Finding Evan by Lisa Swallow Read Free Book Online Page B

post-workout thing going on, fuelling the less than clean thoughts I have about him as I watch. Watching him from a distance as if I’m a random onlooker turns me on? I must have some kind of weird stalker gene.
    Evan doesn’t notice me at first; he’s on the phone and his eyebrows are pulled together in consternation. I recognize his hunched stance as frustration, and suspect he’s talking to his sister. Evan rests against the pillar outside as he continues his conversation, oblivious to those around.
    A slender girl with long blonde hair passes me with her equally blonde friend. I watch them and wonder if they share the same box of hair dye to go with their identical straightened hair and designer gym gear.
    “Book me in with him!” one of them says and giggles.
    I jump to alert. There’s only one ‘him’ in the vicinity.
    “Nope, all mine. Twice a week.” The giggling intensifies, and an unfamiliar feeling creeps across my scalp when it’s apparent they’re talking about Evan. Jealousy.
    “He can get me hot and sweaty anytime!”
    I gag at their immature sizing up of my boyfriend. Then I find myself doing something I didn’t intend. I stalk across the path towards him and dump my bag on the floor.
    Evan’s eyes widen in surprise an d he finishes the call. “Ness!”
    Without a word, I slowly moisten my lips, and his eyes darken as I move in to kiss him. Evan grabs my rear and pulls me against his soaked chest, crushing his mouth against mine. He smells of workout sweat and deodorant, a mingled scent I associate with Evan. And sex. Tongue darting into my mouth, Evan holds me tighter, and through his sweats I’m aware of his arousal . Yeah, girls. See if you can do that to him with just a kiss . I’m lost in time for a moment, until Evan peels me off him.
    “Well, that was an unexpected surprise.” He regards me with shiny-eyed curiosity. “Not like you.”
    I smile up at him, loving his reaction. “I brought you lunch.”
    “Suddenly, I’m not very hungry.” The intent in his eyes is unmistakable.
    “I am. I brought a picnic.” I rummage in my bag, and from the corner of my eye, I spot the girls staring at us. An immature sense of triumph fills me. God, I might as well just stamp my name and phone number on his head.
    “Damn. Okay then.” He kisses the top of my head and laces his fingers in mine. I disentangle them and push his arm over my shoulder, wrapping mine around his waist. If I’m going to behave like I’m fifteen, I may as well continue. I shoot the girls a look on the way past.
    We find a picnic spot on campus nearby, a wooden bench amongst the trees, autumn leaves at our feet. I snap open the lids and hand Evan a fork.
    “Picnic? That’s my thing.” He peers into the container. “Mmm, makes me think of Santorini.”
    My face heats at the memory of that particular town. And what we did on the beach. In the dark. The curve to his mouth when he meets my red face draws me back from the sandy memories.
    “I’m glad this is distracting you,” I say.
    “Distracting me?”
    “The last week or so you’ve seemed like you’re carrying stuff again. Is Lucy okay?”
    Evan scratches the edge of his eye. He doesn’t realize, but he does this when he’s about to hide something from me. “She’s okay. Well, not really. But nothing major.”
    After a few moments, I realize this is the limit of his conversation on Lucy. So I dig into my salad and close my eyes, wishing we were back in Greece. Carefree. I open an eye – life isn’t like that. Evan stabs at his salad; he has some sauce by his mouth, so I rub it off with my thumb.
    Catching my hand, he sucks off the sauce, firing heat inside me. “Thanks for this,” he says. “It's always nice to have extra time for us.”
    Keeping my thumb in his mouth, Evan’s eyes darken, and every cell in my body wants that mouth on me. How the hell can he make me hot and bothered by doing so little? I drag my thumb away. He can’t turn me on