Talented by Sophie Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

of privacy was the greatest disadvantage.  At school, every student had his or her own room, making it easy to spend strongly-frowned-upon time with members of the opposite sex.  I not only had my own dorm room, but I also had my own suite of rooms at Mac and Gretchen’s house, and they didn’t mind me and Donavon being alone together.
    “ Lead the way, ” I answered.
    By the time we got back to Donavon’s cabin , we only had an hour until curfew.  I took off my shoes and curled up on his bed.  Donavon lay down next to me and covered us with a quilt that I recognized from his house; Gretchen had made it for him. I laid my head on his chest.  He snaked one arm around my waist and slid his hand up under the back of my shirt, resting it on the small of my back.  He lightly ran his fingertips back and forth, sending chills up my spine.  I raised my head and stretched up until our lips met.  I kissed him softly.  He moved both of his hands to my waist, and pulled me down on top of him.  I kissed him harder.  He lifted me up and flipped me over on to my back.  I let out a small giggle of surprise.  He leaned over me and bent his head, careful to keep his weight off me by holding himself in a push up position.  I lifted my head up to meet him halfway.  He pulled back, teasing me.  I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to pull him back down.  He was strong, and instead of allowing himself to be pulled back down, he reared his head and shoulders back, lifting me slightly off the bed.  I let go and fell on my back.  Thinking I was clever, I gave him a quick jab with the side of my hand in the crook of his right elbow.  He wasn’t expecting it, and his arm gave out.  He fell on top of me, just as I had anticipated.  I wrapped my legs around his waist at the same time that he tried to roll himself to one side, afraid that his weight would crush me.  When he rolled, I’d already managed to entwine my limbs with his waist.  Our combined weight – mingled with the fact we were tangled in his quilt – caused us to roll right off the bed.
    I landed flat on my back ; Donavon landed square on top of me.  The initial jolt of hitting the wood floor jarred my bones.  The shock in Donavon’s eyes must have mirrored my own.  Before either of us could say anything, I burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.  I was laughing so hard that I didn’t hear the door open.
    “ Opps!”  Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Arden’s voice called.
    “You’ re not interrupting anything,” Donavon grumbled, clearly annoyed.
    “Hi , Talia,” Harris waved.  I peered around Donavon’s considerably larger body and returned his wave.  The slightly older boy was standing in the doorway, smirking.  It wasn’t the first time that Harris had walked in on me and Donavon in a somewhat compromising situation.
    Harris had been a year ahead of Don avon at School, and the two had been good friends since childhood.  He’d always been my favorite of Donavon’s friends.
    “Could you two wait outside for a mi nute?” Donavon asked, agitated.
    “No, no, no.  You don’t need to do that,” I said quickly.  “I need to get back for curfew.”   Arden strolled awkwardly to his bed, trying not to look at us.  Donavon untangled himself, and carefully stood up.  He reached his hand down to help me up.  I quickly pulled my shirt back down to cover my stomach, and tried in vain to smooth my dark curls; I could only imagine that they were sticking out in every direction.
    Harris could barely stifle the laughter escaping his throat.  “Don’t bother Tal.  It’s a lost cause at this point.”
    Donavon grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the cabin.  I gave both boys a wave as I passed.
    “ Are you mad at me?” I asked as soon as we were out the door.  He stopped short, causing me to run into his back.  I could feel the waves of tension rolling off of him.
    “ It’s not you.  I