Without You: Book 1 of the Changing Hearts Series by Yesenia Vargas Read Free Book Online

 
    “Want something?” Ariana asked Lucas as she put some money in. He hadn’t made a move to get something.
    “No, thanks.” He smiled.
    She held an orange juice in her hand. “Come on. My treat. It’s the least I could do for you buying me lunch the other day.”
    Mayra was off to the side, waiting to see if Lucas would give in.  
    “If you don’t choose, I’ll get something for you.”
    “No, really. I’m good.”
    “Fine. I warned you.”
    She put in another dollar and a quarter and was about to press a random button.  
    “Fine, fine. I’ll have some lemonade.”
    She looked back at him and smiled and turned back around to press the button.
    A lemonade fell down, and she reached in for it.  
    She handed it to him. He took it, and they headed into the cafeteria.
    They got in line. It was long today. “You gonna buy me lunch too?” he offered.
    They smiled at each other. “No. I don’t work, remember? You think I’m made of money or something?”
    Lucas laughed and pushed his hip into her.  
    “You’re funny,” he said. Mayra winked at her. She tried not to smile so hard, but it was close to impossible. Lucas fell in behind her as they got their food and paid. They grabbed napkins and utensils and walked over to their table.  
    As she ate and everyone talked, Lucas’s leg kept brushing hers. He never apologized for it or acknowledged it, but it kept happening. She didn’t have a problem with it. Meanwhile, she tried to talk with Mayra, and they’d join the conversation with the others too. They were talking about their plans after school was over.
    “Anyone at this table not going to college here?” a guy asked. He was the same one who had fallen asleep.
    Lucas spoke up. “Ariana is going to UGA.” Everyone stared at her, impressed.  
    “Nice,” someone said.  
    She blushed and smiled. “If I get in.” Ariana kept eating her lunch after someone else spoke up about moving to California.
    She nudged Lucas with her body, and he nudged back, looking down at her and smiling.  
    After lunch, they headed back to class and sat through the rest of the presentations.
    When the last one was over, Mayra leaned towards her, “Ours was probably the best one, right?” Ariana nodded. Some groups had obviously not put that much effort into it.
    At the end of class, Mrs. Randolph handed out their rubrics with their grades. Theirs landed on Lucas’s desk.
    “Ninety-four!” he said, turning around and giving Ariana a high five. He gave the sheet to her, and she leaned towards Mayra so she could see it.  
    They had just gotten points off for going over the time limit, but the teacher had commented on their creativity, especially the fake mustaches.
    “Am I a genius or what?” Lucas said. The fake mustaches had been his idea, and obviously, it had paid off. “This calls for a celebration.”
    “What are you suggesting?” she asked. She crossed her arms and waited for him to talk.
    “Let’s go out to eat or watch a movie or something. Mayra, you in?”  
    Mayra looked up from the rubric. “Huh?”
    “Lucas says we should celebrate by going to a movie or dinner or something.”
    “When?” She folded the paper and handed it back to Ariana.
    Lucas shrugged. “This Friday?” He looked at each of them.
    “Oh, I can’t. I have to do this thing with my mom. I already told her like a month ago I would.” Then she lit up. “But you two should go. Have fun for me.”
    “You sure?” Lucas asked. “We can go next week if you want.”
    “Nah. You guys go.”
    “Okay.” He looked at Ariana. “I’ll text you?”  
    What else could she say? “Uh, yeah. Text me.”
    The bell rang, and everyone filed out, including Lucas. He gave a wave before leaving.
    Ariana and Mayra got up too but fell behind.
    “What the hell was that?” she asked Mayra.
    “That was me getting you a date with Lucas.” She smiled as she said it, like it was brilliant. And she tapped Ariana’s nose too.
    “It was