The Disappearing Girl

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood Read Free Book Online
Authors: Heather Topham Wood
laugh hysterically. I had a hunch I wasn’t going to live the night down anytime soon.
    When the door closed, I studied Cameron through the smudged windows of the cab. He stayed at the curb, watching us disappear from view. I was frightened by the intensity of my feelings, and I couldn’t help but speculate about when the other shoe would drop. He was too perfect, our time together too incredible, for it to turn into something more than a casual flirtation.

Chapter Eight
    When I was a little girl, I would play a game that involved me spinning around in circles for as long as possible. When I’d finally fall, I’d press my head against the ground and revel in the dizzying sensation. Waking up the next morning to a spinning room after a night of drunken debauchery was decidedly less appealing.
    As I climbed out of bed, nausea snuck up on me and I made a beeline for the bathroom. The mixed drinks and shots stung my throat as the contents of my stomach emptied into the toilet. Once my stomach settled, I leaned my head against the chilly tiled walls. I hated that my first thought was I’d liberated myself from the exorbitant number of calories I’d ingested the night before.
    I flushed the toilet and splashed ice-cold water on my face. My eyes darted up to the mirror and I inspected the damage. Mirrors had been my enemy for a long time now. I despised my reflection. My face was puffy, and my eyes glittered with moisture. Last night’s mascara had blackened under my eyes and my lips were dry and cracked.
    As I fled from my reflection, Danielle was emerging from her room. She rubbed at her weary eyes and gave me a wan smile. “You sound just like Jess last night. I was holding back her hair for an hour. After I finally got some water into her, she passed out.”
    We could make out Jessica’s snores through her door. She sounded like a drunken sailor. Brittany’s door was firmly shut, and I was glad I lived across the hall and not next door. Kurt had slept over and, according to Brittany, he was a shouter during sex. Since the couple had seemed to be reenacting a scene from Taxicab Confessions on the way home, I could only imagine what happened once they were removed from a public place.
    Brittany got a kick out of telling me about her sexual exploits. She considered herself my teacher due to my inexperience. I’d slept with my high school boyfriend, Grant, once on prom night and one other time before we broke up and left for college. Losing my virginity was anticlimactic, and the two times I slept with Grant were forgettable. We weren’t attuned to each other’s bodies, and sex had been awkward. I decided to sleep with Grant because I felt like it was time to get rid of my virginity, not because I loved him. I suspected Grant was in the same mindset, and it made our breakup decidedly painless.
    During my time at college, I hadn’t felt a strong desire to sleep with anyone. There wasn’t enough of a spark with anyone to consider taking things to such an intimate physical level. What happened with Cameron was a fluke. His confidence and sexiness didn’t just ignite a spark—it had me ready to burst into flames.
    Danielle bypassed me and opened our refrigerator. Downing a bottle of water in a couple of gulps, she heaved a huge sigh. Her long blond hair was mussed and she looked about as hung-over as I was feeling. Reaching into the fridge, she pulled out another water bottle and passed it to me. I pressed the bottle against my temples to ease my worsening headache.
    “You should eat something; it’ll make you feel better. Want me to make you some toast?”
    I shook my head emphatically. “I don’t think I can keep anything down.”
    Danielle shrugged. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What happened with Cameron last night?”
    I bit my lip as I thought about the night before. When I relived it, I kept returning to our first kiss. It had electrified my body and filled me with a deep longing. The connection

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