THIEF: Part 3 by Kimberly Malone Read Free Book Online Page B

say.At least, I hadn’t.
                  “But…what?”
                  “Huh?”I blink at Alex, coming back to the present.“Oh!Sorry, I just got…distracted.Let’s just say my mom and I weren’t exactly the picture of a happy home.I moved out when I was sixteen, talked to her maybe twice over the next three, maybe four years, and then right when I moved back home…she died.”
                  “Oh, wow.I’m so sorry, Erin.”
                  Alex reaches for my hand; I let him.“You don’t have to keep saying that.”
                  “Saying what?”
                  “‘I’m sorry,’” I repeat.“I mean, I appreciate the sentiment and all—I’m just saying, you don’t have to say it every time.Life gets shitty sometimes, that’s all.Happens to everyone, sooner or later.”
                  “Not me.”
                  I sputter my drink, laughing.“Sure.”
                  “No, really.”He drags a hand through his hair, chestnut-colored and just a little longer on top, but clean-cut.“I hate to admit it, because it must make me sound incredibly naive, but…”He looks at me.“…nothing that bad’s ever happened to me.I’ve had a really lucky life.”
                  Quickly, I reach for his hand and make it into a fist, rapping it against the wooden table.We both laugh.
                  “Probably not a bad idea.I’m overdue, I’m sure.”
                  “Seriously,” I say, taking a sip from his Jack and Coke.He raises an eyebrow, and I wink.“You’re telling me at twenty-three years old, not one bad thing has ever happened to you?”
                  Alex rolls his eyes, thinking.“Okay, I shouldn’t say nothing bad has ever happened.I tore a tendon in high school running track.I got mugged in Russia one summer, the first time I’d traveled alone.Bad things have happened.Just, you know—nothing tragic.”
                  Tragic.This word, with all its brooding drama and vagueness, makes my life sound more like a Victorian novella than a real life—which is to say, a life full of ups and downs, things falling into place and coming undone, then repeating.Hearing it compared to something tragic, though, makes me wonder if it is.
                  “Once again,” I tell him, mustering a smile, and knock his hand against the table.
     
     
    With Silas, things happened quickly.Blindingly fast, actually.So while Alex’s nervousness on all things physical slows down the pace, it isn’t as frustrating as I’d thought, always waiting for his next move.It’s sweet, and it’s nice to be a little conservative, to enjoy the way things go without my head spinning from the speed.
                  Still.There’s something about that part, how easily the next steps happened for Silas and me, that I miss.
                  So when Alex says, softly, “I, uh…I’d like to kiss you again,” I smile, pulling him off the porch and into my apartment.
                  He doesn’t seem to mind when I take the lead, just a little surprised, like last night at his car.I don’t mind, either—I’m used to initiating.Maybe, I try to convince myself, the only thing I loved about Silas was that he took control most of the time; he was just a nice change.
                  I know it’s not true, but I can’t be blamed for trying.Here I am with a crush on Alex, still in love with Silas, and only the former is worth my time.Simply put, I’m kind of a mess.At this point, fooling myself’s all I’ve got.
                  Alex laughs nervously, under his breath, when I shut the door and move from his mouth to his neck.I make sure to rub my body against his erection.“Erin,” he whispers, when I lick his ear, flicking my tongue down to his collarbone.His skin