. I didn’t know who I was dancing with, and I was afraid
to look up, as if the movement would ruin the mood. We danced for a while, his
warm, gentle hands softly rubbing my back, my arms around his broad shoulders.
He lifted his head, which was leaning on mine as I looked up at him. Lucas
smiled down at me, his hazel eyes twinkling in the moonlight, and said very
softly, “I love you, Katie.” I jerked awake, sitting up in bed. Emma’s head
lifted, and she squinted at me with sleep-filled eyes. “What?” she whispered.
    “Nothing, go
back to sleep.”
    She closed her
eyes, and I lay back down, but couldn’t go back to sleep. Why was I dreaming of
him and why did he call me Katie?
     
    I must have dosed off sometime later
because when I opened my eyes it was daylight. A quick glance at my watch told
me that it was ten o’clock. I loved sleeping in on Sundays.
    “What time is
it?” mumbled the lump under the covers. I sat up and kicked the large bulge of
blankets. “Ow.”
    I laughed. “Ten
o’clock, wake up.”
    She crawled out
of the bed and stumbled behind me downstairs.
     
    “So, are you coming to lunch with Derrick
and me or not?” Emma asked between bites of pancake, which was so saturated
with syrup, I had no idea how she could taste it. My mom had already left for a
visit at Derrick’s mom’s house, so I made breakfast, watching Emma hold her
head up with her arm, still very tired.
    “Do you want
more syrup? I see one spot that isn’t soaked.”
    She stuck her
tongue out at me. “Shut up and answer the question.”
    I thought about
it. “No, I’m going to stay here and have a lazy day.”
    She smiled, no
doubt thinking of an afternoon alone with Derrick. “Suit yourself. Okay, I’m
done eating now. I’m going to use your shower; he’ll be here in an hour. Can I
borrow that cute blue dress you bought yesterday?”
    “How did you
know I bought a dress? I forgot to show you.”
    “I peeked in
your closet last night when you were in the bathroom. So can I, please?” she
begged, clasping her hands together like she was praying.
    I laughed.
“Fine, I haven’t even worn it yet, but knock yourself out.” I took a bite of my
pancake, savoring the sweet maple taste of the syrup.
    She jumped up
and down. “Yeah!”
    “But I want it
back tomorrow,” I said after swallowing.
    “I promise,” I
heard her say faintly, since she was already at the top of the stairs.
    I finished my
breakfast and then put our dishes in the dishwasher.
     
    While Emma was in the bathroom getting
ready, I picked up my book and started to read again.
    “God, I hate my
hair,” I heard her mumble from the open doorway of my bathroom. I laughed
softly to myself. She had no idea how pretty she was, and it was mostly because
of her red hair. But every time I tried to tell her that, she ignored me.
    She shut the
door to the bathroom so the hair dryer wouldn’t disturb me, and I started to
read again. I was in the middle of a chapter when someone knocked on my door.
“Is everyone decent?” Derrick asked.
    “Yeah, come on
in.” I tossed my book aside and sat up, leaning against my pillows.
    “Hey,” he said,
walking into my room. The bed squeaked as he sat on the edge, looking down at
my T-shirt and yoga pants. “Why aren’t you ready to go?” He looked genuinely
curious, as though he really wanted me to go with them.
    “I don’t feel
like it. I thought you guys could use some privacy.”
    He