Held: A New Adult Romance by Jessica Pine Read Free Book Online Page B

was stupid, that I was stupid to believe in something as dumb and flowery as love at first sight.
     Maybe second sight. And lust, definitely.
     It was the second day of orientation. I was trying to decide between Drama and English, while Everglade had perched on the side of a fountain and was already engrossed in the schedule for her Women’s Studies elective.
     “I swear if anyone mentions my mother as a feminist icon I will fucking plotz,” she said, dangling a foot in the water. “So she flashed her beaver at Rock In Rio once – like it makes her Susan B. Anthony or something.”
     I scratched the nape of my neck and adjusted my sunglasses. We’d all seen the picture – hard to miss it. The most unsettling part of it was knowing she was about three months pregnant with Everglade when she treated the world to the literal mother of all upskirt shots. “I never really understood why she did that,” I said.
     “Same reason she does everything,” said Everglade. “So that people will pay attention to her. Trust me – she has no sense of sisterhood; she’s called me a cunt on more than one occasion.” 
     “Jesus. That’s horrible. Don’t you ever think about...what is that they call that thing where you can divorce your parents?”
     “Emancipation?” she said. “Nah. I thought about it, but I figure I’d be better off hanging tough until she either overdoses or gets something vital sucked up the hose when she gets her next round of lipo. After the childhood she gave me, she’d better leave me rich.”
     I was about to ask her if she meant it - sometimes it was hard to tell if she was joking or serious - when I saw a tall, dark figure approaching us from across the quad. I could tell before I saw his face that he was someone - you get a sense of this kind of thing, growing up in Hollywood. There are some people whose presence ripples through the crowd before they've even finished entering a room - the old legends or the famous beauties. There's a hush and a whisper - a kind of shiver that passes through everyone, as though charisma were palpable.
     Sometimes it isn't even a famous person - just someone who ought to be, because they are so exceptionally, unnaturally beautiful.
     And he was.
     I couldn't be sure it was him at first. He was even better looking than I remembered, if such a thing was even possible. His black curls bounced almost to his shoulders, his long legs eating up the yards as he crossed the quad. He wore worn old jeans, their black faded to a pale charcoal, and you just knew from looking at them that the denim would be soft as butter at the knees. His eyes were covered with a pair of mirrored Aviator shades, but as he approached he removed them with such grace that it looked like a tribute, like a courtier's doffed cap.
     It was then I realized he was looking at me.
     "Well look at you, Ruby Tuesday," he said, stopping right in front of me. "All grown up and graduated yet?"
     I nodded. I could feel the burn of Everglade's disgust behind me, but I didn't care. I was too caught up in the moment - it was astonishing enough to me that he was real and that he remembered me. "Amber," I said. "My name's Amber."
     "I know that, baby," he said. "I remember. Like the stuff that flies get caught in - the shade of honey and twice as sticky."
     "Resin," I muttered, hugging my books to my chest. "You're thinking of resin."
     "Right," he said. "But then it gets hard and turns to amber, right?"
     Everglade snorted. I could feel my face flare hot at the way he said 'hard' - deliberate and dirty.
     He laughed. "I don't think your friend likes me."
     "What gave me away?" said Everglade. "The general fuck-off vibes or the moment you realized I could tell you were full of shit?"
     I winced and she caught my eye. She looked wary but jerked her head in the direction of the coffee shop. I mouthed 'thank you' and she just sighed and sloped off.
     "You'd best follow her, Ruby Tuesday," he