Love Condemned: Beginnings by Stephanie Brown Read Free Book Online Page B

this away was the way she was sitting. No longer with her legs propped up comfortably.
    Adrian turned to her and looked directly at her. “Miranda. Can you please look at me? Please.” She lifted her eyes to look at him. “I never wanted to sit next to that girl. All I wanted was to come back to this bus to sit with you. I do not pretend to like you. I wish I could tell you how much I like you, but you would probably go running off this bus.” He flashed a smile at her in an attempt to ease her fears a little.
    “Listen, I do not feel sorry for you. Not in the least. I am enjoying our conversations and getting to know each other. And that blonde has nothing compared to you. I hope that you can forgive me.”
    An array of thoughts assaulted Adrian’s mind at that moment. He was unsure what Miranda thought or how she would react. He played out many scenarios in his head, but what happened next was not one he had thought of.

Chapter Ten
     
    Miranda stared at Adrian while she listened to his words. Somewhere within she had expected he would have indeed taken his stuff and moved back in the bus with the blonde girls, and she had been bracing herself for this. So what he said now was hitting her twice as hard. How could he think she was more beautiful than them? How could he rather want to sit next to her? Looking at the standard model of evolution, Adrian belonged with them, and certainly not with her. The set of genes both of them owned seemed to be made to be with each other,   programmed  to be together. She was at the shallow end of the gene pool.  Keep out.  Who was she to meddle with evolution? 
    One sentence in particular kept repeating itself in Miranda's mind.  I wish I could tell you how much I like you, but you would probably go running off this bus.  She was afraid to grasp its actual meaning, and believe in it, but it did enough to convince her Adrian really wanted to spend the rest of the bus trip next to her. Somehow, he was making her feel good, in a way she couldn't really find the words for to describe. Miranda swallowed and looked away, kicking off her shoes and pulling both her legs beneath her on the seat. 
    "I like your tattoo," she said. She couldn't reply to his words, but this was her way to say it was okay and glad he was staying by her side. Miranda leaned over him and took his arm, studying the d etails of it. She only hoped that she wasn't crossing any lines with this. "Does it... have a special meaning?" she asked silently, without daring to look Adrian in the eyes, and instead keeping her gaze on his lower arm.
    Once again, Adrian felt like he had just stuck his foot in his mouth. Why did he have to tell her th at he liked her? And now she ignored it and acted like he did not say it. Such an idiot , he thought. Of course she does not like you like that.
    Adrian tr ied not to blush as she traced her fingers his arm. Her touch sent sparks up and down his body, and forced him to close his eyes. He let out a shallow sigh. When he opened his eyes again, he answered, “Uhm….yes, it does.  It is a story of who I am, where I have been, and a reminder to me that things can touch you on the outside but not penetrate to the inside. It reminds me of my creativity and writing. And it is a symbol of courage and bravery.” Adrian blushed deeply now and he was sure that he was making a fool of himself. “It sounds stupid, I know. But that is what it means to me.”
    Adrian was surprised that Miranda did not let go of his arm when he was finished talking. Instead she held on to his arm and continued to trace her fingers up and down. Sometimes her fingers would trace far past the tattoo, as if her thoughts were distracting enough to absently continue. The sparks were spreading through his body and built a fire deep inside him. He was not sure how much more of that he could take, but it felt so good he did not want it ever to stop.
    Miranda let Adrian's words sink in . The motion of her fingers put