The Soul Seekers by Amy Saia Read Free Book Online Page B

reached in to turn off the ignition and motioned for me to get out.
    The man was disappointed but relinquished the cash into my hands anyway.
    “Where is this hunk of junk?” Jesse asked, after the door closed behind us.
    “In the garage.”
    I watched as he took a peek through one of the wide cracks of wood. When he turned around, his mouth was twisted in suppressed laughter. He grabbed my hand, pulling me to the road. “Five-hundred dollars for that ? I won’t say anything about suckers and minutes.
    “Know anything about stick shifts?” Jesse asked out of the blue, on our way back to the bridge.
    “A little. My dad gave me a few lessons back before. . . .” My voice trailed away.
    “Oh. Well, here. You can drive us back to town, seeing as to how you just lost your first and only car. Go ahead.” The keys were dangling in front of my face, tempting me. I grabbed at them and let out a groan when Jesse pulled them away. “Sorry, had to do it.” He took my hand and placed them inside. “They’re all yours.”
    We both got in, with me laughing in a nervous way before starting the engine.
    “Don’t ride the clutch,” he warned. “Okay, whoa, you don’t have to yank the gear so hard. Here.” His hand fell on top of mine. “Be gentle, Emma.”
    I shot us forward on purpose, making his hand fall back.
    “Slow.”
    The engine revved, and we sped down the road, gravel crunching against the tires until at last we were on solid pavement. I looked over to see an impressed expression on his face. “I’m not a complete idiot,” I threw out, letting out a laugh when his expression contorted into scrunched up craziness.
    “Didn’t say you were.”
    “You practically called me a sucker back there.”
    “Well,” Jesse said, looking out the windshield. “I guess we all make mistakes sometimes. Don’t we?”
    I shrugged. “I guess.”
    Before we knew it, we were back in town, sitting in front of the record store. Phil was inside, drinking coffee at the front desk, looking bored.
    I shut down the engine and handed Jesse the keys. “Sweet car. Thanks for letting me drive.”
    “Anytime. Look Emma, are you going to tell this imaginary lover of yours how you feel, or do you want me to do it for you?”
    I looked down at my hands. “He’s the reason I’m leaving, actually. When I’m around him I turn into a complete idiot, and all I can do is melt and think stupid thoughts. I think he knows and likes to play little tricks on me, you know? Anyway, I don’t want him knowing what a fool I was about to make of myself.”
    “What were you going to do?”
    “Oh, I was going to say . . . hi. ” We both snorted with laughter. “And magic rainbows would appear and he would say he loved me.”
    “And you’d be stuck in Springvale for the rest of your life.”
    I thought about that. “No, he never gave me that impression. I think he wants to get out, too. Maybe we should form a group.”
    Phil glanced out at us with a perturbed expression.
    “Gotta go back to work,” Jesse said. “You got your money back, life is good, right?”
    “I guess.”
    “You’ve definitely given up on the imaginary guy?”
    “Definitely.” Why did I always bite my lip when I was lying?
    “I wasn’t kidding when I said we should go. I want to leave, with you.” Jesse reached across the gear shift to grab my hand. “What’s a few days, I don’t know? With you Emma—you. Please think about it.”
    He squeezed my fingers, and for a second wound them into his. His skin was warm. Calloused and warm.
    “I will.”
    Jesse let go and dropped his head back against the car seat with a long sigh, then sat up to grab his jacket. “Write down your number before I go inside.”
    I wrote it on the half-dried newspaper I’d shoved in my purse hours before.
    “I’ll call you later.”
    We got out of the Camaro and stepped onto the sidewalk.
    I watched Jesse go inside the store. It was three o’clock, and I had a purse full of money,