Love Is Blind by Claudia Lakestone Read Free Book Online Page A

mean.  What I wanted to talk to you about was our second date.”
    I rolled my eyes.  It seemed Chris was determined to call our cheesecake outing a date just to get under my skin.  I decided to play along since obviously my protests were just fuelling the fire.  “What about it?”
    “There are fireworks tonight,” he informed me.  “We’re going to go to the park and watch them.”
    “But…”
    “What?”
    I hesitated.  “Will that really be fun for you?” I asked carefully, not wanting to come out and state the obvious. 
    Chris, of course, immediately recognized what I was getting at.  “What, you think I can’t enjoy fireworks just because I can’t see them?” he asked.  I could practically imagine his devilish grin as he said the words.
    Sometimes it seemed he was uncomfortably blunt about his condition on purpose.  But then, I supposed it made sense.  His willingness to talk and joke about something so serious had a way of disarming people.  It had certainly disarmed me.
    “Well…yeah,” I admitted.  “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
    “It will be fun for you ,” he explained patiently, “which, in turn, will be fun for me.  You do like fireworks, don’t you?”
    “Sure, they’re okay.”
    “Your enthusiasm is underwhelming.”
    “OH MY GOODNESS I THINK I PEED A LITTLE I AM SO EXCITED!” I squealed in an exaggerated preteen-at-a-boy-band-concert tone.  Then I remembered I was on a public bus and there were other people around.  I immediately slunk down in my seat and tried to hide.
    On the other end of the phone, Chris was laughing.  “That’s much better,” he said approvingly.  “Do you mind picking me up?  I think it will be easiest that way.”
    “Sure, it’s no problem. ”
    “Got a pen?  I’ll give you the address.”
    “Hang on.”
    Making plans with a friend shouldn’t have been a big deal, but I felt a little burst of energy as I rummaged through my purse for a pen.  I scolded myself for being lame.  After all, it was pretty pathetic that I went out with a non-related person my own age so rarely that I was excited for this.
    Or maybe I was just looking forward to seeing Chris.  I had, it seemed, reached that clingy obsessive stage where going for an entire day without seeing him was painful.  So, while I’ll have you know that I didn’t actually pee, I guess I was actually pretty excited.

Chapter 05
    The taxi dropped Chris and me off near the biggest park in the city.  I linked my arm through his and began to lead him across the street and through the park’s stately wrought iron metal gates.  People were milling around with lawn chairs and blankets, all trying to get good spots for the firework display.
    “Wait,” he said, stopping and cocking his head to the side as though trying to stir up an old memory.  “The fountain’s over there,” he said aloud, as though trying to get his bearings.  He pulled me in the direction of the trickling water. 
    “Chris,” I said as we walked past the fountain where a few kids were splashing and giggling.  “We’re going the wrong way.”  He was walking with such certainty that I almost hated to correct him.  Part of me just wanted to let him lead me and see where we ended up.
    “I know,” he assured me.  “But there should be a dirt bike path up ahead, just to the left of the footpath.  Can you see it?”
    The light was beginning to fade, but I could faintly make it out.  “Yeah, it’s there.” 
    “Okay.  We’re going to follow it until we come to a hill,” he said, marching along with purpose.
    Sure enough, just as Chris said, we arrived at the bottom of a grass covered hill.  We climbed up to the top just as the first firework went off.  I turned around and looked up at the sky just in time to see it exploding in a brilliant rainbow of gold and crimson. 
    “Is this a good spot?” Chris asked.
    “It’s perfect!” I exclaimed.  “How did you know about this