Like This And Like That by Nia Stephens Read Free Book Online Page A

agreed to dance with him at least once, she turned and said, “Sure.”
    He smiled and steered her to the middle of the floor.
    Awkwardly, Drew placed his hands on her waist. At first, their bodies pressed together felt uncomfortable, but then as she relaxed, Gemma felt more at ease. This close to him, she could tell that he worked out. That was a plus. It wasn’t that Drew was bad-looking, he just covered it all up with his whack sense of style.
    When the song ended, the DJ put on another slow record. They kept dancing. Gemma realized Drew was actually pretty good. Then the bomb dropped. First his hands eased up and down her back. She excused that. But when his hands found their way a little too far south, she readjusted them back to her hips. Five seconds later, his hands found their way back down south. This time she pushed him away.
    â€œDrew, I have to go,” Gemma blurted. She spun around and headed back to the couch. She sat down and rummaged in the cushions for her purse.
    â€œWhy?” Drew said, sitting beside her. There was genuine concern on his face. “Did I do something wrong? I’d never want to do anything to offend you.” He finally sounded like the Drew she had been corresponding with this past week.
    â€œDrew, this just isn’t working,” she told him. A few of the partygoers plopped down in the recliner next to them and proceeded to talk loudly, trying to be heard over the music.
    â€œI’ll take you home if that’s what you want,” Drew said.
    â€œThank you. I’d appreciate that.”
    Drew stood up, took one step, and somehow managed to trip. Probably the huge, baggy, super-low-riding pants got in the way of his feet. He flopped to the ground with a thud. The entire party, including Seth, turned and stared. For those that happened to miss Drew’s gangsta outfit when he first walked in the door—and there weren’t many—they were sure getting an eyeful now. Slowly, Gemma bent down to help him up.
    â€œYou all right, man?” Seth asked, handing Drew a tissue. “That looked like it hurt.”
    â€œHe’s okay,” Gemma said, tugging on Drew’s arm. Drew held the tissue to his bleeding nose. Although she wasn’t the one who fell, her face was as flushed as if she were. Forcing herself not to meet anyone’s eyes, Gemma steered Drew out the front door. The perfect ending for this date , she thought.
    They reached his car. Even though he was pressing a tissue to his nose, which he held pointed into the air, he still opened the door for her.
    â€œI’m sorry you didn’t have a good time at the party,” he said once they were in the car.
    â€œIt’s not the party—”
    â€œThen what?” He dabbed at his nose with the bloody, crumpled tissue. “What’s the problem?”
    Gemma hesitated for a minute. She hated hurting anyone’s feelings, especially someone with a bloody nose. Then she decided she had to be honest. “It’s you. It’s like you’re not even the same guy that I have been talking to all week. It’s like you’re his evil twin brother.”
    There was silence in the car for a few uncomfortable moments. Drew looked down as his shoulders began to shake. Gemma reached over and put her hand on his shoulder, fearing that she may have made him cry. When he looked up, she saw that he was laughing, not crying.
    â€œI told my buddy that I couldn’t play this off,” he said, gasping for air. His reaction made her start laughing.
    â€œYou mean you actually thought you could rock this outfit?” Gemma said. They were both laughing hysterically now. “Yeah, maybe if you were from the wessst siiiiiiide.”
    â€œNo,” he said. “This whole thing was a stupid idea and I’m sorry.” He turned his body so that they were now facing each other. “This isn’t me. I prefer chess over hip-hop. I’ve had one