Style by Chelsea M. Cameron Read Free Book Online Page B

suddenly went cold and then hot.
    “Well?” she said, her voice totally breathy and low. I turned my head just a fraction and whoa.
    Her eyes were crazy gorgeous up close. They weren’t just blue. They had little flecks of green, right around the center. Like emeralds in a pool of water. She blinked the longest lashes I’d ever seen on a real person and suddenly breathing became a chore.
    A rush of heat started from the top of my head and poured down my body into my toes. I had never felt this way before and it didn’t seem to be going away. Stella stared at me, lips slightly parted and then jerked back, as if I’d punched her.
    “Stop staring at me,” she snapped, putting her icy face back on. I blinked a few times and it was like coming up for air after being underwater. I was gasping and disoriented.
    I coughed once and then sat back. I’d leaned way far over without realizing it. Stella didn’t appear affected at all.
    Except.
    Except for the slightest tremor in her hand as she held the tablet.
    Huh.
     

     
    “S o I think we should get a head start on everyone else,” she said briskly, just before class ended. We’d made good headway on our project, but I had the feeling Stella wasn’t going to be satisfied unless it was absolutely and totally perfect.
    “What do you mean?” I asked, knowing the answer wasn’t going to be good.
    “I think we should get the paper done by the end of this week so we can perfect the presentation. As much as I hate to say it, I think we should get together outside of class and work.” She made a face like the idea disgusted her, but I wasn’t buying it. I’d seen a few cracks in her shiny surface and I was just waiting to see more. People were right when they said Stella was like ice. An iceberg was a little more accurate. There was something below the surface that no one had seen before. I didn’t know what made me want to figure her out, but I did. I wanted it a lot.
    “Okay,” I said, a little too quickly. I shouldn’t have been so eager.
    “We’ll have to do it later because I have practice. And at one of our houses because the library will be closed.” Great. Just what I needed.
    “Not my house,” I said, my voice too loud. “My parents are insane and will drive both of us crazy.” She gave me a look and then said, “Fine. My house.”
    “I mean, really. They’re like the textbook definition of helicopter parents.” Why was I still rambling? She just sighed and looked toward the door as if she wanted to escape.
    “It’s fine. Seriously. Look, I have to go.” Her eyes snapped back to me and then she lunged out and grabbed my phone from where it rested on the corner of my desk. Before I could protest, she handed it back.
    “There. I’ll text you when practice is over and give you directions. You’d better be there on time and ready to work.” With that, she got to her feet, threw her hair over her shoulder and was out the door.
    Ice storm Stella strikes again.
     

     
    I did not spend the rest of the day freaking out about going over to Stella’s.
    Okay, that’s a lie. I did.
    “I bet her house is all white and you can’t sit on the furniture,” Grace said, which was a little funny, considering the house she lived in. But she was trying to be supportive.
    “I have no idea. It’s going to be beyond awkward. My plan is to get in and get out as fast as possible.” With hopefully my dignity and sanity intact. It was definitely going to be harder to stop staring at her and being weird if it was just the two of us. If she suggested we do this in her room, I was going to veto that. I didn’t want to be anywhere in her personal space. For some reason.
    “Well, you can always text me and I’ll come rescue you with some sort of emergency.” Grace was that kind of best friend who would fake a life-threatening emergency to get you out of an awkward situation. She’d done it many times before with great success.
    “Thanks, I might take you up on