Infatuate by Aimee Agresti Read Free Book Online Page B

she made a swooping motion, unleashing the sparkler skyward, so high it seemed it might kiss the moon. She stopped in front of me for a moment, looked right in my eyes, and said with a wild, wide smile, “Boom.”
    A second later, the sparkler ignited with the BOOM! she had promised. It exploded above us into a kaleidoscope of shimmering colors, then twinkled as it burned out, like rain in lamplight. I felt my jaw drop. When I turned my gaze back to street level, she had moved on, making her way down Bourbon. She grabbed the sparkler from the man beside her and tossed that one too. Up, up, up until it bloomed as vibrant as the one before it.
    “Whoa,” Lance said, then pushed his glasses up on his nose.
    “I’m pretty sure that kind of thing is illegal where we’re from,” I offered.
    Dante grinned. “We’re definitely not in Evanston anymore.”
    “She’s gorgeous,” Sabine whispered, wistful. “Don’t you feel like you have to be absolutely perfect to have that hair?” She pulled back her lustrous locks and mugged. “I would kill to look good with that cut, but I could never, ever do it.”
    “You totally could,” I assured her as we began walking again. I was secretly glad that I wasn’t the only one who could feel intimidated like that. I felt unsettled by beautiful things for so many reasons, a reflex after my time at the Lexington. “You would look great.”
    “Really?” Sabine sounded truly touched. I nodded. She looped her arm in mine. “So would you!” I didn’t even care if she meant it or whether it was true. It was just nice to hear.
    We all walked on together silently those last few blocks to Royal Street. The house pulsed with activity when we returned—the TV blared in the living room, music and conversation trickled out of a couple of open bedroom doors, someone foraged for snacks in the kitchen. Our group split into three pairs, all of us retiring to our respective rooms, exhausted by what we’d seen tonight.
    I let Sabine go ahead and said good night to Lance at his doorway—Dante had already gone inside.
    “You know you can stay in here if you want, right? Or . . .” He didn’t finish his thought and what he managed to get out he said with a halting awkwardness.
    “Yeah. Thanks,” I said. The truth was, I didn’t want to be alone. I would’ve liked nothing more than to just drift off to sleep in Lance’s arms. But on our first night in this new place, I didn’t want to be that girl who was spotted leaving a guy’s room at some strange hour of the morning. “I feel like I’d better be in my own bed. First night and all.”
    “Yeah, no, got it, I figured,” he said, agreeing too eagerly. “Good thinking.” He kissed me good night and I could feel him watch me walk to my room before retreating into his.
     
    He’s supercute,” Sabine said with a mischievous smile when I returned. “Well done, you!”
    “Thanks,” I said, with a little laugh.
    “You’ve been dating how long?” She pulled on sweatpants and a tee as I changed into a pair of my aquamarine scrubs, relieved to be out of my heels.
    “Just a few months, but friends for a while.”
    “Cute,” she said. “I dated a friend once . . .” I waited for more but she didn’t seem anxious to offer it up so I let it go. She took in my outfit. “Are you on call tonight?” she joked, tying her hair back and taking a seat at the desk as I hung up my clothes.
    “New Year’s is one of the most dangerous holidays,” I quipped. “Old volunteer job. It’s actually where I met Connor. It’s a long story but—”
    “Omigod, me too!” she interrupted. “I mean, I wasn’t exactly saving lives. It was an ice cream shop on the Cape.” She shook her head, as though details weren’t that important. “But, you know, he came in a couple times or whatever.”
    “Seriously?” I asked. She nodded, seeming to be excited by this odd coincidence. I didn’t know why I felt disappointed. Secretly, I kind of