Living Violet by Jaime Reed Read Free Book Online Page A

something?”
    Dude had the nerve to laugh. “No.”
    I pulled his arm again. “Then what?”
    Instead of answering, he scooped my face in his hands and kissed me, if one could call it a kiss. His mouth barely touched mine, which made it that much more powerful. The soft pillows of his lips traced the seam of my mouth, seeking access as he gently nudged mine apart.
    At the feather-light contact, a sudden heaviness pulled at my chest. My arms began to tingle as if they had fallen asleep. The sensation soon reached my feet, and I couldn’t feel the floor under me.
    My eyes flew open and met an eerie purple abyss. His eyes were odd from afar, but seeing them up close scared the bejesus out of me. They possessed a soul of their own, a life that shouldn’t exist, an entity that shocked the eyes and confused the senses. It stared back at me, sending an electrical charge through my nervous system, a feeling that made my lower region ignite. Just as I thought I would pass out, Caleb pulled his lips away.
    Firm hands gripped my shoulders as he pressed his forehead against mine. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, “Tomorrow. Noon.”
    And with that, he walked away, leaving me to question the state of my sanity all on my own.

5
    M ia stretched across my bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Let me see if I got this right,” she began. “That creepy guy at your job asked you out on a date?”
    â€œIt’s not a date!” I yelled from the hidden vortex in my closet.
    â€œOkay. If it’s not a date, then why am I here, and why do you wanna borrow my top?”
    â€œBecause I can’t fit into your jeans,” I replied.
    â€œYou can wear my sweatpants; the ones with ‘Juicy’ on the back.”
    â€œMia, there ain’t nothing juicy about what I got back there.” I looked over my shoulder toward my butt. “That would just be false advertisement.”
    Though I needed Mia’s keen fashion sense, I also needed her as a solid alibi. I had told Mom where I was going, but left out who was coming with me. Mom wouldn’t let me out the door without a thorough FBI background check on Caleb Baker. Then she would probably call Dad, and I wanted Caleb to live long enough to give me the music he had promised me. My parents’ non-dating rule derived from their error in judgment as teenagers, and they didn’t want to relive the sequel through their daughter.
    â€œWhy does it smell like feet in here?” Mia asked with a wrinkled nose.
    â€œI was working out earlier.”
    She glanced at the DVDs on top of my television. “What’s the big deal about Tae Bo? It’s so old school. Why don’t you do the stripper workout? Dougie seems to appreciate my workout regimen very much.”
    â€œI bet.” I shuddered. “Unless I plan on working the pole after high school, that particular skill is not gonna benefit me. Besides, Tae Bo is way cheaper than a kickboxing class.”
    â€œYou’re so strange, Sam.” Mia sprang up and dove into the suitcase she brought over that was armed for any fashion emergency. “Let’s see, something to wear ... oh, what about the capris?”
    I tossed a shirt over my shoulder. “Muffin top.”
    â€œThe cutoffs?”
    â€œWedgies.”
    â€œWell, damn. I don’t know what to do. You didn’t give me much notice here.”
    â€œIt’s cool. I got a backup plan.” I went to the door. Mia was right on my heels on the short trip to Mom’s room.
    Clicking on the closet light, I surveyed the lay of the land. My eyes stopped at a pile of summer clothes in the back of the closet. On the top sat the infamous “skinny clothes” that Mom didn’t have the heart to toss out in case she stuck with her diet. Unfolding a pair of black jean shorts, I realized it was a lot of wishful thinking on her part. Mom still owned a great figure, but that dime piece